She Real Is Ready To Empty The Clip - Discusses Music, Life & Finding Her Voice
“After being assaulted, I made myself vulnerable to the wrong people. Weed, alcohol, and sex were my crutches. But then I realized music was my thing, and that’s how I broke the chains.”
We often hear the term Hip Hop saved my life. Lupe Fiasco wrote an ode to it, and She Real is giving you a 3D view of it.
Born of African American and Asian descent and rising out of Harlem, She Real brings a raw and gritty delivery, that is seasoned and clear. With a father as a musician, skilled in writing songs and playing the Electric and Acoustic Guitar, music was in her blood, but Basketball was her first love. 8 minute read
At nine years old her dad wanted her to write a song, but she wasn't interested if it wasn’t about hoops. In high school, she wrote poetry, but performed her first verse after her friend encouraged her upon hearing Real’s input on a track idea. Stepping out on that stage was the first time she felt confident. That’s how Music became her side chick while she was still married to Basketball.
She just knew her path included Spalding and not the Stage until a night that changed her life. At the age of 19, she was assaulted by her then-boyfriend. Even after such a traumatic experience, she made the hard decision of taking no judicial action on him. “I couldn’t understand how someone who loved me so much hurt me so much, but then I couldn’t see me contributing to the system.” This deep conflict of protecting those who hurt her, caused her internal turmoil as she was inflicting pain on herself. Weed, sex, and alcohol became her outlets and Basketball became a distant memory. “I didn’t feel protected. I felt powerless and music was the only thing that helped me find my voice. It changed everything. It gave me motivation and gave me a goal to work towards. Hip hop has a way of helping you deal with trauma, almost like therapy.” Hip hop indeed saved her life.
“When I realized music was my outlet it caused me to take action. If I wanted to record music I needed money for studio time, which meant I had to get a job...Just Blaze told me I needed a mic and laptop and that what’s I did. I was a bum for a year to get what I needed. If you have experience and you give me good advice, I’m going to follow it. I understand the importance of sacrifice and consistency.”
Each step she took to support her creative passion pulled her more out of her depression. Releasing her demons, allowing them to flow from the ink to the paper, provided a mental and emotional release for her. The consistency and discipline needed to make and promote music, as well as book shows, kept her on a positive and productive trajectory.
It has paid off as she’s opened up for Joyner Lucas, appeared on Sway in the Morning, Rolling Out, performed at Loaded Lux (a king of battle rap & fellow Harlemite) Top Shelf competition, as well as Kevin Liles, Producer & CEO of 300 ent., 300 Unplugged competition, and paired with lyricists Chris Rivers (Big Pun Son), and Chelsea Reject (formerly on Duck Down Records) on songs for her album, keeping company that would help her push her pen.
She Real has also gotten head nods from the likes of Earl Johnson, A&R at Roc Nation, Coke La Rock (credited as one of the founding fathers of Hip Hop), Tour Manager Christopher Patterson, Chris Brown, and Big Sean’s team when she covered his instrumentals in a 3 part freestyle, paying homage to one her inspirations. She also received recognition from Jermaine Dupree after his infamous comment about Female rappers sounding the same. She Real immediately took to Instagram with a dope freestyle that caught the renowned rapper’s attention. He couldn’t deny her lyrics and commented and reposted on how impressed he was.
Her track “So Hard” off her project Standing On My Word also touches on Dupree’s concern with females in hip hop. “I understood where he was coming from. There is a lack of balance and imagery. With black women, we need that the most. Hip Hop raises people, influences people. Now people are handling issues and not properly expressing anger based on what they watch. Social Media also impacts everyone and we need a variety of influences.”
Although being a femcee can be difficult, She Real says most of her image uncertainties were self-imposed. “I was looking at what’s out and feeling like I don’t fit. I want to show my feminine side but have to embrace my masculinity because it’s a part of who I am. Working with kids (Special Education) showed me they are comfortable with themselves when you are comfortable with yourself.”
