He Said, She Said Shalonda

Remember this?

In late 2009 we introduced you to our newest AUTHENTIC chick Shalonda & her mixtape Just Go. We had the privilege to chat with her last month about the radio, the random, & the real. Portion control is key. And we don't want to discourage your sexy. So push that cheese danish to the curb & nibble on the first helping of our three part conversation. It's filling. It's fat free. It's for you. Bon appetite.

Mikey: Thank you so much for agreeing to chat with us. What's one change you wish to see or hear on the radio & on music television?

Shalonda: I'd like to hear REAL music. And when I say "real" I don't mean that in a music snob kind of way. I mean that in a you can actually feel the music kind of way. Not just the beat. Intentional words, Intentional sounds. Honesty. Lyrics that call up memories. That make you think. Make you happy. Make you wanna break up or fall in love...it's just honest...based on what's played on the radio today, when people look back on this generation of popular music, they'll think we were in perpetual party mode. Almost everything on pop radio is about getting wasted and/or shaking your ass...and I don't think that's a REAL representation of what people are doing. EVERYBODY can't be at the club. C'mon son!

Mikey: What was your inspiration for the mixtape? Why'd you choose the songs that you chose?

Shalonda: I was actually working out when i got the idea. I was running the stairs in my apartment building when the instrumental for dj khaled's "i'm so hood" came on. For some reason, I started singing " 'round midnight." Then I started laughing, kept working out and brushed it off. Later that night I told my friend what popped in my head and he was like "You should try it." So I did.

There's a quote by Arthur Ashe that I always refer to when i feel my back is against a wall. He said "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." I can't even begin to tell you how those simple words affected me. I realized that the only thing i could do was use what I had at that very moment. And at the moment, all I had was some instrumentals, a mic and some software.

The craziest part of the whole process was that I had no idea what I was doing AT ALL. I had no idea how to even use recording software, how to set it all up, knew nothing about mics, preamps, nothing about levels, nothing about recording, nothing about nothing. I just went in and felt my way around in the dark and I actually got a mixtape out of the process. And learned a lot.

As far as the songs go, I wrote down all the jazz standards that I've come to love over the years. Then I started going through instrumentals to see what made me dance, made me sad, made me SOMETHING. I just picked things i could FEEL. Everything else happened pretty organically. Certain songs just made sense to me. I thought it would be dope to re-imagine these songs that I'd loved all my life over contemporary tracks.

Mikey: So what is your greatest fear?

Shalonda: I’m afraid of giving up.

TO BE CONTINUED...

'til then...stay AUTHENTIC. Check in next Wednesday for part two of the Shalonda interview.

Sneak peak:

Mikey: When did you know you had a gift to share or a story worth hearing?

Shalonda: I believe everyone is born with the same story to share, and that's LOVE...who knows---in ten years, I could be a glass-blowing trapeze artist. But the message is always the same.