Published: Monday - February 12, 2007
Words by Anne van de Sande
Shade Sheist (Photo: PYO)
In his early days, West Coast veteran Shade Sheist, who is known for his heavily West Coast infected flow, made an appearance on Ja Rule's Rule 3:36, but it was producer Damizza who pushed him into the limelight with the hit single, "Where I Wanna Be", and album Informal Introduction. After a successful partnership between Damizza and Shade, which ended in a much-discussed split, no one would have expected that Shade would go on to become successful independently.
It is no news that artists decide to branch out by exploring a wide variety of fields in hip-hop, but few manage to become as well-rounded as the Inglewood native. Together with rapper N.U.N.E., Shade has been running Put Yourself Out Entertainment for several years now. And with the GTA series, the PYO radio show, remix of Lloyd's hit single "You", an upcoming book and movie under their belt, no one knows how to put themselves out better than this dynamic duo. Time for Ballerstatus to get the 411 on Put Yourself Out Entertainment.
BallerStatus.com: We just kicked off '07. Did you have any New Year resolutions musically?
Shade Sheist: Well, I kinda made those resolutions during the most important quarters of '06. See I'm not the type of cat to wait until the beginning of a new year to make my moves. The steps I take today affect anything I could be doing tomorrow. But musically, I'm on a whole other level now. Forget the Shade Sheist of old. In fact, embrace him and remember all the good he did for the West Coast sound 'cause this new sh-- I'm on is about to affect the way you accept West Coast music. I take this sh-- so serious! My production network is ridiculous and I don't know if you have been keeping up with my latest... but, I got hits. I stay with them.
BallerStatus.com: PYO started out with you and N.U.N.E. back in '04. How big is the team of people -- including those working behind the scenes -- now?
Shade Sheist: We have a new roster of artists and we have built extensively on our production network, but as far as staff -- when you come to the PYO offices -- you will usually only see N.U.N.E. and myself. We handle all day-to-day office duties, take conference calls, sign and file paperwork, and negotiate all potential deals. And we get our own Red Bulls and meals!
BallerStatus.com: North Carolina Rapper Eddie Kane Jr. has recently been added to the roster. What was it about Eddie that made you want to have him on board?
Shade Sheist: Homie's drive is out of this world. I remember when Eddie Kane hit me on my personal email a few years back saying that he was "The Truth" and that I needed to f--- with him. You know, I get plenty of these types of emails daily, but I also take the time out to listen to the work because you never know if you're passing on some dollars. So, I listened to Kane's work and I was blown away. I played it for N.U.N.E. and he loved it. We played it for cats in all the major urban cities here in Cali -- Compton, Watts, Inglewood, South Central and Long Beach. And they all agreed "Eddie Kane is The Truth!"
BallerStatus.com: As the founder of PYO and West Coast veteran, how do you educate and guide upcoming artists like Eddie -- who are talented, but have less experience in this business than you do?
Shade Sheist: Well first, N.U.N.E. is actually the founder of PYO. This was a company he had established during the time I was running my own label PaperWork Entertainment. We decided to merge and I liked his company name more than mine. PYO just has a ring to it. As far as the educating of artists, Eddie Kane can vouch that I take the time out to speak to him every week and put him up on game on everything he needs to know to survive in this fast-paced, political industry. He asks any questions he may have and I let him know what's good. The same goes for any artists outside of my camp. I was helped on my way up, so why shouldn't I return the favor?
BallerStatus.com: Back in '04, you told us that you wanted to distribute your own projects, because it keeps you more driven. How do you look back on that decision?
Shade Sheist: Nothing has changed! Artists... go independent! It's the way to go, for real. Get the money you deserve, not what another company thinks you deserve. I remember an old friend telling me that you have to know your value. That's some real sh--. We have moved a gang of units through our website, PutYourselfOut.net and we continue to move them. The popularity of everything else we are doing right now just adds fuel to this fire. I love it. But, I won't sit here and say that if the right (major) deal comes along, I wouldn't be tempted to consider. I've been dealing closely with Interscope and Universal Records. If either one of them decided to finally throw me that deal, I'm definitely going to look at it.
BallerStatus.com: I understood negotiations with Geffen came to a stand still last year due to negative word of mouth. How did you handle the situation and what has been going on recently as far as deals with brands, companies and labels?
Shade Sheist: Contrary to popular belief, haters still lurk among us. The "irrelevants" tried to put us out of business, but that is impossible. What's funny is, these same irrelevant individuals, who gave their best attempt at a blackball, are steady trying to emulate our company. But as we all know, imitation is the best form of flattery. The Geffen situation was minor and so far under the radar. With the assistance of DJ Quik, I was finally able to get my real story out to the industry and that opened up the floodgates to new business, so thanks again, Quik. Always looking out for your boy. As far as business, PYO has its hands in a lot of things at the moment. Stay tuned to the movement. I don't want to speak too early and jinx this great fortune we've been having.
BallerStatus.com: You basically work independent. On the one hand, you give upcoming artists the chance to grow, but you also team up with superstars and award winning designers. That's something that a lot of artists are trying to do. How do you manage to find a balance between the best of both worlds and what advice would you artists that want to achieve the same?
