PEN GAME: SHANELL RED
NEW JERSEY | SHANNELL RED
INTERVIEW CHRIS ROGERS
FOR SOME OF US IT CAN TAKE AN ENTIRE LIFETIME TO FIND EXACTLY WHERE OUR TALENTS LIE AND FOR OTHERS OF US IT’S RECOGNIZED AT AN EARLY AGE. SHANELL RED WROTE HER FIRST SONG AT AGE 14, PUT TOGETHER HER OWN RAP SINGING GROUP AT AGE 16 AND SHE HASN’T LOOKED BACK SINCE. A 5 TIME GRAMMY NOMINATED SONGWRITER, SHANELL’S PEN GAME HAS TAKEN HER TO SUCH HEIGHTS AS WRITING FOR WORLD FAMOUS GRAMMY AWARD WINNING CONTEMPORARY R&B GIRL GROUP DESTINY’S CHILD AND SOULFUL MALE R&B SOLO ARTIST JAHEIM. VALIDATED HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH SHANELL RED REGARDING HOW SHE GOT HER FIRST PLACEMENT, HOW A NEW SONGWRITER SHOULD APPROACH THEIR PUBLISHING AND MORE.
VALIDATED: WHAT'S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF MUSIC?
SHANELL RED: BEING AT THE PATERSON, NJ CCP REC CENTER AT 14YRS OLD SNEAKING IN TO SEE FORCE MD'S, COLD CRUSH, GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS 5.
VALIDATED: WHAT'S YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF HIP-HOP OR R&B, THE CULTURE?
SHANELL RED: LISTENING TO “THE SEQUENCE”, A FEMALE RAP GROUP ON SUGARHILL RECORDS SING "DO YOU WANNA ROCK" AND SAYING TO MYSELF, “I WANNA DO THAT FOR A LIVING!”. AT THAT MOMENT IT BIRTHED MY MC NAME DYNASTY!
VALIDATED: WHO EXPOSED YOU TO THE CULTURE OF MUSIC?
SHANELL RED: MY MOM WAS A BIG INFLUENCE IN EXPOSING ME TO R&B. SHE PLAYED MUSIC EVERYDAY, I KNEW ALL THE OLD SCHOOL SONGS FROM HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUENOTES TO THE STYLISTICS.
VALIDATED: WHEN DID YOU REALIZE YOU HAD A PASSION FOR CREATING?
SHANELL RED: I WAS 14 YEARS OLD WATCHING ALL THESE AMAZING RAP GROUPS PERFORM DOPE SONGS SO I STARTED CREATING MY OWN SONGS TOO. THEN I STARTED TO PUT TOGETHER MY OWN RAP SINGING GROUP AT 16YRS OLD. WHEN I SAW PEOPLE STARTED TO LOVE WHAT I COULD DO IT WAS A WRAP FOR ANYTHING ELSE. MUSIC BECAME MY LIFE!
VALIDATED: WHAT WAS YOUR INITIAL CREATIVE PROCESS?
SHANELL RED: I STARTED OUT WRITING POETRY, THEN TAKING IT AND SINGING IT TO MUSIC TRACKS.
VALIDATED: ARE YOU ACTUALLY A VOCALIST AS WELL AS A WRITER?
SHANELL RED: YES, I'M A SINGER WHEN I WANNA BE AND I GET THE DEMO JOBS DONE BUT FOR THE MOST PART I HIRE OTHER SINGERS TO BRING LIFE INTO MY WRITTEN WORK.
VALIDATED: DO YOU PRODUCE AND COMPOSE MUSIC OR PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?
SHANELL RED: NO, I MAY HUM A FEW TUNES TO PRODUCERS BUT I STAY IN MY LANE OF LYRICS AND SINGING MELODIES.
VALIDATED: HOW DID YOU GET YOUR FIRST PLACEMENT AND WHO WAS IT WITH?
