Shanelle Gabriel

Brooklyn’s own Fly poet songstress Shanelle Gabriel: A new generation of women who rip the mic

BGR: Would you say that you are a fly poet?

SG: Yeah, as well as a singer, poet and vocalist.

BGR: For those of us who may not know who you are where are you from in Brooklyn?

SG: I’m from East Flatbush, Brooklyn born and raised. I’m of Trinidadian descent but Brooklyn is my home.

BGR: When did you get involved with the art form and who inspired you?SG: A friend of mine name James whose pen name is “Rip” he started an open mike scene in Brooklyn and that’s when I got exposed to spoken word as an art form. Then I started going to the Newyorican Poetry Café. It was really wonderful to see all of these people do poetry and it made me feel that I could do it to. After a while, I started doing it more and more and then I began to take it seriously.

BGR: Do you write all of your own material?

SG: I write all of my own stuff and I have songs that I have written as far back as when I was six years old. Actually it’s a lot easier to write a poem than a song because you don’t have to think about melodies.

BGR: In some of your material you dove deeply into relationships, love as well as, things that have happened in high school. Would you say that your life has been deep and that many people can relate to your journey?

SG: I think it’s what made it easier for me to reach people because of the life led. I think that a lot of people have a story they want to tell and I’m telling mine. I think its beautiful thing to be able to share with people what you’ve been through and have them relate.

BGR: When you perform live who is your audience?

SG: It’s been mostly women. A lot of my messages reach women, but I have men who check it out also and they think it’s pretty cool as well.

BGR: When you’re out performing, how different is your audience when you perform in a city like Brooklyn versus a place like Oakland or even Washington State? Do you have to get your mind right as you prepare for any given city?

SG: I try my best to have the same energy no matter where I am. Basically, I just tell my story whether it’s for three minutes or for fifteen minutes and you’re either going to feel me or you won’t. I do know that when I leave NY I have to slow down because people will say that I speak very fast. That’s about the only thing I can think of that changes. I’ve performed at all black colleges as well as all white colleges and the thing that connects everyone is experience, because so many people go through it. So what I write about people can relate no matter where they’re from.

BGR: You have a CD titled “Start Something”, what do you hope audiences will come away with when they check you out?

SG: I just want people to come away with the thought that if you have a dream you can achieve it no matter what anyone tells you. I knew I wanted to make a CD and I made one even though I had so many obstacles. This CD was the beginning of me pursuing my dreams and testifying to other people that whatever you dream is possible, as long as you believe that you can do it. That is basically what “Start Something” is about, making a big change in my life.

BGR: Are you working on any other projects at this time?

SG: I’ve actually started another album that hasn’t been titled as of yet, but it will be a continuation of “Start Something”. I’m looking into who the producers will be as well as doing a lot more live work. BGR: Are we going to hear more sing because you have a bomb voice.

SG: Thank you. The next album will have more singing on it. I’ve been singing my whole life, but I got really comfortable with the poetry and it was very easy on this album to just focus on that because that’s where I got confident on stage. It was where I got confident as I was writing more poetry. On the next album, I really want to focus on my song writing abilities. I’m also working on a video that will be shot next year for one of the tracks on “Start Something”.

BGR: Are you cool with where your life is right now?

SG: I am beyond blessed. This is a dream for me and it’s just the beginning of everything I am planning to do.