Shanelle's Starting Something

"Aim High" - the New Album Available Everywhere NOW!

Shanelle Gabriel — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:21:19 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Shanelle Gabriel's new album "Aim High" available NOW!

Shanelle Gabriel shows that "Lupus can't hold her" with the release of Aim High today, May 15th, 2013, right in the middle of Lupus Awareness Month. A true fusion of all of her talents, Aim High displays Shanelle's prowess as an award-winning poet and vocalist. A fusion of spoken word, soulful singing, and hip-hop that speaks on love, being diagnosed with Lupus, inequality, and seizing the day, Aim High strives to comfort and empower those battling life's daily challenges all while keeping heads bobbing. This album is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, and on her official website www.shanellegabriel.com.

NYC can get autographed copies of Aim High at Shanelle's album release party TONIGHT, May 15th at 6:30pm at Negril Village Lounge (70 West 3rd Street, NYC). At this release party, she will be performing two songs, and DJ Jon Quick (of WBLS 107.5 FM) and DJ Commish (of Music Choice) will be spinning several songs off the album as well the best in Hip Hop/ R&B/ Reggae/Soca. No cover and 21+ only with ID.

Aim High features appearances by Kel Spencer (emcee and songwriter for Will Smith, Lil Kim, and more), rapper Livewire (who's latest single features Jim Jones), ATL's Willie Hyn, Christian femme-cee HeesunLee, and beatboxer GreyMatter. It also features a comedic cameo from SpokenReasons, the YouTube star and lead actor in Sandra Bullock's new movie "The Heat."

All poems and songs were written by Shanelle Gabriel with production from Chris "Theory" Bradley from Atlanta, the JahRock'n Productions team in NYC, Marshall "Soulful" Jones in LA, and the Bronx's own DJ Static. This album has many notable tracks including the percussion-driven, powerfully-sung "Damn Near" and the humorous, nostalgic crowd-favorite "Crushing Hard." She tells the inspiriting story of her diagnosis with Lupus in "Vanity," a poem that she's shared at numerous events and walks for Lupus. This album and the videos for it are set to receive coverage and press from several prominent websites, including Vibe.com, as well as airplay on numerous independent & college radio stations.

Shanelle Gabriel has toured nationally and internationally, hitting cities from LA to Vancouver to Johannesburg, South Africa. She has shared stages with artists such as Eric Benet, Talib Kweli, Nas, Erick Sermon, and more. She appeared on HBO's Def Poetry Jam alongside Jill Scott and DMX, was spotlighted on the Rachael Ray Show, Fox News, and KAYA 95.9 FM- Johannesburg, and was recognized for her work by Listerine and Wal-Mart in the "Your Mouth Matters" campaign. This follow-up to her first album Start Something (winner of the 2008 Atlantic City Alternative Soul Best CD Award) aims to propel Shanelle Gabriel to even greater heights in her career.

ATLANTA, SAVE THE DATE!-> Shanelle's album release concert will be next THURSDAY, May 23rd at EPeriod's "S.M.A.R.T. Thursdays" at Acoustix Jazz Restaurant & Lounge (840 Marrietta St, Atlanta, GA) at 8:30pm.

Follow Shanelle Gabriel (@ShanelleG) on Twitter and use the hashtag #AimHigh on all your social networks!

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WEBSITE: www.shanellegabriel.com

SOUNDCLOUD: soundcloud.com/shanellegabriel

TWITTER: twitter.com/ShanelleG

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/ShanelleGabriel

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/FriendsofShanelleGabriel

Some Pics from My Performance at East Orange Library

Shanelle Gabriel — Sat, 04 May 2013 10:50:26 +0000

Hey all! I had a dope show in East Orange, NJ's public library on Thursday, May 2nd. So thankful to Elijah Brown for hosting such a great community event.

May is Lupus Awareness Month...

Shanelle Gabriel — Thu, 02 May 2013 01:54:52 +0000

May is here, and it's Lupus Awareness Month!

Between the "LupUS is US: Inspiring Words of Survival" Show in NYC on May 9th and World Lupus Day Flash Mob on May 10th, if you follow me this month, you'll be hearing me speak a lot more about Lupus (the illness I was diagnosed with in 2004 that affects more than 1.5 million Americans each year.)

Hear more about living with Lupus in my HooplaHa interview here:

TEDTalks: "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" (Great video)

Shanelle Gabriel — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:12:41 +0000

NEW SONG: "TIME"

Shanelle Gabriel — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:41:30 +0000

Check out my new song, Time from my upcoming album AIM HIGH!!!!

Watch "The Central Park 5" Documentary

Shanelle Gabriel — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 02:30:00 +0000

This documentary is soooo moving yet sooooo sad. Such a detailed story on how 5 young boys in NYC get wrongly convicted of the rape of a woman in Central Park in 1989.

Watch The Central Park Five on PBS. See more from Central Park Five.

Enough talking... Let's figure out HOW to combat rape culture

Shanelle Gabriel — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 01:41:13 +0000

"I swear, every woman I meet, date, even talk to has been raped at some point in her life. Uncles, ex-boyfriends, classmates, the list goes on. It's gotten to the point where I meet a woman and expect her to tell me that eventually. It's too common...There's a problem in our world, a serious problem." - A male friend

I didn't need him to confirm that for me. Nor did I need to hear about Rick Ross' lyrics, Stubenville students or Rehtaeh Parsons' suicide to know that this is an issue that has stayed underground and needs to see the light of day. Rape, its definitions, its physical as well as its marginalized presence in common conversations and language is seeming on the forefront of our newpapers and blog sites. We've commented, criticized, critiqued, and cried over the varying views on the subject. I will never tire of speaking up against those that believe "women put themselves in situations to be raped," that "it's just a rap song," that "she was probably just a slut," and I will speak against those that don't take a woman's voice serious enough to guard her by all means once she speaks up. That last one especially resounds through the many reports of rape in the military where victims who speak up are punished for doing so or end up being discharged. An overwelming number of women live with their secret for fear of not being believed or of future stigmatism, so protection should be first priority for anyone brave enough to share the story of their hurt in hopes to save others from future pain.

