Introduction
Soul Therapy is an EP by up-and-coming singer/songwriter-Shae. It was released and made available for streaming on Spotify in 2019. The project’s genre is R&B.
The EP features four tracks that were created from the artist’s personal experience. Each song is extraordinarily well written and displays a musical production that matches the vocals, establishing a unique sound that places emphasis on the fantastic lyrics throughout the project.
First Impressions
In preparation for an exclusive interview, I’ve had the opportunity to listen to the EP from start to finish several times. Each time I listen to the music, I learn something new. With every listen I discovered something unique about the collection of songs, most notably the artist’s performance on the record. Shae is an incredible singer, and a prolific storyteller. Each song has great lyrics that tell a story that draws from personal experience.
Soul Therapy has a musical composition that is executed perfectly. The music is driven by strong vocal performances. The sound of Shae’s voice is accented and underscored by an instrumentation of keys, strings and drums. There is much emphasis placed on the lyrics, which showcases her excellent skills in songwriting.
I was raised on R&B music. I have a profound appreciation for singers like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and so many others whom are singers that perform ballads or have more of a contemporary urban sound with beats that can be featured in R&B and/or hip-hop music. The genre has always had vocalists that have a unique method of approaching the art. I had the opportunity to discuss Keyshia Cole and Beyonce with the artist. When I had the opportunity to see both of these singers live, the music took on a new life because they are both strong live performers. I feel the same way about Shea, Soul Therapy and her future music. Shea sounds great on her recordings and I think that once fans get to see her perform live it’s going to be incredible.
Soul Therapy is only the beginning. The artist plans to introduce more poetry/hip-hop elements to her future music. She is inspired by legendary rappers Tupac and Lauryn Hill. Some of her future works will feature elements that are inspirated by these two hip-hop icons. The foundation for this musical direction can be heard on Soul Therapy.
In Soul Therapy, everything collaborates with each other incredibly. Everything from the overall sound of the production, to the songwriting, instrumentation and vocals; the EP’s entire production features great music with sounds that are a creative tapestry.
Track Listing
- “Brutal Truth”: the lyrics tells the story of a woman that has recently experienced a breakup and she is letting her former partner know that she is better without him. The vocals are sung with nice harmonies and melodies. The instrumentation is a collaboration between keys and drumbeat. The song is performed well, and you can hear the artist’s musical direction; “Brutal Truth” is an excellent R&B song, but it also has a sound quality that would make it perfect for poetry and hip-hop as well. “Brutal Truth” is my favorite song on the EP because musically it shows the possible directions that the artist may go in future projects.
- “Train Wreck”: The lyrics are about relationships where men seek to take advantage of women with insecurities; when the artist in the song realizes this she sings “it’ll never be the same again, cause the love we had, was just a train wreck ready to happen.” The artist sings a melodic scale that shows off her vocal range. The instrumentation is a unique blend of notes that establishes the melody of the song and drumbeat. The artist captures the emotional quality of the songwriting through the performance of this song.
- “U Don’t Know Me No More”: the lyrics depict the confusion that can be experienced in the aftermath of a breakup. The lyrics describe a woman who is lonely initially after a breakup, but discovers that she is doing well and has so much more of an opportunity to grow, develop and step into her own succusses in life. The lead and background vocals harmonize well in this song, and the artist demonstrates her vocal range with a series of higher notes. The instrumentation is the collaboration between strings and drumbeat. The performance takes an emotional situation and turns it into something positive and inspirational for the artist and listeners of the music.
- “Soul Sex”: the lyrics regard taking a relationship to a higher place, one that is beyond sexual attraction and focusing on the cosmic interaction between souls through intellectual, enlightening qualities to a relationship. “Soul Sex” features some of the best songwriting on the EP. The vocals harmonize between the artist’s upper and lower registers. The instrumentation is a variety of piano scales, notes and chords with drumbeat. There are two performances of this song: the recorded track on the EP and an official music video. Watch the official video to “Soul Sex” below:
Exclusive Interview
Dominic: Hi, Shae! Thank you so much for this. I am really looking forward to this interview.
Shae: Thanks for having me.
Dominic: Sure thing! I just wanted to ask you a few questions about the EP and what inspired it.
Shae: Ok, great!
Dominic: So, I would like to jump right into the music. Soul Therapy has a very unique sound and it’s very cohesive. All four of those tracks flow together so nicely. How did you come up with this signature sound? Did it come from jam sessions or just being in the studio? Was there a certain type of sound that you were shooting for?
