Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Shif-T: I grew up in NE & SE Washington, DC. I came from a family of singers, and musicians so I was destined to enter the entertainment industry.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Shif-T: I had various artist names in the past that stemmed from my different styles of rap, but Shif-T stood out the most. I’ve always been an ecletic/versatile artist, so the name described me well. My mom named me Da NightChild though, because I was always a night owl since I was a kid.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Shif-T: Online music sharing is cool. I give music away sometimes to my real supporters as a thank you for supporting me as an artist.
Shif-T: I would say stay consistent, perform as much as possible in state and out, record as much material as you can, and do as many videos as possible because fans love visuals and it helps you to gain fans and become relevant in the game.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Shif-T: Every artist has a made a mistake before during a performance. As an artist you have to be creative and always how to improvise and recover quick, so the crowd doesn’t recognize it. The crowd doesn’t know where you’ve went wrong unless you let them see you sweat, and that’s not something you should ever let them see you do.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Shif-T: I’ve done tours before. When you on tour we all tend to party and turn up a lot, but you have to always remember that you’re there to fulfill a task, so you have to stay focused.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Shif-T: I can get inspiration from something as small as a general conversation, an instrumental, or a real life experience. I don’t have a particular writing process, I let my word play freefall and I relay it as it comes to me.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Shif-T: I can’t say that, I have any embarrassing songs on my player, because I love all styles of music and how music has evolved over the years.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Shif-T: I would start my own record label, get a studio, and heavy promote my music throughout the US and overseas.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Shif-T: I don’t own my own studio, but I work out of Listen Vision studios using Protools.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Shif-T: Online promotion is the best way to promote your music, and networking is the key factor in becoming successful in the business.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Shif-T: If I could perform with any artists it would be Prince at Madison Square Gardens in NY. I would say Prince, because he is my favorite artist, and he is a musical genius, and eclectic/alternative just like myself.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Shif-T: I’m working on my upcoming mixtape called The Phoenix, and I will unravel another side of Shif-T fans have yet to see so stay tuned.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Shif-T: If I didn’t do music, I would probably be a therapist. Reason being, because I enjoy working with people, and making a difference.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Shif-T: I was always a little big kid, and followed the older hip hop artists, so MC Lyte’s “Eyes on This” was the first album I bought. You couldn’t tell me nothing, after learning her songs, because I was beyond excited.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Shif-T: It can be very hard working a 9-5, and doing music. I just try to remember that music is my passion and my dream, so I have to always make time for it and give it some priority in my life no matter what.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Shif-T: Look forward to seeing Shif-T standing out more and being the next female artist up in the rap game, and also catch your girl on the screen, because I’m doing some acting in a few upcoming webisodes, and indies films. The best is yet to come..this is my year!!!