However, I also believe in action. Here are some ways to help make a change in our communities and our world by Alexandria from Feministing.com:

"Organize your neighborhood or school against rape culture: run consent education workshops and recruit participants to pledge their stance against violence. March, demonstrate, to publicly prove to all that those who inflict violence on others will not be supported or included by your community. Every time a publication runs a piece promoting rape culture, write a letter in response. Reject slut-shaming and victim-blaming of all forms. Loudly. Model respect for others’ bodily autonomy and stand up for your own in everyday situations to promote a culture of consent. Intervene if you see a dangerous situation developing, and teach others to do the same. Combat the transmission of rape culture from one generation to the next: teach kids to be better than we are. Don’t invite rapists to your parties (I can’t believe I even have to say that, but I do). Make sure survivors in your area have somewhere to turn for justice and support, and to stop their rapists from re-offending. If this resource doesn’t exist, create it. Refuse to tolerate speech that promotes rape; speak up even–no, especially–when to do so would be rude. Listen to a survivor when no one else will."

5 Reasons Why Washburn University Rocks

Shanelle Gabriel — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 01:09:17 +0000

1. A tornado hit the campus in 1966 that leveled the campus. Only three buildings remain from the original campus.

2. Washburn University (formerly Lincoln University) was the first college in Kansas to allow minorities to enroll.

3. The President of the University, Dr Farley, only wears bowties.

4. This school had two alum play in the 2013 Super Bowl on both sides.

5. The inventor of the Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza and the Meatlovers pizza is a Washburn Alum.

BONUS: The University won 2nd place in ESPN's most unique mascot competition for being the Ichabods.

EXTRA BONUS: They have a golf team, however the college has long since built buildings over their golf course.

My spotlight on the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Website

Shanelle Gabriel — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 06:24:05 +0000

So thankful to be mentioned on the world famous Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)'s blogsite. I, along with the awesome Jive Poetic, are listed as Mahogany L Browne (poet, teaching artist, and curator for the Nuyorican Poets Cafe)'s favorite Brooklyn poets.

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BAM 150 Guest Post: Brooklyn Poetry Picks by Mahogany L. Browne

I have the dream job. I write poems for a living. I work with poets every week. I eat, sleep, watch, dream, and digest poetry. In the mornings, I sit at the intimate Australian-owned coffee shop near the Brooklyn Museum, or the woman-owned global soul food café on Underhill near the Brooklyn Central library, and read poetry for hours. Whether online, in books, or via YouTube, I feast on figurative language for daily inspiration. My research of poetry—specifically contemporary poets—arms me as a curator and teaching artist in New York City. It allows me an accessible artillery when introducing poetry to New York City’s Public School system. As a BAM teaching artist, I recognize the necessity of acknowledging all of poetry’s nuances, and take the research of Brooklyn’s own treasures seriously. Here are a couple of my favorite Brooklyn poets!

Shanelle Gabriel, a native of Brooklyn, is my go-to poet when facilitating lectures on the necessity of humor and poetry. The Flatbush resident is a singer and actress, mainly writing in free verse. Her topics range from gender roles to rites of passage and lupus awareness. She is a crowd favorite with her sultry vibrato and is an active advocate for youth mentorship.

Read the rest HERE: http://bam150years.blogspot.com/2013/03/guest-post-brooklyn-poetry-picks.html#more

For my fellas... Here's some reading for you...

Shanelle Gabriel — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:00:26 +0000

"Before you fuck up and call her anything less than her name, before you grab her by the arm you need to know the trigger that you are pulling at. You need to know that the safety is never on. You need to know her history before you tell me that this isn’t my business. You need to know that her history is my history.

See, she and I, we come from the tribe of raw knuckled little girls who call our father by their first names and wear their mothers like bruise coloured war paint under eye. We grew thick skin before we grew permanent teeth. We learned to piece together our own families in the backyards of rented duplexes where we promised plastic faced babies better things in soothing tones that we mimicked from TV. We do not have daddy issues even though our daddy’s have issues. We have piercing eyes and promises to keep. We grew up to be nomads surveying domestic war zones with black eyeliner binoculars, always refusing to camouflage. We threw our heads back and laughed at oncoming explosions, never flinched, absorbing shrapnel, never let them see us cry.

We do not dream of boys who will save us from towers. We dream of boys with courage caked under their fingernails. Boys with hands rough enough to wipe metal tears from our faces but warm enough to mold them into stars. Boys with vertebrae strong enough to lock with ours so they can sleep sitting back to back with us and keep watch. And these are the boys, these are the boys who will find love under our armor. These are the boys who will find that we love selectively but we love fiercely. These are the boys who will learn that we love in ways that leave claw marks down the baseboard before we ever let go.

So do not think she doesn’t know how you fear her absence - you should. Your cage is not stronger than her will or her smile. Do not think you are good enough to tame her. You aren’t. And do not think you are the first to try because i have already closed your eyes and crossed your arms before your body hit the floor. And you think she deserves better than you. You are right. So be better than you.

Be thankful that she knows your name and be careful never to forget hers."

— Rachel Wiley