In her pursuance of music, she shared the same struggle as other independent artists . She booked all of her shows without Management, funded, promoted, and sold her music, and built her website. She takes pride in spearheading every aspect of her projects but has a core team that supports her endeavors. She understands the importance of being hands-on and having an education in the industry beyond the Mic which prompted her to enroll in school to study Music Business. She graduated in 2020. Now she is looking towards success for her Record Label, We Realer Nation.
Her self-titled album Hi Cherelle came out in 2020 as a way to commemorate her graduation. The pandemic, unfortunately, didn’t allow for anyone to walk across the stage so she did it in her way. Here is where Cherelle intersects with She Real as she continues to settle in her skin finding her voice. “It was me in my purest form,” she says with an introspective tone.
Chasing her dream has come at a cost. she has lost personal relationships, lost faith in following her passion all while feeling the pressures of “real life”. She Real took a year hiatus questioning if this is what she should be doing, even saying, “I felt like music had ruined my fucking family that I felt like I was trying to build. I was mad at music. Me and music weren’t friends at that time,” in a way that suggested reflecting on that dark space brought back some hurt. Any artist can relate to this emotional roller coaster, and sometimes you have to get off and regroup.
In the interim, She Real put her efforts into her clothing line, Afro People Clothing. It is not just a brand but a lifestyle, in which she hopes to bring a message of embracing ourselves amid all societal pressures to change ourselves. “Anytime I have braids or have like the extensions and shit in it, it’s like, Oh, you look so nice in this. Then I’m like, why you don't give me the same type of level of love when I’m growing out my fro?... But then I noticed there's a lot of people that, they've been conditioned and indoctrinated to believe certain things, so they can't even help it. There's a bunch of people running around here that don't love themselves, and I'm saying that have certain negative mental associations with their natural being.”
When asked what’s next for She Real, she said, “I’m becoming my biggest fan again. I don't know if this is going to sound cocky, arrogant, or whatever, but I'm not like everybody else. I'm not. And the fact that I be so concerned with the unnecessary is insane.”
Her new music is promised to introduce you to the transformation of She Real. “I'm touching on every version of me. I'm not caring about other people and their opinions when I'm speaking, it's more so like I had to get this out. My name can’t be She Real and I hold back…I feel like there are people that make me feel like I'm just a pro-black righteous person twenty-four seven and I was like, that don't even make sense. I'm more Tupac and Kanye than anything. And I'm saying there's a ton of hypocrisy.”
As much as She Real loves Hip Hop, it’s rooted in her desire to also give back to her community, which is the real end goal. “We don’t have enough female moguls. I want to be the greatest of all time, and I want to open schools in Harlem.” She tells me to change that statement and iterates, “It’s what I’m going to do and not want to do.”
I asked if she had advice for femcees specifically, and she responded with, “Stand in your truth, be consistent, and learn your self-worth. It’s very important. Some people are gonna try to put you in a box and tell you who are.”
For the people at large, she wants to remind us that,” Everyone is a teacher. You are a teacher in how you carry yourself, how you talk, how you wear your hair, how you move. People take you in. If the majority of people I see are addicts and strippers, I’m not knocking you, but you are showing millions of people how to deal with their everyday problems. You have to be aware of what you are doing, and I know everyone is not given fair hand but there has to be a way to make it beneficial.”
The pandemic has put performing on hold for many indie artists. When asked if she could do a private concert and handpick the audience (dead or alive), she opted with Michael Jackson, Jay-Z, Phylicia Rashad, her father, a younger version of herself, and a little girl from Kindergarten, Lavasha.
“The pandemic was great for killing off a bunch of shit that needed to die... Anybody that's close to me, I say that all the time, I died last year. So right now, I am in a transformation, a rebirthing stage, and it feels crazy.”
Watch Video for full interview
IG @sherealtalk
Website: sherealtalk.com
Afropeopleclothing.com