Thanks again for reading my blog. If you don’t already know, I’m one of several skilled engineers who work out of Urban-Intalek Studios in Washington D.C.. I’m passionate about helping people find and express their voice artistically, and working at Washington D.C.’s premiere boutique studio is a great way to do it! I’ll be posting recording, production and songwriting tips regularly, as well as interviews with some of the artist who are clients of Urban-Intalek, starting with this interview with the inspiration hip-hop artist Rae Shine. Thanks to Charles and Kali from Chill Out DC for making this shoot almost effortless!
Rae shine is every engineer’s dream. She comes into the studio completely prepared, with her rhymes memorized, her tracks prepped for recording, and the ability to articulate the feeling she wants in the mix to the person behind the boards. Rae’s artistic pursuit of perfection, and never ending professionalism, reminds me that I don’t have to settle for less. Everyone who hears her flow, or watches her live show, is always surprised by the heavy, and sometimes dark, subject matter that comes from such a bright light of a person. But when you hear the overall message, of spiritual searching, redemption, and positive outlook on life, you are drawn in and want to know more. On top of being her engineer, it was a blessing to be there for her when she couldn’t get the original samples cleared on her track Savages. She asked me to step in as a producer and make it happen. Just in time for her martial arts inspired video! Check out her “More than a Mic” Interview, and then enjoy her videos and her new album “Vision Quest”. Thanks Rae!
What’s going on every body? I’m Rae Shine. I’m from Germantown Maryland. I’m pretty much from the area, I’ve been here my whole life. I’m a rapper and a singer.
What is inspiring your art right now?
What’s inspiring me artistically is getting to learn myself, and my inspiration influence from god. It keeps me moving and keeps my motivation going, and just really my ending point. That’s to help everybody. To get my message out there and at the same express what I’m going through, to share my story with the world.
Tell us about this song “New World Order”.
There’s so much violence, and so much stuff going on. Not only in hip-hop but in the world. It’s just old. I’ve learned so much. I use to be that person, where I was angry at the world and I was going ham. I didn’t care about other people’s feelings. I was hurt. I had been through a lot in life and I was hurt. But at some point in time we have to stop being the victim and just spread love. You know what I mean? It’s just reckless with how many people are dying and most of the time it’s not even the person that the person intended to kill. It’s somebodies little sister, or somebodies little brother, or somebody who wasn’t intended. Why? Why can’t we go somewhere and have a good time. That’s really the inspiration for the song and it really touched me.
What advice would you give a rookie in the studio?
I would tell them to “be yourself”. Listen to people because you need feedback, you need criticism. But at the same time don’t let it be your driving force. Do music because you believe in music. Do it because it’s coming from your heart. Do it because you love it and you feel like this is what you are here to do. You know if you stay true to that then, no matter what happens to you in this game, you are gonna be all right. Because this is not a game to be played with. This game will break the strongest of people, especially if you’re like me. Going in and doing something different. Most people will be like “What? You’re doing something different?”, because it’s hard. Believe in yourself, work hard and do your best.
What project do you have coming up?
I have a project coming out that is going to be called “I am Rae Shine” [album actual called “Vision Quest”]. That is the album that we’ll be releasing. It’s 11 songs. It should be coming out in the fall. Probably about October or November at the latest, I’m hoping. I’ve got two videos coming out soon, so you’ll probably seeing that at the same time you are seeing this. It will be “Destiny” and “Savages”. These are some very special projects. Looking forward to the ending result. I got a new little twist, a little spin on things. You guys will definitely see that. You should check me at www.raeshine.com, you should check me out on twitter @raeshine1. I’m just looking forward to touching the world, and I hope you guys buy my music.
Bomani Armah is The Watermelon Man 