Shina Rae

In a city full of djs, rappers and rock bands, club singers are few and far between. Shina Rae's voice and her energetic appearances in the clubs in which she sings has earned her appearances on a good handful of singles over the past year, a cmj sonicbids spotlight on the website late last year and a trip to south by southwest this past month. This spring, she will release both her album, BWA, recorded at Tierra Studios, and her clothing line, Bad is the new Good. She keeps busy.
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Check out the full interview by Lance Scott Walker
at
http://www.002mag.com/mag/apr08/index.html
- 002

In an age that female acts are making waves- M.I.A., Le Tigre and Kid Sister- it is only natural to assume that this is not the end of the line. Houston native Shina Rae splashes onto the scene with sharper wit and a downright in-your-face attitude in B.W.A. (Bitch Witta Attitude). Her EP from local label Tierra Studios samples coyness and booneranging beats, reggae-infused "Lightning Strikes"- reminisent of No Doubt's dancehall craze- and intro remixed "Bitch Switch'd" that will quickly find its home in dance clubs with it's stuttering beats. "Excuse Me" cites 80's Madonna as a heavy influence while copping some attitude towards all the annoying clubgoers.

A cogent effort by Shina Rae, it foreshadows great potential with an adoring glance at New Wave and Electro- a switch to female-empowering lyrics without takin itself too seriously. If Nelly Furtado coud do Loose, then Shina has carried the torch to dance party must-have. --AV - Envy

Houston isn't just a breeding ground for rappers with diamond encrusted grills, as recent discoveries MC's Mike Jones and Paul Wall have shown. There are other things popping beneath the surface, like female vocalists ready to add melodious sultriness to any alt-dance groove they get served. That's the best way to describe this compilation, which shows just how much talent Space City is keeping underwraps. Michele Thibeaux, Cyd Marie and Karina Nistal are a few of the grand dames who appear repeatedly throughout the album, with producers Rebel Crew captain Joe B. and Mark Sound choosing a bevy of sounds to accompany these ladies' vocal riffing. Whether it's SHINA RAE getting the electronic dub treatment on "Threefold" or Kash getting exotically remixed by San Fran DJ Gavin Hardkiss on "Tantra", the album takes a different turn with each track. This makes The Sweet Spot one of the few dance albums that doesn't sound like a repetitive loop. This satisfying mix of women and song couldn't be sweeter.
- Philadelphia Weekly (sept 18, 2005)

Dec 14th 2007

Austin's Shina Rae is the winner of this week's CMJ Sonicbids Spotlight, proving her fast paced, sassy lyrics are well worth a listen. Accompanied by an assortment of synthesizers, her collection of nine songs will be released this upcoming spring via Tierra Music. Her first single, "Touch," is getting the remix treatment around town, with DJ Eddie Spettro already taking his try and East Coast Boogiemen and Derrick Carter slated to follow.


(btw I live in Houston, not Atx! hehehe) - cmj.com

The first day of this fall's (apparently final) Free Press Block Party was a mixed bag. Friend Bobby put it succinctly early in the day: "this event gets bigger and worse every year." Though, as the day went on and the bands that were supposed to be playing were actually playing, we warmed to the event as we do every year.....
Hollywood Floss and their crew (Kidd the Great, Shina Rae, Thurogood Wordsmith, among others) outside Numbers was the hands-down best set of the day. After listening to a couple of half-assed attempts at indie-rock upon arrival at the festival, here, finally was something to sink one's teeth into: a hip-hop party set to rock 'n' roll and soul. Loved it.
If nothing else, the block party has served as the biggest social gala of the music scene for years now. We don't dress up in sequined finery and sip cocktails for charity, we meet on the street corner wearing our music festival shoes and say hello, hug it out, ask "when are you playing?" and are reminded that this music scene is mostly a community of decent people.

to read the entire article go to
http://www.29-95.com/music/story/free-press-block-party-day-1 - 29.95.com

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With regards to our bubbling electro scene, we're not sure there's anybody better than wonderfully enigmatic Houstonian, by way of St. Louis, Shina Rae. Rae bleeps, boops, bounces and chirps all through her digital landscapes*, periodically stopping off to design a fashion show or lobby folks to sign her "Play ACL Festival" petition.
We nabbed her for a bit to talk about how she may or may not wear a veil while she grocery shops, why you should absolutely vote her past the Top 20 round of ACL's "The Sound and the Jury" competition and how will.i.am straight up told her beforehand that Fergie is little more than a white figurehead.

