Two years ago, the previously obscure 070 Shake signed onto the roster of Pusha T and Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music imprint, and as though it was perfectly timed, the New Jersey-bred upstart’s breaking moment has arrived in the midst of a carefully crafted “surgical summer."
Earlier in the year Shake arrived with her Glitter EP under the label, and fast forward to this season of new music, she’s risen as the unlikely hero providing eerily soothing vocals to some of our favorite tracks on Pusha T’s DAYTONA (“Santeria”) and Kanye West’s Ye (“Ghost Town,” “Violent Crimes”).
In a recent talk with Billboard, the young Shake opened up about her involvement with the label and naturally the topic of conversation fell on her collaborations with Push, Kanye, and Kid Cudi, her forthcoming Yellow Girl debut album, and the culture at G.O.O.D.
“I love being a part of [music with a message], no matter who it is,” 070 Shake began when talking about her role in Kanye’s introspective “Violent Crimes.” “My goal is to be able to impact people in a positive way.”
Of her opinion on Kanye West in light of the firestorm that come with the public revelation of his political views, Shake adds:
“I think Kanye West inspires everybody that he is around because he is so himself. Like, everything that he shows is everything that he is. It has encouraged me to be more free with my thoughts. So I think it is inspiring to see somebody like him. Kanye is going to say what he feels, take it or leave it. Everybody has bad thoughts, evil thoughts. The only difference is that he says what he thinks. Still, we all have those thoughts. I feel he is definitely a good person. Kanye West is very kind and has given me the opportunity of a lifetime. I am grateful to him.”
She would also go on to describe the experiences recording with Pusha T on “Santeria” and Kid Cudi on “Ghost Town,” revealing that the Spanish verse we get on the former track was originally going to be recorded in English until she caught a glimpse of the Portuguese sample.
“It was crazy, because they needed a female vocalist, and the team played me the sample. I heard it, but it was in Portuguese. I was going to [originally] record in English. After I heard the sample in Portuguese, I became inspired.”
Shake’s debut Yellow Girl is set arrive later on in the year, and while she doesn’t offer many details on the content of the project, she does reveal that she’ll be looking to “introduce a new sound” on it. “ It is something like never before,” she adds.
Similar to her colleagues at the G.O.O.D house, Shake also opened up about her own battle with mental illness, describing her music as an appropriate form of therapy for her depression. “Instead of talking to someone, I am sort of fixing my own issues, by myself. Writing is kind of like talking to someone. I am not always going to have that [outlet] by me. So, this is a way to let it all go.”