shadiya

Let's start with the new album, and then we'll backtrack a little and find some things out about you. How you feeling about the new album Share my World.

I’m feeling it but I hope the listeners out there are feeling it too. I enjoyed working on the Share My World album so much. It was like a breath of fresh air for me. I had so many inspirations and so many feelings that I wanted to pen down. I just hope I was able to express them fully through song.

You wrote pretty much all of the album, how do you construct the songs. Can you see the whole thing in your head. Do you write how you feel or do you aim at a particular marketplace, the former I would think!

The way I write is mostly by mood/feeling. I first start with the music. I play around and get a vibe going and then I begin just singing what comes to mind. That “off of the top singing” is what leads me in a certain direction for the song. I believe in following your first mind so that’s what I do. The song title comes from that and I expand on the title in my writing and arranging. The vibe is key. I definitely do not aim at a particular market or try to go for what is mainstream and popular.

Definitely there are some personal and world experiences in my songs, but not everything I sing about is personal.

There's a kind of sweet mellowness in your songs and your voice. How are you targeting the release? To me it's not really neo though I have seen it described as that, there is more of a traditional feel to it.

Thank you for the compliment. This release was put in the category of neo-soul but my music has been put in smooth jazz, r&b and world. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know where I fit in. Maybe you could help me out with that.

Hmm...the story. Well, it’s a love story. A love between man and woman, a love for mothers out there, a love for world peace and deep concern for what is happening in our world, and a deep love for my ancestors who sacrificed so much so I could be here today. I wanted to take my audience on a trip. I tried to capture the giddiness felt when first falling in love; capture the romance; show how opportunity may only come once in a lifetime for a great love and how to not let that opportunity for happiness just pass you by. Next, I wanted the audience to experience, to feel, how great it is when you find that special someone to share your world. I live for love and personally, I never knew it could be so good.

Though you can get deeper, powerful stuff like Momma, and then politically (Life and Times) and historically (Ancestors)?

The song Momma is dedicated to all the mothers out there but was written for my mother. I have wanted to write a song about my mother for so long and finally I was able to pen it and express to her how I really feel about her. Along with my husband, she has been my biggest fan, my best friend, my anchor and confidante. She has sacrificed so much of her life to make mine easier and I am so grateful. As for Life & Times, the music contains a camera taking pictures in the background and as I wrote this, I was picturing what was taking place in the world, each a snap shot of death and destruction, homelessness, hunger. This was a tough song for me to write. At the time of this songs conception, there was a sniper killing innocent people at random, planes flying into buildings with innocent people inside, and large corporations taking advantage of hardworking employees and war. This triggered something within me and I started thinking of everything going on around the globe and just saying Why? Such senseless killings, grieving and for what? I just wanted to try to bring those issues to the forefront, and in between, let the music just take the audience away from it all for a moment to experience what peace could feel like, but then bring reality back into the picture.

Ancestors, I actually wrote some years ago but never did the music until now. I wanted the track to be bare, almost folk, just so the story could come through and not be overpowered by lots of instrumentation. I always wanted to do this song because I feel deeply connected to my ancestors.... my great grandmother, Cecilia, was a slave. This was written as if she were talking through me. I’m telling her story as I imagine how she would tell it to me and at the end of the journey she takes us on, she leaves advice and words of wisdom for those of us today.

What hurts you out there? War, school shootings........

I am bothered by senseless loss of life through war, school shootings and the list could go on and on. I feel life is so precious and we don’t seem to value it anymore. My 13 year old daughter has been battling cancer since she was 8. She has had two cancers, a heart transplant, diabetes and the list goes on. She is a true warrior in every sense of the word and everyday she struggles to live in this world while there are people out there living to die. Life is a gift, treat it as such.

What is your world that we can share?

My world is all about love. I love hard, I feel deeply. Once you enter Shadiya’s world, hopefully you come out feeling .....“lovely”!

Who are your influences, both writing and otherwise. And who out there right now do you like.

My influences are Minnie Ripperton, Natalie Cole, Patti Labelle, Glady’s Knight, Prince, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton and Angela Winbush. I like Erykah Badu, Jaheim, Kindred, Jill Scott, Missy Elliott and Beyonce. There are others but those are a few.

Any kind of interest in the album?

