Shala. is straight outta hip-hop 'hood -- period
PREVIEW | Chicago 'indie kid' breaks with traditions
He'd like you to know his name is Shala. That's Shala. -- with a period. And this all-encompassing artist would also like you to know he may be leading the most important movement on Chicago's hip-hop scene. It's a movement he's confident will transform Chicago into "the world's next music Mecca."
Shala., a self-described "indie kid" who grew up the son of strict Nigerian immigrants in the Winthrop Towers on the North Side, brings his Chicago juke/electro hip-hop to Schubas tonight. He'll share the bill with Mic Terror, Bully in the Hallway and a few others.
Growing up, "all my friends were street," Shala. said after a recent DJ set at the Hard Rock Hotel. "All my influence came from the street. I was always the weird one among thugs and gang-bangers. I was always that dude. I don't know why that world drew me. But there was just more to tell about that world. More stories."
The management and production company Shala. runs with partner Mo Billionaire is appropriately titled the Movement Worldwide Inc. Its roster of up-and-coming hip-hop artists includes local acts Hollywood Holt, Million Dollar Mano and Mic Terror.
"I spot the creative and I know how to guide it," said Shala. "But I'm not really into the money. I'm not really into all that fame. I'm about the music. I'm about the artist, the art. I'm old-fashioned like that."
The former Shala Esquire first came on the scene as a member of the four-piece hip-hop phenomenon Qualo. The group amassed a huge underground following, selling thousands of CDs without a record deal.
But when the group signed with Universal in 2004, things changed. Qualo, whose style Shala. describes as intelligent rap with conscience, was put on the label's back burner while acts like Lil Wayne, Juvenile and T.I. dominated mainstream radio. Qualo broke up. Its members -- friends Shala. met at Lane Tech High School -- remain close.
After Qualo broke up, Shala. began spending more time with the local favorites and Lollapalooza alums Flosstradamus, Kid Sister and the Cool Kids (along with Holt, Terror and Mano).
"We would go to each other's parties, play juke, get on the mic and just rap," said Shala. "This whole scene just developed naturally."
The roots of the current incarnation of the Movement took hold. Today, Shala. is reluctant to yield even an iota of creative control when it comes to his music. And through online and street distribution venues, coupled with word-of-mouth marketing, he and the rest of the Movement shouldn't have to.
These artists exist outside the stereotype of the hip-hop artist, yet they retain the edge and authenticity they need to be taken seriously and the business acumen needed to succeed in a tough industry.
"One thing I love about [the Movement] is we're completely gangsta," said Shala. "We know that we put ourselves on so you're not going to come to us with a willy-nilly deal. I turned down two deals already. Cool Kids constantly turn down deals. The record deal stuff is dead."
Shala. continues work on his first solo album, but the nature and date of its release is uncertain.
"We're going to see who wants to partner with us," he said. "Whoever decides to release my masters -- uncompromised -- deserves to work with me."