*This is sort of a simplification. Rae is actually way more diverse-sounding than we make her out to be, but she wears a lot of bright colors so we lump her into the electro category.

Q&A
Rocks Off: For some reason, you seem like a very mysterious chick. Like, just listening to your music or checking you out online we'd assume that you did all types of mysterious girl stuff like wear a veil when you go grocery shopping or listen to really obscure old hip-hop or steal for no reason. Is any of that true?
Shina Rae: Wow. [laughs] Well, at least one of those things is true, but I'm not gonna tell you which one [laughs]

RO: It seems like every 14 minutes we get some type of "Vote Shina Rae to Play ACL" update sent to us. Can you explain exactly what that is, how you got involved and how people can vote?
SR: Every 14 minutes huh? You must not follow all my networks [laughs]. Actually, these hopefully witty, possibly mysterious updates are about a contest to play Austin City Limits on the Dell Stage. Its going on now - right now!

to read the full article go to
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2009/09/artist_of_the_week_bubbly_elec.php
- Houston Press - Rocks Off 9/09

Hollywood Floss and their crew (the Pinecones, Shina Rae, and T.H.E.M.) effectively wrecked shop outside of Numbers. We also enjoyed stepping back into the music of our college years, thanks to the straight-out-of-the-Midwest-in-the-'90s, second-wave emo trio Football, Etc. - Houston Press - Rocks Off 11/09

First of all...If you fell of the face of the planet on Febuary 13th, 2009 and were not at the unveiling of Shina Rae's Bad is the New Good IV Spring/Resort 2009 collection shown at Deans Credit Clothing (316 Main Houston, Texas) you truely missed out on this divine event. Second of all...If you do not know who THE Diva-licious Extraordinary Shina Rae is ...get a clue and Google...bitches. The first time I was aquainted with this extremely lovely and charming woman was when I caught one of her fashion shows a couple of years ago at Rich's. (refer to previous blog). When I got the word that Shina Rae was coming with another mind-blowing collection I immediately made sure that I was able to skip my happy ass over. I told my friend, Von, who is new to the city that this was a must see event...and his mind was blown. My favorite thing about how Shina Rae conducts her showings are the details. She is very detail oriented...lighting...fabulous make-up and hair artist...excellent music (Big Ups Jeff cMo...you did the damn thang) and the very gorgeous models. And the clothing....goodness high-caliber! Every piece designed by Shina Rae (which by the way are ALL ONE OF A KIND) were well excecuted. I'm a huge fan of sewing techniques...especially with couture designers and I was very impressed with every piece shown. All pieces fun, playful, flirty, edgy, and the best of all...functional. Metallics...Brights...Crochet...Shina Rae's pieces can all stand along or be added to any trend setter's clothing collection.
Look forward to the next show... - Phobiwona Blog

Name: Shina Rae
Profession: Fashion designer and Musician
Current City: Houston

E: Do your musical and design talents overlap?

SR: That’s actually how it came about. I learned to sew when I was young, but the idea of the clothing line came when I really started making clothes for myself to wear on stage and for shoots. I’d make clothes for friends and other artists, and eventually I ended up with a bunch of extra pieces. Finally, someone asked me why I didn’t have a fashion show, and after about another year, I finally got around to doing it. That was in ‘07.

E:Tell us about your upcoming show.

SR:It’s my first fashion show in Austin, and I’m super excited. I only have shows for my clothing line, Bad Is The New Good, on Friday the 13ths, and with three this year and—what’s even crazier!—two in back-to-back months, there’s a lot of ground to cover.

E:Why bring the show to Austin?
SR:Houston has treated me very well supporting the line, but I can’t very well showcase the same season there two months in a row, and I can’t make a whole different line in a month, especially getting ready for (music) shows coming up in San Antonio, Miami and at SXSW. I’ve been wanting to bring the show to another city for a while… with the SXSW film happening and myself having so many friends in Austin, I just couldn’t think of a better place for it.

READ THE REST @
http://envymags.com/2009/03/fashion-qa-%E2%80%94-shina-rae/ - Envy Magazine

In trendy North Heights, where some hipsters opt out of the more bustling Washington Cooridor scene. In-demand indie-dance musician and 'Bad is the new Good' fashion-label designer Shina Rae often makes the scene, even choosing to film her latest music video there......Rae, whose designs include rock-ready dresses and micro minis, also relishes the venue's alleged past life as a brothel: "That's kind of dope."

to read the rest, go to....
http://digital.modernluxury.com/publication/?i=17519&p=97

check out my hype girl Crystal Lee on the next page too!! - Houston Modern Luxury