From starting rapping in the pandemic to now performing in the big stages, SHNTI has been a regular fixture in the booming hip hop scene as one of the bright young names today. Slowly moving away from the more laid back end of beatmaking, she’s completed her sonic transformation into literally a whole new tempo.
In this CLAVEL feature, we talked to SHNTI on how it’s like growing up surrounded by art and carving her own path as a young artist on an exponentially upward trajectory.
If ya’ll ever heard the name Shanti before and why it seems so familiar, then maybe you’ve heard of the 90’s RNB star Ashanti. You can definitely see the influence with SHNTI’s earlier tracks as her listening habits growing up attributed to the bops that Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Beyonce were putting out when she was a kid.
Pandemic was the peak of how SHNTI tried to encapsulate her songwriting to try this rap thing out. It eventually led to creating some chill bangers like Tabi Ka Sakin and Best Life – eventually releasing her EP ELMNT as a sort of epitome of her sound during that time.
Fast forward to our interview with her way back in December of last year, she gave us a preview of the outcome of experiencing life as an artist – an album with a more mature sound and a more sophisticated SHNTI. On the receiving end of being exposed to a lot of perspectives in the midst of social media’s boom while also being one of the youngest in the room that’s making noise in music – she’s learned to adapt and be more confident by just doing her own thing and letting her work speak for itself.
She discussed how this current phase is a culmination of her journey as an artist, absorbing all the learnings not just from performing in gigs but also working with people in different communities. This extends to her wanting to be seen more of an all-around artist rather than solely just a musician.
“Being SHNTI as a musician helps a lot by being Ashanti as a graphic artist.”
Her debut album Melting PT. is SHNTI dabbling with electronic music amidst a whole collection of influences while also remaining true to her identity: the melting point per se in creative juices that led to this high octane rundown of 13 songs. It’s her embracing the inspirations that she grew up with, the influences that she grew as an artist with, and the lessons regarding the nuances of musicality and technicalities all fused together.
Pairing up with fellow visionaries of the craft for select tracks of her album such as with U-Pistol for the video game inspired-bop final fantasy, and with Pette Shabu for an angst-heavy expressive beat DND; the whole album is hiphop, electronic, and experimental all rolled into one without being boxed in those genres.
Another highlight of this whole project are the visuals accompanying most of the tracks of the album. It’s a total labor of love with how each visualizer is meticulously made from crafting the concepts to executing each one in all of its mixed media glory. All of these are a product of SHNTI’s own creative direction that reflects the mindset of an artist who knows what she wants out of her works.
“My goal right now is honestly to be seen as an artist, more than a rapper, because I’m doing a bunch of things than just music. Everyone’s doing their own thing and I’m just trying to be different.”
SHNTI has long arrived as a musician even way before. She’s always pushing upwards towards the next steps on what to do to fully express herself as a creative. By going against the grain of the typical hiphop formulas and diving into different creative mediums allowed her to elevate her identity, as she’s moving onto another level that further lifts her up as one of the bright young names that you should pay attention to.
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