Shade Sheist: It would be hard to advise any artists on how to do that because I was never advised on it. I just had to bump into walls and find my way through the darkness. I made it and that is why I have my hands in both worlds. I mean, the first single I ever released went no. 1 on the Billboard charts in the country and then went top 10 around the rest of the world. I followed that up with five top 5 and top 10 singles. Most folks didn't even know that. They know me from the GTA street albums, which are hood classics. When they watch my YouTube channel or check out my MySpace page (Myspace.com/ShadeSheist) and see all those videos of me on BET, MTV, The Radio Music Awards, they're like, "What!? When did you do all that?" PYO is selling to two generations of hip-hop lovers right now. And we're loving it. Thank God for iTunes too.
BallerStatus.com: Online radio station Swurv Radio and PYO teamed up to do a radio show, the Put Yourself Out Show. Was hosting a radio show something that you wanted to do for a long time or was this an opportunity that just came out of the blue?
Shade Sheist: Preparation met opportunity... the formula for success. I grew up in radio, I've worked alongside some important cats in the radio industry and you always hear me bragging about how I know so many MDs and PDs, but I never really thought about becoming an on-air personality. I was offered a show and I saw it as an opportunity to provide an outlet to independent artists, so I jumped on it. Now we have the no. 1 show on the no. 1 internet radio station. That's how we do it over here. Check us out every Wednesday at 6 p.m. PST and Saturdays at 10 p.m. PST on Swurvradio.com. Oh yeah, I was just hired as the Indie Music Director for SWURV Radio. So artists, if you got that hit, holla at me.
BallerStatus.com: The Game feels like he brought the West Coast back. Being an artist from Inglewood, how would you define West Coast hip-hop? Alive, dead, reincarnated? And why?
Shade Sheist: It exists. And that's about the extent of it. It's hard to showcase talent when nobody outside of this region supports us. Not to mention that our own stations here in California have pretty much turned their back on West Coast music. We get a "West Coast Wednesday." Forreal? Out of about 30 songs in rotation only seven of them are from West Coast artists. Amazing, right? No wonder nobody else supports us, we don't support ourselves! Where's the love? Especially to cats like me and my crew who strive to make nothing but hit music. But instead, they play hot garbage and brainwash America into thinkin' that this is what this genre of music is all about it. Well, PYO represents that real sh--. Ask about us.
BallerStatus.com: If you could change three things about the rap game, what would they be?
Shade Sheist: One, I would make the game less political and more talent-based. Your overall performance should be the key to landing a big deal, not cause you know homeboy whose friend is an A&R over at whatever label. Two, I would totally disinfect the radio industry and bring in a new generation of personnel. And three, I would produce a hip-hop awards show that didn't promote gimmicks, stereotypes and boring performers, not to mention one that would go off without incident.
BallerStatus.com: You are working on tons of projects. Let's start off with one of your latest remix projects. You recently jumped on a remix of Lloyd's "You", together with Lil Wayne. Can you speak a little on that collaboration?
Shade Sheist: I was invited on to that remix to cover the West Coast, while they threw the remaining coasts on the other remix featuring Andre 3000 and Nas. It helps to have DJ friends in this industry. They can help you get on anything popular. That song is blowing up now and I'm getting love from some stations on it. And it has already registered close to 6,000 plays on my MySpace page. It's a good look, or as Lil Wayne said it "It's major moves baby."
BallerStatus.com: Are you satisfied with the GTA 3 album?
Shade Sheist: I wouldn't change anything! We moved over 40,000 copies of that project internationally. And we landed some tours off of it. The artwork is the sh-- and the music is high-quality. We did everything in our power to make that a solid release and I am satisfied with the results.
BallerStatus.com: Are there any plans for part 4 yet?
Shade Sheist: The GTA series is internationally-recognized as a relevant and quality release every time, so there won't be too much changing involved. Just better music. We have recorded a few cuts for GTA 4 already, but we got so much going on right now, I'm not sure just yet when will be able to dedicate more time to it. Look out for it around summertime.
BallerStatus.com: You're also working on a book. What was the process like for you writing the book and what can the reader expect of it?
Shade Sheist: N.U.N.E. and I are writing a book called Put Yourself Out. And as the title suggests, it will be filled with valuable information, tips, tricks, experiences and industry knowledge. We want you to be able to pick up this book and basically open up a PYO franchise of your own.
BallerStatus.com: What other projects are you currently working on?
Shade Sheist: The group album, Movin' Units, is set to release during this first quarter. Then immediately following, we will be dropping solo albums from N.U.N.E., myself and Eddie Kane Jr. We are working on a few video games and a movie. You've seen clips of it on our YouTube channel. We over in Hollywood doing it big inside of The Bates Motel. Ladies, we need you! We have roles open for female actresses and dancers. If you want to audition, check out my Myspace blog for details.
BallerStatus.com: What would you like to do in the future with your career?
Shade Sheist: Retire from being an artist and kick up my feet as an executive. Put this partial college-attendance to some good use. I'm very smart, so I will always come up with something new to do. I just know I don't want to rap for too much longer. It's way too political in this industry. If I wanted to be a politician, I would run for Governor. But don't worry, I will continue to make those hits until I can't do it anymore. That's a promise.
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