[Girls Club Spotlight:] Download Blackfrost’s NEW mixtape!
As you know Shanell reps The Girls Club to the fullest, well so do we! Check out Blackfrost’s new mixtape! Enjoy!
[New Music] Lil Chuckee featuring Shanell “I’m Here”
Download Chuckee’s mixtape here!
Shanell Interview With Madame Noire
Check out Shanell’s interview with Madame Noire where she talks about Lil Wayne, her talents, and her plans for this year.
Photos: Shanell At The 2010 BET Awards
Check out this picture of Shanell and Chuckee at the 2010 BET Awards.
UPDATE: Here are a couple more photos of Ms.Shanell during the show!
Video: Shanell At The 2010 BET Awards
For those that missed the BET Awards here’s a quick glimpse of Ms.Shanell on stage during Drake’s acceptance speech. Pictures should be coming soon. Also Congrats to both Nicki and Drake!
Shanell Speaks With Camelback Music
Check it out below:
Shanell aka Snl, known as the “Rock-n-B Pop Fusion princess” of Lil Wayne’s record label, Young Money, is one of the most respected female writers and artists out there. Early in her career she was one of the principle dancers on Ne-Yo’s tour and then started writing for many multi-platinum artists including Ne-Yo with the song “Say It” on his album Because of You. Recently, she wrote four of the songs on Lil Wayne’s “Rebirth” LP including his first single “Prom Queen”. She was signed by Young Money and actually brought Lil Wayne the beat for his hit song “A-Milli”. She released the Mixtape Shut Up and Listen earlier in 2010 and has taken off with over 2 million downloads. She also was featured in Lil Wayne’s music video Runnin’ (below) I was contacted and had the opportunity to talk to Shanell on the phone to ask her a few questions about her journey as a writer and an artist thus far.
Cam Mullen: This is Cam Mullen from Camelback Music and I just wanted to first thank you very much for taking the time for this interview, Shanell.
Shanell: No problem, thank you.Cam Mullen: So your career actually started as a dancer I hear, how did you transition from dancing to becoming an artist?
Shanell: Well I was dancing for a bunch of different artists and I started learning about the business through them. I started writing and submitting songs for others and then I was kind of like well I might as well just do this for myself.Cam Mullen: A writer? What artists did you write for?
Shanell: I’ve worked with Kelis, Usher, Beyonce, Danity Kane, David Guetta and just about everybody. Whether or not they have put it on their album, haha that’s a different story.
Cam Mullen: You have a sister, D Woods, that was part of Danity Kane, is that right? What kind of influence did she have on you in your career?
Shanell: Well it really taught me a lot. Initially I felt like I knew it all because I was doing music even before she was. Once she got in the group, I saw a whole another level of this industry though. I was just like wow. You’re in the media all the time and people are always watching you. Writing a song for somebody and working with them once is different than working to put together a whole album. Watching her work with four other people in a group really taught me a lot as well.Cam Mullen: When did you become a part of Young Money?
Shanell: I started roughly two years ago now.Cam Mullen: What has that experience working with Young Money been like?
Shanell: It’s been great. It’s like a have a bunch of big brothers. I mean Wayne kind of functions his label as a family. You know, we’re day in, day out with each other, on the road with each other; it’s like a big family.
Cam Mullen: You were featured on four tracks of Lil Wayne’s album Rebirth. What is it like working so closely with Wayne?
Shanell: It’s fun. Haha I mean it’s a situation where he allows you to just be creative and to try stuff. There’s no pressure whether something is right or wrong, whether it’s going to sell a million albums or it’s going to sell five. He just wants you to do what you do. If you’re honest and creative, people will believe in it if you believe in it.
Cam Mullen: How would you describe your genre of music to someone that had never heard it before?
Shanell: I would call it some kind of fusion music. I listened to everything growing up from rap to pop to rock to dance. All the music I love kind of fuses itself into one sound, a new sound.
Cam Mullen: What about your unique nose ring? I came across a discussion on the Internet of fans asking each other where they can purchase it. What is the story on the ring?
Shanell: Hahaha I made that! I was on tour while my stylist and I were trying different things and she made earrings. I have a whole lot of hair. I was swinging my hair back and forth and it would get stuck in my earring and I thought to myself, I like the way this looks, I should make something like this.
Cam Mullen: And when was Shut Up and Listen released?
Shanell: April first, April fools day.
Cam Mullen: Does the name “Shut Up and Listen” carry any specific meaning?
Shanell: The name has to do with all of the stuff that surrounds music that people talk about in the media. I just want people to listen to the music and to stop talking about everything else about the artists besides the music itself.Cam Mullen: There were also rumors going around about you in some relationship with Lil-Wayne. Are any of those true?
Shanell: No and that was a part of the whole April fools release. There were rumors about me being pregnant. I turned the rumors into something positive by throwing a release party that I named the party “my shower” to show that music is my only baby.Cam Mullen: It’s a tricky question, but out of all the songs on Shut Up and Listen, which is your favorite to perform?
Shanell: I really like the song It’s the Beat. It’s a dance song and I’m a dancer so it works.Cam Mullen: And what are you up to now?
Shanell: I’m in rehearsal in Philadelphia right now. I have a show this Saturday actually at urban plaza in New York City.
Shanell Featured in July issue of YRB Magazine
(Click to Enlarge)
Be sure to pick it up on newsstands this week!
Events: Shanell Live in NYC This Weekend!
Check out the details above!
Photos: Shanell Spotted Outside NYC Hotel
Special thanks to NickiMinajFanss
Shanell adds some “fusion” flava
Check out Shanell’s feature with Sister 2 Sister’s magazine below!
Young Money’s newest princess hits our eardrums with something different as her mixtape leaves her in a class of her own.
Turning heads and taking names, this talented songstress can’t be missed, from the kick-butt vocals she provides on tracks such as Lil Wayne’s latest “Running,” to the dramatic visual picture she produces with her unique nose/ear piercing.
Now, with her mixtape Shutup and Listen blasting on internet airwaves, Shanell, aka SnL, is really getting the recognition she’s been working towards for a long time.
“It sounds like an album. I’m really proud of it,” she told S2S. Based on the positive—make that enthusiastic—response that her current single “Other Side” has been getting via the web, we think she has ever right to be proud.
Talent runs in this sweet singer’s family though; her sister is former Danity Kane-member D. Woods. Shanell says there has always been some sibling rivalry, but says it’s definitely the “positive” kind.
“We’ve always competed, but it’s been healthy competition,” she said. “It’s made us stronger.”
Shanell’s also a songwriter behind the scenes, putting pen to paper for big names such as Lil Wayne (naturally), Pink, Ne-Yo (who’s featured on “Other Side”), Kelis and Jennifer Hudson. So the transition, we’re sure, has been a smooth one!
This girl has a little bit of rebel in her, as she refuses to have anyone put her in a certain musical category or genre. “I consider myself like a ‘fusion artist,’” she explained. “I never listened to one thing, so my music is not just one genre.”
Her favorite song on her 12-song mixtape? “This song called ‘It’s the Beat’!” she said with a laugh. “I just like the way it feels. It’s an up-tempo song.”
Curious? Check out her sound here.
