dj khALEd - Ozone Magazine

Recently acclaimed as the “Remix
Queen,” this singer/musical poet
keeps a song buzzing in South
Florida. After breaking onto the
scene a few years ago, Shonie
signed a deal with Slip N Slide/Def
Jam and is currently working on
her solo debut album Passionate
Pieces of Me.
What’s new with you
I’m working on my album. I’ve been working
with a lot of people like Brisco and Trina. Right
now we’re trying to figure out what the single is
gonna be. I don’t want to move too fast, but not
too slow either. I did a record with Flo Rida that’s
crazy. I pray to God he puts that out. I did a record
with Brianna that I’m thinking of putting out as
a single. Shouts out to her, she’s definitely one of
the best things coming out right now. I’ve been
doing crazy remixes. I just remixed “Say Aah” by
Trey Songz and I remixed Trina’s new single. We
definitely goin’ hard. The album will be coming
out this fall. It’s a new year and we wanna put out
bigger and better things.
So did you have any New Year’s resolutions
Every year we just grind harder than what we’ve
been doing. People that haven’t made it yet that
thought ’09 was gonna be they year, they’re definitely
gonna go harder. We gotta look back and
figure out what we didn’t do. Every year we want
to work harder and stay around positive people.
You’re a signed artist still working as an independent,
almost. Give us the specifics on the
label deal you have.
When I signed to Slip N Slide that’s when the Def
Jam deal came about. My name’s been out there
for a hot minute. I put out my mixtape when I was
17 and that’s what created the buzz. Def Jam saw
the spins we were getting with my single at the
time, “Can’t Let Go,” featuring Fabolous. That’s how
the deal came about. In order to keep Def Jam
interested, we gotta continue to do that, whether
it’s putting out mixtapes or a buzz record. You
can’t wait on a label, you gotta do it yourself.
Besides your singing talent, you’re known for
your songwriting abilities as well.
Oh yeah, I’ve always been writing. When I was 17,
I was already working on Trina’s album, working
with Flo Rida, Brisco, the Diddy family, Day 26.
How did you develop your talent Was it natural,
or did you practice for a long time
I was in the church. My mom was a minister so
I stayed drawn to the church. I’ve always been
around musical people. My mother sings; my
father played piano. Even when I was younger, all
I was taught to do was work on my craft.
When you put out your first album, what
impression do you want to leave with your
audience
That it’s real and I’m not trying to follow what everyone
else is doing. I’m not just trying to come
out with a club record like everyone else. I gotta
do me at the end of the day. It’s what my feeling
is. When they hear this, this is what I want them
to feel. It’s too much going on in the world not
to talk about it. Everybody’s going through relationship
problems; everybody’s going through
something. I want it to relate to everybody in the
world, where everybody can believe in it.
So are you totally opposed to doing a club
record
It’s an up and down thing. You try to figure out
whether you wanna go club or radio or what’s
gonna work faster. Every artist always goes
through that. Honestly, it’s up to the people,
because they have to accept it. They have to let
you know what’s working. That’s what we’re trying
to do now, let the people decide. We’ve been
testing records on the internet and radio station
to get everyone’s opinion.
Do you have any concrete records that you
know for sure will make the album
Ah, we have one called “Lights, Camera, Action”
that was produced by Midus of Golden Child
Productions. It was a buzz record so I know it’s
definitely going on the album.
So what would be some of the biggest moments
in your career so far
When I sang in front of L.A. Reid. I didn’t think
I was gonna get through that. My palms were
sweating and that was a scary moment, but I
got through it. When he said, “Welcome to Def
Jam,” that was the greatest thing. A lot of people
dream of that. Wherever God takes me, that is
always gonna be one of my proudest moments.
Where will you be during Super Bowl weekend
I’m going to be everywhere, at all the hottest
parties. We’re gonna pop bottles for Super Bowl
Weekend. //
OZONE MAG // 9