Exposed Vocals Interviews Shanese
Shanese Thomas is an independent recording artist from the small town of Aiken, South Carolina. Her musical journey began at the age of fourteen.
Music was not at the top of Shanese’s list at all until her mother discovered she could sing one night during family karaoke. From that moment music became her passion.
It took a lot of work for her to find herself and her own sound. In the beginning she was so unsure so she would let her manager do all the writing for her. The development of her unique style is the result of musical influence of Brandy and Alicia Keys. Shanese has a sound like no other and her music can get you in any mood for any occasion.
Shanese has worked with many producers and has been scammed out of lots of money because of promises made by people only looking for personal monetary gain but it was not until after working with Melvin Blakely that she realized that making music was her main goal. She began to showcase her talent in various venues across the Carolinas and Georgia. That relationship was short lived because she was still so young and still had her schooling to tend to but he never stopped believing in her. Eventually she stopped doing shows and did not start again until after graduating high school.
As Shanese grew older, her confidence grew and her style developed, she soon saw a loyal following begin to grow and she became a popular local hit in her home town of Aiken, South Carolina.
Although her name was continuing to grow in South Carolina , it was not here that she was going to become a star. She is now slowly expanding to surround areas of South Carolina.
Shanese’s musical ambitions continue to grow. She is now traveling and writing more than ever now and is going more attention as she releases new music.
Her hit single “Little Secret” featuring her younger brother Devaje Mathis is making waves in the Carolinas. Her latest hit Heartbeat Suicide is also gaining some attention. Both of the hits were produced by a producer out of Massachusetts named Diggy Diamond. Together they are unstoppable.
Although Shanese writes all of her music now, she will not deny any of her influences such as Brandy, Alicia Keys, Monica, Adele, and many more.
She hopes to continue her musical journey and find herself soon sharing her music with the world.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Shanese: I grew up in the small town of Aiken, South Carolina. I always loved to sing but I never took it seriously until I was about fourteen years old. My mother bought my little sister a karaoke for Christmas and I used it one night to sing Alicia Keys “Fallin”. She thought I was lip syncing over her music. From then on she started booking me shows and recording sessions. Up until now music is my passion.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Shanese: Shanese is my real name. Different producers and managers would tell me not to use it because there was already a Shanice. I stuck with using it thought because being myself has always been important to me. We have the same name but we are not the same person.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Shanese: Online music sharing is cool. I am not as known as I would like to be so right now a lot of my music is free to stream, however, not available for download. I do this in hopes to get the attention of the “right” person.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Shanese: Do as many shows as possible. Travel and link up with as many people as you can. Invest is your music.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Shanese: Almost everything I write comes from personal experience. I would call my producer up and say, “Hey, I’m feelin some type of way, send me some beats.” I would get them and just sit and listen and everything else falls into place.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Shanese: I am currently on Reverbnation and I use soundcloud as well. I even have it on my personal facebook page.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Shanese: I would let each of my children pick a place to vacation and I would invest the rest of the money in my music. I take care of some promo, studio sessions for more music, etc.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Shanese: I usually use Reverbnation to find different opportunities. I would also use Eventbrite. I am an indie artist without management or promo team so I make sure I use all avenues of opportunities.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Shanese: I have a movement I am putting together to help young girls who have problem with bullies, insecurities and any other issues that young girls face on a daily basis. I was inspired to start this when my producer Diggy Diamond sent me a beat called Exposure. I knew exactly what I could do with it as soon as I heard it. Words came to me instantly because I thought about all the young girls in the media who have committed suicide do to the selfish acts of others. As I was writing the song I knew it was real because it brought tears to my eyes. I’m am still working on everything and don’t want to give to much detail yet until I figure out who’s going to be on board with me to make this happen. The song will also be on my album Wildfire which I am currently finishing up.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Shanese: I would have my own restaurant/bakery. I absolutely love to cook and bake.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Shanese: It comes naturally to me. I grew up very fast and responsibility is something I had to take on quick once I had my first child. I currently have a full time job Monday through Friday that I still go to everyday. I take care of that and my children during the week and do everything involving music on the weekends.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Shanese: My first album Wildfire will be out between fall and winter. That’s the main thing as well as the anti-bullying movement I mentioned earlier in the interview.