I have my following of listeners from the last album and I’ve picked up some more. The reaction seems to be positive so far. Marketing is key to reaching a broader audience and right now that is our major obstacle.

What kind of reaction do you get from overseas?

Overseas has been wonderful and welcomed me with open arms. I hear from people from as far as Japan, France, Sweden, Africa and of course the UK letting me know how much they enjoy my music. That really makes me feel good knowing that my music touches people. Love is universal.

How did the last album do (Heart of a Woman)

The Heart of a Woman album did well. People are still requesting and buying it. I was very happy with the response of that album. It was my baby, my first album where I reached audiences overseas and where I felt a sense of accomplishment. The show of appreciation encouraged me to keep making music. So many years labels have said I don’t have “it”, or I’m not mainstream enough which discouraged me to sing for a while. I decided to not listen this time and follow my heart and use my gift so I invested in myself and it has paid off.

What did you feel were the standout tracks. I thought it was pretty consistent all the way through.

I thought 911-Emergency, You are My Man, Changed, My Child and Everyday were the standout tracks.

How has the new one improved on it.

I try to improve with every album so I hope that vocally, musically and lyrically I have gotten better. I can’t be the judge of that. It’s up to the listening audience to make that decision.

What was your first album like

My first album would have benefited from the knowledge and experience I have ascertained over the years. It lacked musically and lyrically but at the time it felt good and sounded good to me because, hey, I was actually making music. And, it was too short.

Who else have you worked with.

I have had the pleasure of performing with Janet Jackson, Johnny Gill, Jeffrey Osbourne, Ready for the World, Bobby Brown and DeBarge in the early years.

Do you do many live shows?

I was performing live with my band, Maximum Level until February 2003 due to my daughter’s illness taking precedence. I perform for charity events in my spare time and I hope to hit the stage again in the near future.

Tell me about Te'naj. How is that set up and what is your involvement. Are you/they looking for new talent and how well placed are they to deal with them, What can they offer?

Te’Naj Record Company is my baby. I created this corporation for other talented artists like myself who are not considered mainstream, yet possess talent and deserve the opportunity for their music to be heard. We’re a small indie label with large ambitions. It’s taken some sacrifices using my own money to try to get this company off the ground. My hope for Te’Naj is to expand, find backing, get under the wings of a larger label and to one day be a household name. I turned over the reigns so I could concentrate on making music. This company is always looking for new talent in all genres of music. Te’Naj offers advice, discounts on cd duplication, vocal lessons and recording, music production, lyric writing, jingles, publishing and distribution for professionally packaged material.

What else have you done

I’ve done acting, modeling, writing, photography, painting, college, cosmetology, jumped out of airplanes and the list goes on. Wow, just looking back amazes me of how much I’ve done in so little time. I believe in using all the talents God gives me. I don’t want to be that person that says, “I wish I had done that.” I say to everyone, Go for it! Reach for the stars. As one wise person once said, “ It’s better to have a dream, even if it doesn’t come into fruition, than to not dream at all.”

I just read your career history...........wow tell me about some of those things from Miss Tennessee through Choreography, paratrooper, war veteran, cosmetics.

Being Miss Tennessee was the turning point for me. I won my state and then competed in Hollywood, California at the Coconut Grove against the other states. I was so shy back then and this experience taught me so much and brought me out of my shell. I was so excited when I returned home that I wanted to share that experience with others so my mom and I started the Jr. Miss Pageant in our town for young girls, based on talent. I choreographed their group dance based on what I learned from my pageant. As for my military service, I was a combat medic and paratrooper which landed me a small role in the movie, My Mother Wears Combat Boots with Barbara Eden. It also landed me in the Gulf War! What an experience. I also went to cosmetology school and did that for a while.

A pretty varied existance. Tell me about your past. You a tennessee girl who moved to Florida?

I’m Northern girl who moved South and everywhere in between and then moved to sunny Florida.

You do some writing too?

I love to write. It’s like therapy for me just as my singing is. It soothes and calms me and I can freely express myself. I enjoy writing children’s books, poetry and short story romance.

And charity and political work?

I volunteer and participate in events and charities for cancer. I started at age 12, I believe, performing for the American Cancer Society and never knew that one day I would be personally experiencing what I was raising money for. So many have given of themselves and it feels good to be able to give back.

And what do you hope for the future as regards your singing...............and in a wider perspective maybe