We recently connected with Sheila Teague and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sheila thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I have always had a passion for the arts ever since I was a child. Eversince I can rememer I was the quiet kid in the back of the class who would either draw, write short stories, or hum the latset hit on the radio. As I grew into my teens I became interested in poetry which would later develop into rap. Given my quiet demeanor I would often be teased or picked on in my early adolescence. I always felt as though my words were my escape or super power in a since. By the time I graduated from highschool I slightly entertained the idea of me pursuing music. I was very hesitant at first considering that the genre of “female rap” was taking off at the time. I didn’t want to necessarily pursue what everyone else was doing. Nor did I think I had a good shot at actually developing a career in music. “I don’t look like everyone else, my style is not necessarily mainstream radio.” “What chances, do I really have of making it in the entertainment industry?” I would eventually make the decision to pursue music anyway despite my fears because I realized my passion for creating outwieghed my fears. One day I was asked to speak at an event regarding mothers who had lost their children to gun violence. I went to perform my poem that I wrote for the event. After performing, one of the mothers came up to me and hugged me for atleast three minutes or so but, it felt like forever. I began to cry as did she. She explained to me how much she appreciated mt poem. That day on I said to myself “I don’t care if I get famous or not, my words are powerful!” “This is exactly what I need to be doing!”

Sheila, 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?

My name is Sheila Nicole. I am from Dallas, Oakcliff, Tx. I have a retro sound to me. I am hiphop and neo soul music combined, Even though I didn’t start off rapping. I have always had a love for words. I would always write short stories or poems eversince I was a child. I get most of inspirations from 90’s hiphop & R&B. Some of my main influences are Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliot, Queen Latifah, Erykah Badu, Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj, etc. I write music for those who were given every reason to not feel empowered, for those were told to remain quiet. I want my music to give any one who hears it confidence and inspiration to make those around them feel the same way. I have not always felt confident even now I sometimes struggle with my own insecurities however, my faith and passion gives me the capability to go through and overcome my own shortcomings. I am most proud of making a conscoius effort to go out and performand being able to make the connections I have made. I am terribly shy around new people however, I have been able to overcome that fear and continue to do so. I want anyone that listens to my msuic to know that I am not perfect, no one is , however you can do anything you set your mind to and what is for you will be for you. As cliche as that sounds, being able to do what you set your mind to is the truth! I am here to uplift and inspire when the world tells you otherwise!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I feel as though society can best support artists by allowing them to be themselves and not placing artist at a certain level on a pedastal. I think as a society it’s important that we listen to things from a place of understanding. It’s important to not be so quick to cast a certain level of judgement on to others. Often times society will have a certain perspective on what they think an artist especially form a particular genre of music such as hiphop is suppose to either look or sound like. Through out the years I think there has been slight progression when embracing artist who may be deemed as “different” or those who challenge the status quo however, I still think we have a ways to go. I also feel as though it is best that we understand that artist are “people” just like everyone else. Most of what we as artist experience is expressed through our art. Some of what we experience may be either positive or negative however it’s our experience that may help someone else to not feel alone.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding part abobut being an artist are the moments I get to experience that are ultimately priceless. Whenever I perfrom and I hear someone say “this brought me out of my sadness”, ” I came back just to see you peform”, or ” Your voice is so powerful” it gives me motivation to keep going. Whenever I question my own capabilities, I think back to those moments and remember how far I have come. It’s rewarding to know that I initially started off rapping in my dorm room with no one present to releasing an EP and being requsted to perform at an event. Knowing that I have grown confirms for myself that I can do whatever I set out to do as long as their is breath in my body. That confirmation beats out any form of compensation or award, any day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @snt_snt97
• Twitter: @sntdallas
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sheila+nicole

Image Credits
Photo creds: IG: @Louitheking_photography & @digitalelwphotography MUA: @vanitybyjustqbeauty & Jennifer Arlise