SHANELL RED: MY 1ST PLACEMENT WAS WITH 3LW THAT CAME ABOUT WORKING WITH ROCKWILDER AND AT THE TIME I WAS A DUO WITH MY WRITING PARTNER TENESHA BLACKS. WE WERE CALLED “BIG DRAWZ”.
VALIDATED: BEING PART OF THE “BIG DRAWZ” LEGACY, HOW HAS THAT IMPACTED YOUR WORK AS AN INDIVIDUAL?
SHANELL RED: AT FIRST IT WAS SLOW ONCE WE DECIDED TO PART WAYS BECAUSE EVERYONE KNEW US AS A DUO, SO I HAD TO START BRANDING MYSELF ALONE. ONCE THAT TOOK OFF PEOPLE STARTED TO REALLY APPRECIATE OUR TALENTS AS INDIVIDUALS.
VALIDATED: DO YOU ENJOY WRITING COLLABORATIVELY?
SHANELL RED: I LOVE COLLABORATING! I THINK IT KEEPS YOUR MIND FRESH WITH WHAT'S GOING ON MUSICALLY AND CREATIVELY STYLE WISE ALLOWING YOU TO BE CURRENT AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS.
VALIDATED: WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST RECORDS TO DATE?
SHANELL RED: I WOULD SAY 2 SONGS WE DID WITH DESTINY'S CHILD (“IF” AND “FREE”) FROM THE “DESTINY FULFILLED” ALBUM AND “THE CHOSEN ONE” BY JAHEIM. CURRENTLY WORKING ON SONGS FOR FAITH EVAN'S AND MONIFAH, I'M SUPER EXCITED!
VALIDATED: WHO WERE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST AND PRODUCERS TO WORK WITH?
SHANELL RED: THAT'S A TRICKY QUESTION! ARTIST I LOVED WORKING WITH, CHARLIE WILSON, CHRIS BROWN, TREY SONGS, DESTINY'S CHILD, MONIFAH AND ALLURE. AS FOR PRODUCERS, ROCWILDER, ERICK SERMON, TROY TAYLOR, TROY OLIVER, D-MOET, RYNGTONE AND MICHAEL STOKES JR.
VALIDATED: DO YOU TEACH YOUR CRAFT PRIVATELY OR IN WORKSHOPS?
SHANELL RED: YES, I DO BOTH PRIVATE AND WORKSHOPS. GOTTA SHARE BACK THE GIFT GOD GAVE ME TO HELP OTHERS.
VALIDATED: I’M SURE YOU’VE SAT ON NUMEROUS SONGWRITERS PANELS, WHAT DO YOU TRY AND HAVE ATTENDEES WALK AWAY WITH?
SHANELL RED: I PUSH THEM TO STAY OPEN MINDED, TEACHABLE AND HUMBLE. NO ONE WANTS TO BE AROUND A KNOW IT ALL WHO THINKS THEY KNOW EVERYTHING AND IS NOT OPEN TO LISTEN AND LEARN.
VALIDATED: ARE THERE ANY NEW ARTIST THAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO OUT OF YOUR CITY OR NATIONALLY NOWADAYS THAT YOU FEEL YOUR PEN WOULD IMPACT?
SHANELL RED: GREAT QUESTION! I THINK H.E.R., JAZMIN SULLIVAN AND SHAWN MENDEZ COULD USE THE SHANELL RED PEN GAME.
VALIDATED: WHEN YOU WRITE FOR “RELEVANT” ARTIST DO YOU EVER FEEL RESPONSIBLE TO WRITE THE SONGS THEY WANT OR THE SONGS THEY NEED?
SHANELL RED: FOR RELEVANT ARTIST, BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY ARE SET IN THEIR WAYS. I USUALLY TAKE OUT THE TIME TO GET TO KNOW THEM, ASK QUESTIONS TO SEE WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING FOR, THEN I GET IN MY BAG AND CREATE A COMBINATION OF WHAT THEY WANT AND WHAT I FEEL THEY NEED. COLLABORATION EFFORTS!
