“Love Ting” by Shades Lawrence is the emotional vibe hit we needed this season.
Shades Lawrence is a Montreal-born, queer hip hop artist of mixed British, Jamaican, Irish and Scottish heritage.
A pure lyricist, Shades Lawrence’s style can be described as alternative hip hop. Her words uplift, while keeping environmental justice at the forefront.
Shades has performed at 40+ shows as a spoken word poet and hip hop artist. Shades has shared the stage with a variety of artists, including Princess Nokia, Big Freedia, and Cakes da Killa.
To date, her style has been compared to Lauryn Hill, Shad, and Jean Grae.
Shades has three EPs released, Formidable Time (2017), Second Life (2019), and the Mind Right EP (2019), as well as two full-length albums, East West Road (2020), and 4th Quarter (2021). Second Life was featured on Bandcamp’s home page in their New & Notable section.
She has received blog coverage from Aesthetic Magazine, Canadian Beats, and New York City-based AudioFemme, among others.
“Love Ting” came out on all platforms on January 28th, where Shades flows over the emotionally layered hip hop instrumental eloquently and distinctively. The beat itself feels reflective and lighthearted, with emotional touches throughout the entire track. The lyrics for the hook are catchy and the verses are thought provoking, with Shades delivering a distinguished flow and strong vocal inflections. I personally love the way she delivers the whole track. This song is definitely a must listen for this winter season!
I had the chance to interview Shades about the track and more, check it out below!
What was the inspiration behind the song?
The inspiration behind, “Love Ting,” is the beat and the melody of the beat, it just reminded me of the stories of my life. How there are still things I would like to communicate, music is a vehicle for communication.
How did you come up with the creative direction for the song?
The creative direction for, “Love Ting,” came to me from realizing I want to speak my own emotional truth. I decided it is important for me to speak what is true, and be honest to what I’ve lived and what is done and over in my life, along with the chapters I want to continue.
What was your favorite part about making this song?
The best part about making this song was recording it, usually I love the writing process more. I love the writing process because it feels so urgent, but the recording process was a different beast entirely this time, while recording, “Love Ting.” The recording process for, “Love Ting,” had me emotional. It was a bit ridiculous. Anyways…my upcoming album, dropping, Feb. 11th, called, “Trust Takes Time,” is similar in the way, recording it had me feeling more than a bit emotional.
What does this song mean to you?
This song made me realize that I have decided it is important to speak my own emotional truth in my music steadily. That’s important for me because it’s unusual for me to write without thinking of the stories that shaped me. But it is important for me to write my own stories, and what is most important to me, in the moments that I’ve lived. All this is coming up in my album that’s on the way, Feb. 11th. The album that’s on the way, Feb. 11th, is called, “Trust Takes Time.” Just like this single, “Love Ting,” R&B-type beats, and emotion, strong flow, delivery, and strong lyrics as usual. That’s what you can expect in the near future from Shades Lawrence.
What can we expect next from you?
Follow-up singles, and an upcoming album dropping Feb. 11th, called, “Trust Takes Time.” “Trust Takes Time,” has the strong message that trust takes time. Follow me on social media platforms as @shadeslawrence to stay up on the drop, or subscribe to my mailing list by visiting www.shadeslawrence.com. What’s next, for my upcoming album, “Trust Takes Time?” Strong flow, strong delivery, R&B-type beats, emotion, and strong lyrics as usual, in the upcoming singles, and the album, on the way, Feb. 11th, “Trust Takes Time.”
I’ve decided it’s important to me to continue to bring heat, fire, and speak on environmental justice. Which is why I have an upcoming song for Wet-suwet-en in British Columbia, Canada, called, “Tiny House,” that is a donation song, and will be released on wetsuwetenhibicin.bandcamp.com page, Feb. 4th, on Bandcamp Fridays. All proceeds of that song, “Tiny House,” go to support efforts to prevent a pipeline on Wet-suwet-en, in British Columbia, Canada. I thank you for your attention to this song, “Tiny House,” as it is the most important song to me that I have written up til now. And environmental justice is closest to my heart. I have decided it is important for me to speak on environmental justice because of the future of future generations. Environmental justice is the reason I started to release music, with my first EP release, and the title track, called, “Formidable Time,” about the Standing Rock struggle, right before President Trump’s election. So go buy my song, “Tiny House,” for Wet-suwet-en, from the wetsuwetenhibicin.bandcamp.com for as much as you can afford, on Feb. 4th, and support the Wet-suwet-en people in their just and important decision to protect a river that runs through their territory. For more information, visit wetsuwetenhibicin.bandcamp.com, read, and support the other artists who have donated their time and energy to support the Yintah, the land. Alternatively, ask your news media to cover the ongoing resilience and self-determination of the Wet-suwet-en people, threatened by a pipeline on their own homelands, on Wet-suwet-en. The Wet-suwet-en people, protecting and safeguarding their homeland, Wet-suwet-en, in British Columbia, Canada. Environmental justice affects all of us. Support. Thank you. #WetsuwetenStrong #AllOutForWedzinkwa
What other artists are you listening to right now?
Missy D (based in Vancouver, British Columbia), Drake (Toronto, Ontario), Desiire (Congolese-born, Toronto, Ontario-based), and Janette King. All Canada-based artists. And R&B to make a long story short.
I mostly only listen to my music, Shades Lawrence, to be honest.
Thank you for taking the time to answer those questions for us, Shades!
Be sure to stream “Love Ting” by Shades Lawrence on all platforms now, and follow her on social media below!
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Written By: Bryce Quartz