Sha Cage: priestess of the word

BY DWIGHT HOBBES

Sha Cage, aka Lady Sha: Priestess of the Word, has caught fire. Small surprise. You could see it coming from her earliest days on the Twin Cities stage. And now, the skilled actor and working playwright sustains a steady rise, putting both gifts together as a spoken wordsmith.

Heading up the Minnesota Spoken Word Association with her other half, e.g. bailey, she’s behind an umbrella operation that runs the talent agency TruRuts Endeavors, the film company Tru Life Films and Speakeasy Records, releases by Truthmaze, Sister Mimi, Buss One and, naturally, e.g. bailey and Sha Cage. Sha spoke with www.pulsetc.com about her CD debut, Amber People, which drops June 2 and already has garnered national attention.

HOBBES: You had to be looking forward to the CD release.
SHA CAGE: I sure was. I was honored to have Minneapolis original B-boy Truthmaze on the bill. He taught me what it means to be free in the word. And also on the bill was Leroy Smokes’ Buss One who will be premiering some cuts off his soon to come CD. And it just kept getting hotter, [with] Madison’s own Hip-Hop word slinger El Guante. If that wassn’t enough we added couple of spontaneous collaborations.

HOBBES: Who?
SHA CAGE: Well, one is with Ashley Gold. One is with my partner and chief performance inspiration, e.g. bailey, whom we refer to as the “mystro.” You know, he’s the brillance behind TruRuts/Speakeasy Records. And a fabulous wordsmith himself, if I do say so. To round out the night was yours truly with my newest female group, Dark ’n’ Lovely

HOBBES: Who’s in it with you?

SHA CAGE: Well, actually, it features Queen Drea. She was with Edupoetic Enterbrainment. And Jayanthi Kyle. And yes, the lyrics are just as hot as the eye candy! If this lineup isn’t enough to get bodies in the place I’m not sure what will.
HOBBES: I’ll give you that. Listen, Amber People started making noise even before it dropped.
SHA CAGE: Yep. I am overwhelmed with the response from the CD already. From Ebony [magazine] to Ya Heard to the Observer and the local scene. I know you hookin’ up for Insight News.
HOBBES: No doubt.

SHA CAGE: It lets me know my work is valid and my message is penetrating. That’s two things every artist at some point in his or her career needs. Many of the pieces were created in response to my life and those around me. The ugly and the pretty of it. On tour in England last October, I was dubbed ‘Priestess of the Word.” [It’s] a title that comes with a lot of obligation. It took me a while to own it, but once the disc was pressed and I listened to it, something clicked. I realized that the title and the reference was giving homage to the visceral and raw stories that I breathe life into.

HOBBES: You real modest, huh?
SHA CAGE: Oh, you know what I’m sayin’. Anyway, I claim it and own it with pride. And [the new CD] Amber People is a reflection of lives. Of our lifetimes, birth pains and laugh lines.

Completing it and working with TruRuts and the Speakeasy Record label has helped me reflect on the art form. It’s gravitated me to this interestingly comfortable intersection that toes the line between Spoken Word and Hip Hop, which is where my newest style is heading.

It’s also exciting that the CD is completely available for digital download. Anyone anywhere in the world can have access to getting it with a simple click on a computer. That’s what’s hot! But more than anything I hope that my listeners can really listen to and feel the texture of my words that, like our lives, at times appear smooth, prickly, and slick all together and at once.