VALIDATED: WHAT DOES HIP-HOP AND R&B MEAN TO YOU?
SHANELL RED: THIS NOW GENERATION WOULD BEG TO DIFFER BUT IT MEANS ALOT OF GREAT HARMONIES, VIBES, FEEL GOOD SOUNDS THAT KEEP YOU ENGAGED. NOT DUMB LYRICS THAT MAKE NO SENSE OR SONGS THAT CREATIVELY DONT IMPACT THE PEOPLE. GREAT HIP HOP AND R & B SHOULD ALWAYS BE A MOVEMENT OF GREATNESS OTHERS WILL APPRECIATE 20 YEARS FROM NOW!
VALIDATED: WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LEGACY TO BE?
SHANELL RED: SHANELL RED IMPACTED LIVES BY STAYING TRUE TO HER CRAFT AND WITH HER TEACHING PEOPLE GREAT MUSIC PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IT CAN HELP SAVE LIVES!
VALIDATED:HOW IMPORTANT IS THE BUSINESS SIDE OF SONGWRITING?
SHANELL RED: ITS MAJOR IMPORTANT OR YOU LOSE ALL YOU'VE WORKED HARD FOR. SONGWRITING 101, NEVER LEAVE A SESSION AFTER WRITING A SONG WITHOUT SIGNING OFF ON SPLIT SHEETS AND OBTAINING EVERYONE'S AFFILIATE INFO.
VALIDATED: HOW SHOULD A NEW SONGWRITER APPROACH THEIR PUBLISHING?
SHANELL RED: NOW THINGS ARE DIFFERENT SO I WOULD SAY KEEP YOUR PUBLISHING AND COLLECT IT THROUGH YOURSELF. BUILD YOUR VALUE BY NOT DOING A PUB DEAL OR GIVING AWAY ANY PUBLISHING UNLESS IT MAKES SENSE.
VALIDATED: WHAT EXCITING THINGS CAN THE PEOPLE LOOK FORWARD TO THIS YEAR FROM YOU AND YOUR TEAM?
SHANELL RED: WE HAVE ALOT OF INDIE PROJECTS DROPPING AS WELL AS SOME TV SHOW MUSIC RELEASING. 3 AMAZING WRITERS I USE FOR ALOT OF PROJECTS... JONATHAN JENNINGS, AVERY SEGERS AND ALONDA RICH ARE SETTING THE MUSIC WORLD ON FIRE AND THEY HAVE SOME MAJOR DOPE THINGS DROPPING AS WELL.
VALIDATED: IN YOUR OPINION WHAT MAKES A NEW YOUNG SONGWRITER VALIDATED?
SHANELL RED: NEW SONGWRITERS HAVE A HARDER ROAD TO TRAVEL TO GET VALIDATED. LET'S SAY JUSTIN LOVE, AMAZING SONGWRITER, AMAZING ARTIST WITH A HUGE FOLLOWING WHO WRITES HIS OWN SONGS BUT THE MOMENT HE DECIDED TO COLLABORATE WITH H.E.R ON 'FOCUS'... THAT WAS HIS VALIDATION GONE MILLENNIUM! ME KNOWING HIM SINCE HE WAS 10 YEARS OLD AND SEEING WHERE HE CAME FROM AND HIS PASSION FOR SONGWRITING, HE FLEW ON HIS OWN AND PEOPLE KNOW HOW DOPE HE IS BUT AGAIN ONCE HE DECIDED TO COLLABORATE IT MADE HIM A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.
VALIDATED: WHERE CAN THE READERS FIND YOU ON THE WEB?
SHANELL RED: READERS CAN CHECK OUT MY SITES PHATTHOUSEENT.COM AND THEWRITERZRUMBLE.COM AND ON INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK ITS SHANELL RED.