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Shunda K talks changing her tune, her relationship with religion and being “The Most Wanted”

Florida native and out MC Shunda K is by far one of the most entertaining and outspoken mic spitters in the business. As one of the frontwomen of the loud, booty-bumping, boob-shaking trash-talking group Yo Majesty, she got the party started and got the tongues flapping in the music industry.

When Yo Majesty disbanded in 2008, Shunda the powerhouse ventured out on her own and collaborated with the likes of Peaches, Killola, Blaq Star, Kotchy and Tha Pumpsta, among others. When she’s not working on her own career, she’s helping other young artists generate an audience of their own.

We spoke to Shunda about her latest release, The Most Wanted (Fanatic Records), her relationship with religion and how she’s ready to save the world.

AfterEllen.com: How has your new year been going so far?

Shunda K: Well, it’s going! The record just came out, got a US tour ready to happen. Now we’re just ready to take over the world like a jeri curl. I’m looking forward to it.

AE: Do you already know who your supporting acts are going to be for the tour?

SK: No, I don’t. I’ve got some of my own artists I’d like to have on. We’re getting the final itinerary this weekend and I want to see what kind of shows we’re doing because I’ve actually got this artist who is 11. His name is T-Pizim. He’s hot on the mic, so I’d like to have him open for me at the all-ages shows I’m doing. He’s pretty much the one artist I’m going to try to get on this tour right now.

AE: Did you say he’s 11? That reminds me of when I used to watch the Jenny Jones show and they used to have the little rapper talent shows. That’s so cute – how did you discover him?

SK: He’s grown with it, too! He’s a very intelligent young man. He knows what he wants to do, he does his thing. He’s great at school, he’s killing it on the mic. I’m like let me see what I can do to help. I don’t have all the money in the world but I will do what I can to help him. At least I can bring him on tour with me. He said, “Put a mill on me,” and I’m like, “I ain’t got a mill to put on you right now, bro!” [Laughs] He’s all over the Facebook and the Myspace.

AE: I’ll be on the lookout for him then.

SK: Yeah, he’s got videos and everything; he’s just out of control with it. He’s just doing him.

AE: So since you’re taking him under your wing, how do you go about nurturing that talent?

SK: Ever since I’ve been in the game – since I was 17 years old – I’ve been developing artists. I actually just got back in touch with an artist last night who I’ve been helping since he was 15 years old. And so I’m used to it it’s just what I’ve always done. I love to help people, my heart is for the people and especially talent like that, where he’s young and still able to reach the youth, I want him to not just talk about the fancy clothes and cars, let’s talk about issues that are affecting their age group. What’s going on with the kids at your school? I try to take that opportunity to reach out; try to make a difference in their life because right now the youth doesn’t have any direction.

All the killing going on and the suicide, it’s just crazy. So I’m trying to take this opportunity to just try to reach out to those kids and see what I can do to help.

AE: In the past, you’ve said spreading your message is number one for you. So what’s the biggest message you’ve got to spread for 2011?

SK: To believe in yourself. When I was coming up, the energy around me, even with the people raising me, I was never given positive feedback. I was never in the streets, I was always at school or involved at sports because I didn’t want to go home, there was no positivity. I was told I wouldn’t be s–t, I wouldn’t amount to nothing, and then I graduated school with honors and got an academic and athletic scholarship to college. Now I’m back in school getting my bachelors, looking forward to getting my doctorate. Even planning on going into the WNBA next year. Hell yeah! That’s one of my dreams why can’t I do it? I can do anything I put my mind to.

AE: That’s right! Well you’ve gotta believe in yourself or else nobody will.

SK: Exactly, you can’t expect anybody to believe in you or love you if you’re not believing in yourself or loving yourself. There’s nothing wrong with that. You’re supposed to be able to love yourself and love other people; we need more love in this world.

AE: I don’t know if this has changed at all, but I know in the past you have been a devoted Christian and I’m curious to know if it’s been hard to combine your religious world with your sexuality and then again with your music career?

SK: Well the first thing I had to do was let go of my religion. God is my religion and God is love. Religion is made up by man to control the people — it’s like a modern-day slavery just like the music industry. So I had to first let go of religion but have a personal relationship with God. I went to God in prayer one day and said, “I learned that you don’t love gay people, but I love you with all my heart and I need you to bless me with my wife.” It’s as simple as that.

“And this is what I want,” and I went down the line and I said, “what I’m going to do in return is go on a three month gay celibacy” — because I was with Yo Majesty and we were touring all over the world so it wasn’t nothing to get a piece of p—y. So I felt like that was my sacrifice.

