By: Solomon Hillfleet (click here to listen to Shonte & Solomon’s interview)
Since the beginning of time, women have found themselves forced to cover their natural beauty to appease men who viewed their sexuality as devious. While some succumbed to the times, others rebelled and embraced their sexuality, effectively declaring themselves owners of their bodies. Singer, songwriter, and dancer Shonte Renee of Atlanta is an example of the latter. Raised and reared in Southwest Atlanta, she grew up listening to Atlanta’s R&B and rap icons in their prime. No longer on the sidelines, Shonte is here and eager to show the world why she deserves to be mentioned alongside R&B’s current giants.
Influenced at an early age by singers like Britney Spears and Janet Jackson, Shonte began her singing career where all talented singers start: the church. “I was a church girl. I went to one of the mega-churches on that side of town-World Changers.”
The social dynamics of Southwest Atlanta played a big role in Shonte’s upbringing, with staples like Cascade Family Skating serving as the influence behind one of her biggest singles to date. Tri-Cities High School also served as a major anchor in her upbringing, providing her access to one of the city’s top magnet schools and also instilling in her a source of pride. Shonte spoke about the influence the school had, saying, “We had OutKast, Xscape, Kenan Thompson, Joaquina Kalukango, and a bunch of other people in the acting and singing world!”. The strength of their program and alumni core inspired Shonte to go out into the world as a creative.
With a solid foundation under her belt, Shonte took her destiny into her hands and began sharing her skills on social media to build a fanbase. A chance video of her singing one of T.I.’s records led to her being discovered and later signed by DJ Montay of Big Oomp Records. Unaware of who he was, Shonte jumped straight into her work, collaborating with him on her first project, Color Me Bad.
A collection of covers, the project dropped February 14, 2016, and featured T-Pain on the Bobby Brown remake, “Rock With You.” “It was just a showcase of my talent before I released my album,” says Shonte.
Emboldened by the success of her first mixtape, Shonte stayed focused and released her first album, The Introduction, in 2017 and then her follow up, Sex Symbol, in 2018. By now, Shonte was in her groove, creating and stockpiling songs she felt her fans needed. Out of that period of intense growth came her biggest record to date, “Pretty Girlz.”
“When I recorded it, Montay and I were like- no one is going to get this. I wanted it to be appreciated, and I was new. So I waited. In 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I dropped it,” says Shonte.
A feel-good anthem that invokes summer energy, Pretty Girlz has over 215,000 streams on Spotify and 300,000 on YouTube. Shot on location at Cascade Family Skating, the song and its video show Shonte’s commitment to being a complete performer and also showcased her versatility as a soul-pop artist.
Six years into the music game, Shonte’s confidence is at the top. “I used to be really insecure about my music. Everybody is in competition, but what I realized is I’m only in competition with myself.” More than anything, Shonte knows what she wants and what she offers. Her newest release, “Talk to Me Nice,” is poised to be as successful as ever. Capable of crafting radio singles and sensual ballads, Shonte’s proving record by record that she’s the next R&B queen.