We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shalon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Shalon, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Two things I always knew I could do effortlessly since i was a little girl, were singing & drawing. Even before I knew what I wanted to, I have always been drawn to creation. Growing up, I’ve always kind of felt out of place & different. Like the black sheep. It seemed like most of my classmates had an idea of what they wanted to do after highschool & I was still trying to figure it out. It wasn’t until after completing a year of college that I realized I wanted to pursue music. Thankfully, my parents supported me & I started my music journey. Now, how I got into production is actually a story I love talking about. Years ago, My father had this older keyboard that collected dust in his closet. For a long time I’ve always wanted to get it so I could play around with it. One day, while my father was overseas (my father served in the military) I asked my mother if I could take it down & she let me. That same day with the help of my little sister Alana (who is a talented singer/songwriter) we came up with a melody that would later become my original song “Crazy” my mother heard it & ended buying me my own keyboard for my 19th birthday which I tearfully accepted. After that, I wanted to be able to record the beats I came up with. Up until this point, my sister & I would take our phones & record ourselves singing & humming melodies lol. My father ended up purchasing my first studio recording software called Magic Music Maker. From there, I taught myself how to make beats. Distorted beats lol but beats nonetheless. But I was happy I was finally able to perform my own music. I was performing everywhere. It would literally just be my mother & I. My father would be with us too if we traveled far. During this time, I was able to record on an OutKast mashup Christmas album that was played on the radio every year. Also, because of my mother, I met my vocal coach Mama Jan who is also Usher’s & Justin Bieber’s vocal coach & countless others. & through her, I met my mentor Pete Vogl, who taught me the ends & outs of Logic Pro. He showed me how better my production skills, as well as engineering. He took me to another level & really pushed me as a producer. I ended up deciding to learn electric guitar among the other 5 instruments I can play & that further expanded my musical scope. Now, here’s the story of how I transitioned into art. I made a decision to take a break from music when the pandemic first happened back in 2020. I literally did a show the weekend before & then that following week, they shut down Atlanta. At that time, I was feeling a little confused about how I felt about music. I felt like the industry was toxic & I honestly just needed some space. So I had decided to find my way back to another first love of mines. I had been wanting to get into painting for a while, almost like I was drawn to it. I had never painted before this & it was new for me. I didn’t even know if I would be good, but I went for it anyway. Randomly one day, I went to Hobby Lobby bought some paint supplies & just started painting things I was into, like anime, marvel characters, etc. I starting posting my work online, gained attention & soon after I started getting commissioned to do pieces for some of my followers. It sparked my curiosity for learning how to paint & customize clothing, sneakers, etc. & gained even more attention. After speaking with my parents, they advised me to create my first business, Shalon Artwork LLC.

Shalon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a singer, songwriter, producer, & painter. As far as music goes I think what sets me apart, is now that I’m older I’m not afraid of sounding different or weird. It’s prevalent in my voice & the beats I create. The same goes for art. A lot of my original designs are weird, but that is what makes it dope. I try lose myself in both art forms, I only create what feels, sounds, & looks good to me because I know someone out there will love it too. I’m most proud of being able to step outside of the norm, which is why I didn’t stop at just painting canvases. I learned how to paint jackets, sneakers, furniture & more. I tell people all the time that I can paint anything with a surface & I strive to give my clients quality work. I constantly think of more ways I can keep raising the bar for myself.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me it’s being able to touch someone through my art & music. The look on someone’s face, as I sing or unveil an art piece makes all of the hard work & long nights worth it. I view my gifts as a way to bless others & make them feel good. There’s no other greater feeling than being able speak to someone’s soul.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As someone who had has to learn to love on herself more & to be more patient with herself, I’ve dealt with doubting myself a lot in the past. One of my goals is to show & prove to myself that I can do this & be successful. Also for my family, they’ve made sacrifices for me & I don’t want those sacrifices to have been made in vain.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @shalonmusic & @shalonartwork
• Facebook: Shalon Music
• Youtube:@ShalonRaider

Image Credits
Steph C. Klowe photography Fluensee