Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
What's not to love? Shi has an amazing attitude in her vocals without sounding the least bit rehearsed or contrived. This girl isn't afraid to write what she thinks and sing what she feels with vocal stylings that are unique to her and her alone!" - T. Buburuz (International Marketing Group)
Owing up to the social responsibility that comes with stardom doesn’t interest many entertainers nowadays. But when a celebrity’s spotlight hits Milwaukee- reared-turned-New York City R&B/rock fusionist Shi, she wants to offer something that last longer than just another Top 40 ditty.
I just really look forward to being a role model for people. “I like to motivate people, “ says the petite, soulful belter whose name you pronounce “she”. The overwhelming subtext of her debut CD speaks of the catharsis she has undergone in overcoming more drama in her 20 years than should be wished upon anyone.
Shi readily confesses the strife of her upbringing. After moving from poverty in small-town Indiana to Milwaukee, her father ascended to “a very prominent standing in the community.” But not without pain to the rest of the family. “My dad was very abusive,” Shi says, “He’d break my mom’s shoulder or throw me down the stairs. At the same time, I was getting people coming up to me saying, ‘You’re so lucky to be the daughter of your dad!” And I would sit there with a fat lip and go, ‘Yeah, he’s really great.’”
A nearly sisterly bond with her mother and her school activities formed her art and gave her respite from troubles at home. The first of those schools was a Catholic grade school where she was one of the only white kids. “During recess, the girls would form a huge circle and start to clap and, you’d go into the center and do a dancing, chanting kind of thing. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” She held her own amid the shouts of “Go white girl!” Her parents’ musical diet of Aretha Franklin and other soul greats honed her multicultural artistry even more.
The Milwaukee High School of the Arts abetted her musical aspirations as well as her ability in painting, dancing and acting. “I just don’t think I would have had the opportunity to develop as fully as an artist if it wasn’t for my experiences with Milwaukee. It wouldn’t have been as diverse and colorful,” she enthuses.
Mix that upbringing and indomitable spirit with her current NYC abode, and The Only One bristles with justified attitude to spare. Pop Princess Christina Aguilera and cult fave Nikka Costa serve as handy reference points, but so do Moloko’s hooky trip-hop and an underlying jazziness that will serve Shi’s artistic maturation well. Impressive for a self-produced indie debut, a bit more production sheen would give Aguilera, Pink and other feisty femmes a run for their chart money.
At the clip she’s going, that run could start at any moment. “in three months, we had done the songs, the Web site (www.shimusic.com) and started gigging with a band. I did what it takes some people five years to do. It’s not typical,” she admits, but adds, “That’s the way I like to live. I’m very impatient. It doesn’t have to take forever. If you know your stuff, do it, just make it happen!” There Shi goes motivating again!
With label interest galore and an online following that has already amassed more than 400 fans to be a street promotion team when her full-length album hits, plenty more people could soon be learning just how well Shi knows her stuff.
--Jamie Lee Rake
- Jamie Lee Rake
Discography
album- the only one
singles- what ru nutz, get out, dame
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
From her 6th floor walk-up apartment in Brooklyn, this singer/songwriter has written, recorded, and produced her own music. Music that fuses urban rock with classical cadences and bluesy riffs. Her honest lyrics speak of raw emotions matched by the power of her pipes.
Who is Shi? Shi (pronounced "she") is as strong as she is sensitive and her music is an indisputable reflection of the many characteristics she embodies. She is a multi-dimensional woman coming out of Brooklyn with a myriad of talents - singer, songwriter, producer, pianist, actor, dancer, painter and a soon to be cutting edge trendsetter. Her lyrics and music are as empowering as they are achingly moving, speaking to issues of respect, living life fully and taking total control. Shi is also known for her incredibly dynamic voice and presence on the stage, taking an audience into her world and shaking them up with the sheer power of her spirit. Her fieriness, combined with her confident, feminine flare is what makes Shi a pioneering a new wave of female artists.
Born in Indiana, Shi was brought up in a troubled yet musical family, with her mom singing and playing the piano and her dad playing the piano, guitar, and singing. Shi found refuge from her family troubles in music. Shi was often heard singing herself to sleep from the time she was born. Her first introduction to the piano was at the age of six months where her babysitter, a composer, would watch amazed as she would plunk out the same notes he would play. Formal piano lessons started at age seven.
Shi was not only a natural musician, but also a born leader arranging the neighborhood kids to perform plays, ballets, and musicals. When she played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz in her eighth grade production, her parents 'fell out of their chairs' when they heard Shi's powerful voice. They immediately started her on classical voice lessons.
Shi went on to win competitions, grants and scholarships in voice, piano, art, writing and acting. She performed in rock bands, jazz bands, musicals, choral groups, and madrigals, with her first recording experience being at 16 years old. Deep down, Shi really wanted to explore her vocal expression. She decided to move from her classical roots and turn to the sounds of her inspirations - Aretha, Stevie Wonder, Christina, Whitney, Prince, Tori Amos, and Joni Mitchell, to name a few.
Writing, singing both background and lead, playing the keyboard, and co-producing, Shi has been working with producers/engineers such as Michael Ross (Vanessa Cartlon, Christina Aguilera), Marvin Etzioni (Toad the Wet Sprocket), and Lloyd Tolbert (Lionel Richie). Her most recent work comes out of Active Soundz Studio with co-producer Zay (Mehuman). Together they breathed in a mixture of hip-hop, funk, soul, pop and rock, creating a journey within each song that explores loss, self, pain, power and love.
The powerful track, "Get Out", was created effortlessly, with the music coming first and then the lyrics pouring out. It became clear as she sang this song that it was actually about her abusive relationship with her father. This song speaks to anyone who has been in a disrespectful relationship and needs the strength to end it to reclaim their own energy. One of Shi's many goals is to "empower people to respect each other, most importantly ourselves, and to not blame others for what we allow to happen to us."
Shi is focused and passionate about creating music that's real, soulful, and thought provoking. Currently shopping for a deal with a major or independent label, she will prove to be a vital force in the industry. And Shi would have it no other way. After all, with her, it's "All or Nothing".
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