We met with the Menace of Music: an interview with rising musician Shy High
shelby sawyer
Jan 10, 2022
5 min read
"Fucking up the Hip-Hop scene" at 20 years old, musical supervillain Shy High has captivated his audience with not only his "idgaf" attitude, but also his unique style of hip-hop. With tracks that feature an unbeatable combination of hype and chill vibes and an insane amount of beat switches, Shy High's songs sound like a villain origin story in the making (see "princess" and "malice at the pix," to name only a few) and are already changing the face of hip-hop. With over a million streams (and even more to come), Shy High's hit song "independent films" has shocked many hip-hop fans. With multiple beat changes and pitch switches, "independent films" does a great job of highlighting Shy High's talent as a musician. However, Shy High's talent doesn't stop at "independent films." He currently has seven singles out that are equally good if not better, and his success continues growing each day. After amassing such a large platform on Spotify, TikTok, and Instagram, Shy High has a lot of "next steps" in his blooming career. Instead of leaving his fans speculating as to what else he has up his sleeve, Shy High joins us this Monday for a very special interview to keep us updated about the exciting things to come! To get an inside look at Shy High's career and what's on the horizon, check out our interview with him below:
Q: being 20 years old and already obtaining an audience is very rare in the music industry, however that obviously has not stopped you. has music always been something you have wanted to do/something you have set yourself up to do or has your rise to fame happened pretty spontaneously?
A: Music has always been what I knew I would do. My family is very musical and I started performing in talent shows and at open mics when I was maybe 10 or 11. I put my first original on YouTube when I was 12 and released several songs on SoundCloud in the years following. So yes, I definitely think this is something I’ve set myself up for and sort of always expected eventually
Q: I have been so impressed with all of your work and your style of music is very different from other artists especially with all the beat switches you use to make your music unique. When starting to create music, who/what did you turn to when looking for inspiration on what to incorporate into your songs?
A: Thank you! I think my biggest sources of inspiration came from the Beastie Boys, Kanye, and Pharrell. My dad played a lot of Beastie when I was growing up and I think that’s where a lot of my love for old school breaks and patterns comes from. Listening to Kanye really put me on to sampling in beat production, and I almost always work with samples in my beats now. And then Pharrell, he’s an artist I’ve really just gotten into over the past 4-5 years and just the energy and imagination he produces with has been huge for me inspirationally
Q: independent films, your most popular song, has over a million streams on Spotify which is very impressive! Is independent films your favorite song that you’ve put out or do you have another favorite that you think people need to pay more attention to?
A: I love independent films, but I think Lawsuit is my personal favorite. There’s so many good lines in that song and I just love how the snare pattern works with the rest of the track. That pattern is so chaotic but to me it just works perfectly. I also did a really sick music video for Lawsuit that is like a whole story in itself so that might make me biased haha. But either way, Lawsuit is my favorite so far
with gaining such a large audience in such a short period of time, do you plan on doing shows in the future? if so what are your top five cities you’d like to preform in?
Yes, I definitely want to start doing shows as soon as possible. I feel like this stuff I’m making now would be so fun live in a room with a bunch people who are into it and we’ve got all these cool ideas for how we could create an environment that matches me and the music. I’m stoked to start shows
My top 5 cities right now would be Portland, LA, Seattle, New York, and Dallas
Q: with the recent release of princess (my favorite track you have released so far, it makes me feel like a supervillain) and malice at the pix, do you have plans to release your first studio album anytime soon? what do you think this album will mean to you personally, and if it is in the works what are three words you would use to describe the “vibe” of the album?
A: I don’t have any album plans as of right now, I think I’ll continue putting out singles until I feel I’m at a place where an album makes sense. But when I get to that point I know the project will mean a lot. I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t special, and I’ll definitely make sure that whatever it is is worth the wait. Even though there’s no album right now I think the three best words to describe what I’m doing and plan to do are innovative, nostalgic (sort of an oxymoron but it makes sense), and exciting
Q: lastly as the new year begins, what are some goals you have as an artist, and how do you see yourself succeeding and growing this year. What are some things that shy high fans can be looking forward to in 2022!
A: I think the biggest focus for me this year is getting into doing shows. Obviously I’m gonna keep releasing music and growing sonically as an artist, but I really want to start performing and getting out there with people. I wanna be everywhere. I’m also hoping to collab with a lot of other artists this year and we definitely have our sights set on some ambitious features so I’m really excited to see where that goes. Shy High fans should be hyped to keep growing with me! I feel like I’m just getting started even though I’ve been at this for almost 10 years. I wanna fuck up the hip hop scene and build my own thing
With tons of exciting new things to look forward to in 2022 with Shy High, I recommend checking out his music if you haven't heard any of his tracks yet! Each one of his singles is unique and captivating. As an artist Shy High is very interactive with his fans, and we are extremely grateful to be able to interview him! We're excited to watch as Shy High's success only continues growing higher. If you are looking for an artist that you can claim you listened to before he was "famous," you better hop on the Shy High train now because his rise to the top is proving to be almost as fast as his flow.
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