Shae: Well, this is funny. My recording process is very backwards. I tend to write first. And then I would hear a beat, I find lyrics that end up going with the beat. As far as the sound, for me, it’s just if I can write to it and why I can write to it. I write first and then that’s how everything else kind of comes along.
Dominic: Do you really enjoy the process of songwriting?
Shae: Yes, I really enjoy it a lot. For me, the songwriting stems from back when I was younger. I have always been like an introvert, so, I didn’t really confide in people. I would confide in my diary and I would always write. I got familiar with writing poems and things like that and then converting them into songs.
Dominic: What was your inspiration for creating the Soul Therapy EP?
Shae: The inspiration came from a certain period in my life that I actually went through these things. It’s called Soul Therapy because I feel like I was having a therapy session with myself, and I felt like there were things that needed to be released. So, I put it in the form of an EP project. I had a moment where I wasn’t going to release it due to having these feeling come up again and having to revisit these moments. But I just went on and put it out and let the universe do what it’s going to do. See how people respond.
Dominic: I noticed that a lot of singer/songwriters are doing that since the pandemic. Soul Therapy came out some months before the pandemic took a stronghold in the U.S. I remember albums developed from personal experiences during the pandemic from artists like Taylor Swift and Adele. You had already done this in 2019. In Soul Therapy, we can feel the personal experience, and it’s a good feeling. As you’re continuing your music, are you going to continue to make it very personal from your own experience? Or is there a different direction that you would like to take?
Shae: Well, I will always give a little bit of myself away because I feel like music is me and music is a part of me. Writing things that are true to me, that’s going to always be there. But I do plan on, because where I am in my life now is in a better space, the music will change. It will sound more uppity. It will sound happier. So I guess a little bit of both, it’ll still be true to myself, but at the same time, you will see the difference as far as my songwriting and vocals, and just seeing how I grow as an artist.
Dominic: Are you going to be performing live soon? I know that with COVID and everything, that musicians are tending to perform virtually.
Shae: Things kind of died down a little bit. I actually have a tour in place. I will be going to like five different cities and states performing live. Last year and a little bit of this year (2021), COVID kind of interfered with that. I decided to make the decision to go ahead and jump out there and perform live in different places. For some reason I just feel like being in the flesh is more personal than somebody just looking at you on a screen.
Dominic: Is Missouri one of those states?
Shae: No, I actually don’t have anything here yet.
Dominic: I’m sure you’ll perform here in Missouri at some point. I definitely would like to see you perform live. I remember one thing that really struck me was a long time ago (maybe 10 years or so) I really wanted to see Keyshia Cole live; she was opening up for a guy-I’m not even going to say his name because this guy is in trouble now and I don’t want to give him any time. She opened up for this guy. I know you know who I’m talking about. I listened to this artist on the radio. Her voice was rich; it just sounded so wonderful live. Secondly, I had the opportunity to see Beyonce live and it was the same impact. I feel the same way about Soul Therapy, I’m sure the fans will love to see it performed live and see how great the music is! As for the music, will you be releasing new songs in 2022?
Shae: Oh, definitely. I will have something out. I would say the top of the year. I actually completed my second project. I’m just figuring out how I want to roll it out. It’s an EP, but it’s just like another side of myself because I actually can rap as well. It gives you the vibes of Lauryn Hill.
Dominic: That’s awesome. I grew up on The Score by the Fugees and Lauryn Hill is one of my favorite artists. So, I’m looking forward to the new project. Lastly, as far as just you, as an artist, are there any other singer/songwriters and/or hip-hop artists that you would consider a big inspiration for you?
Shae: Lauryn Hill and Tupac, for sure. I feel like they are very similar. I’m very similar to them when it comes to the way they express themselves in a way that is poetic. Those are the two that I feel like are the top for me. I’m also inspired by Mary J. Blige and old school artists like Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, and all the greats. I appreciate their rawness, the realness in their music, and even if they didn’t write the lyrics, it’s just the way they express themselves in the songs. The emotion that was shown within the music. You don’t get that much these days. So, I’m very appreciative of those artists.
Dominic: I just have one final question. On the Soul Therapy EP what is your favorite track?
Shae: “Soul Sex.”
Dominic: I saw the official video over the weekend, it’s a wonderful song. I think it focuses on intellectualism.
Shae: Yes, that’s something that’s missing in contemporary music.
Dominic: I like track four as well but I found myself being grabbed by track one-“Brutal Truth.” Thank you so much for sharing your information with me, and I wish you all the success in the world. Thanks for being here and have a great one!
Shae: Ok, you do the same!
Connect with the Artist
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfRXKhSAE4AMdaS7M6lMJMw
Amazon (buy EP): https://amzn.to/3ETIFkv