Interview: Shawn Chrystopher (3/24/10)

Shawn Chrystopher’s buzz has been growing steadily since our last interview, and with yesterday’s release of The Audition EP, hosted by Mick Boogie and Terry Urban, it doesn’t look like it’ll be dying down anytime soon!

Last night, Shawn flew out to NYC to perform at SOB’s with Hot 97’s DJ Quiz, only to catch a flight back to L.A. hours after his set.  The trip was well worth it though, as Shawn got a chance to rock his new music in front of a packed house of NYC tastemakers and fans alike.

Though the crowd might not have recognized all of Shawn’s songs (his EP only dropped earlier that day), his stage presence and energy had them feeling the set.

HipHopAtLunch.com met up with Shawn Chrystopher after the show to talk about The Audition EP, what it was like to work with Zena Foster in the “No Snitchin’” video, and putting the personal record, “Untitled,” back into his live set.

Shout out to DJ Quiz, sitting next to Shawn during our interview.

I respect the way Shawn answered my question concerning his goals around the recent EP.  While it’s always important to set goals for you’re work, it’s even more important to love what your doing.  Along with Shawn, I too hope that people will respect the effort he put into The Audition.  From the looks of Shawn’s retweets, people are already feeling it.

I’m surprised more people don’t know of Shawn’s production skills, since he put together the whole A City With No Seasons album along with Zaire Koalo.  Having said that, I’m glad to hear that Shawn’s still making beats with the TV on mute, because as funny as that sounds, it really adds a storyline element to his work.

Here’s some visuals for the three tracks we spoke about in the interview:

Shawn Chrystopher – “No Snitchin’”

This entertaining video was put together really well, but even more entertaining was Shawn’s account of how it came to be.  It was pretty hilarious hearing him talk about sending the track to his friends via instant messenger and getting their mixed reactions – including my favorite, “who is this?”  I can sympathize with that question, however, as his voice definitely went down a few octaves for the track.

Envisioning Shawn taking Twitpics of Zena Foster during the video shoot was also pretty funny!  Here’s a quick look at some of Shawn’s lines, in case the visuals were distracting you from hearing the lyrics.

“Fresh up out the jet, about to watch Kobe ball,
I’mma treat ya like the law, and I ain’t fuckin round wit ya’ll,
I be sitting on the floor, about to bring the wine out,
Be so close, get the ref, I’m bout to call a time out,
After that I’m on Rodeo, I be spending all my pesos,
With my girl, she got ass, you probably think I run with J.Lo,
I get money motherfucker, in a way that you can’t stop it,
I get pounds, I get pounds, like a fucking trending topic,
I get dollars, I get dollars, I ain’t worried about no cents,
Then I’m back to hittin purple like a groupie fuckin Prince.”

There’s some great word play mixed in there concerning topics ranging from Prince to Twitter.  Here’s a link to Shawn’s live performance of the track.

Shawn Chrystopher – “Untitled” (Live)

Passionate lyrics, like those found in “Untitled,” mixed with Shawn Chrystopher’s hit-making ability are the most exciting parts of the young emcee’s work.  After a close listen to his verses, you’ll see that Shawn can really get to your emotions.

“There’s no misconception to say she’s perfection,
The object of my affection with no question,
No guessing, no fights, no argument,
What you meant, then there aint no stressing,
See she don’t ever, ever lie,
She is my heart, she would never ever die,
But if she did, bet I’m goin with her,
I won’t spend my life on this Earth being bitter,
I don’t need two girls in my house like John Ritter,
I don’t need no girl who dresses like prom pictures,
See this girl loves me for me,
Yea me for me, is that so hard to see?”

Getting the crowd to snap along while performing the track was definitely a good look, and effectively brought the ladies toward the stage for the rest of his set.

Shawn Chrystopher – “The Reason”

I’m happy that Charles Yi of The Mighty Fifty convinced Shawn to do this impressive video for “The Reason,” because as I mentioned in my Connecting with the Listener article, videos that show the artist’s personal side can greatly connect with fans.  “The Reason” is featured as a bonus track on The Audition, where the video’s a caplla was put over Eminem’s “Mocking Bird” beat.

Shout out to Terry Urban, Diggy Simmons, Donny Goines, and Emilio Rojas who came out last night, Emilio Sparks who hosted the event, and KamYeWest and Jessica for providing the sick photo at the top of this post!

For more on Shawn, check out dude’s website, HonourRoleStudent.com, where you can download The Audition EP and peep his entertaining blog!