This was September when I said this, so I said by December, I want to have met this woman so when January comes and the new year comes, I have her by my side. So then I meet her, just like I had prayed and asked God. I met her, we went on a few dates and then four days later I had moved into this good house and I have not let her go. And I attribute that to God answering my prayers. So she was like, “My name is Tedra and guess what that means?” I’m like, “What does it mean?” and she says, “Gift from God,” I was like, OK I’m feelin’ that. Ever since then I’ve felt like my faith with God has been filled.

So you asked, “How do you put it all together?” Well, I just be myself. There are still sometimes I feel uncomfortable showing affection to my wife in public because it’s been drilled in us for so long that we’re going to hell and it’s a sin, but we’re coming out of that shell. We’re not going to let that religion imprison us anymore. That’s bulls–t.

AE: Well I’m going to start becoming a subscriber to the church of Shunda.

SK: I’m tellin’ you!

AE: Well to bring it back to the music, how do you feel your sound has changed over the years because you’ve obviously matured a lot and you’re doing things solo now.

SK: Actually, Yo Majesty is getting back together. Originally I was Yo Majesty, but Shaun B and I squashed all our differences and we’re putting out a new single this March! We’re moving forward.

AE: Oh wow, I’m really happy to hear that.

SK: Hell yeah! But my sound has changed a lot. When we first came together, and this was even before our first album dropped, a lot of our songs were anti-man. We were just talking major s–t — “I’m gonna take your chick, you can suck my…” [Laughs] But it’s because we were insecure about ourselves. So we were just lashing out.

But the more and more I got secure within myself personally speaking — my mind became more open. There’s more to talk about than myself. Or if I’m going to talk about myself, let it be relevant to what other people are going through. Let’s talk about something that’s going to encourage people to have integrity about themselves.

I have to be a light — there’s too much going on with these kids realizing they’re gay and they don’t have that love and that support system. I know I was designed to be with women since I was like two or three years old. I had to be the daddy! We’re playing house, I’m the daddy, I don’t care what else anyone else wants to be, whoever wants to be the momma that’s fine. [Laughs] So all this time as a kid I had these attractions to women and I’m like, what the hell is going on?

My mom, I learned that she’s gay. So now I’m thinking, “Are people born gay?” I know I’ve had this feeling since I was a kid and never ever would admit it to my grandma, because my grandparents raised me and my grandma was really religious. They came up during the whole share-cropping era, so you can imagine. I saw what my mom went through — what my grandma put my mom through and I didn’t want to have that leash coming down on my ass, so I just said, “No momma, I don’t have those feelings,” but then when I move out and go to college when I’m 18, I went to my first gay club and it was like, “That’s a wrap! Shunda K is in the house!” So ever since then, I’ve just been doing my thing.

I did get to a point, around 2003, when I was getting into Islam and Farrakhan. He would start the sermon off real good. And then he started going off about how homosexuality is an abomination. And that’s not what I wanted to hear, but I pretty much denounced myself. I said I wasn’t going to be gay anymore — so I ended up getting married and sh*t to this pastor and two years of that — I saw so much in that church. The church is way more evil than the world. I mean, the stuff I saw going on in that church! The world needs a makeover. So that’s what I’m hoping to do, make the world a better place. Here I am to save the world.

AE: Yeah, just like your first single, “Here I Am to Save the World,” it’s awesome. It’s already been remixed and it’s a hot track. It references the end of the world in 2012 — so if you had to create a bucketlist of things to do before then, what would be on it? I mean, besides being in the WNBA.

SK: I just want to tell as many people about the love of God as I can and I want to get married to my wife. I want a beach wedding. I have this song I did, called “You Are” that I did with this artist Kotchy. I talk about how I want to carry her through the door. I’ve been working on my muscles trying to pick her up you know (to her girlfriend in the background), “No you’re not fat baby, I just need to work on my muscles.” I want to walk down the aisle and get married on a beach in Cali. So I hope we can get that issue resolved. Love is love.

AE: I’d really like to know, what do you think it’ll take to get more respected female MCs out there on the mic?

SK: The first thing they need to do is respect themselves. Like, the song, “I’m The Best” is pretty much dedicated to women and telling them they don’t have to sell their souls in order to have a career in the music industry — you just have to work hard. I mean, when I say work hard, I mean you might not be able to take a couple showers a day — and for a typical woman that’s hard. To be on the road all the time, you don’t have all the luxuries — so a lot of women fall short in that aspect.

Now lyrically, I just think everybody needs to stop talking about hopping on everyone’s (private parts) — or you’ve got some (dude) wrapped around your finger. There’s other stuff to talk about. What about all these kids? How about some songs about how we can make the world a better place? We’re the women so we are the nurturers, we can’t just sit back and keep contributing to the bulls–t.

Right now the only person that’s really in the mainstream is Nicki Minaj and a lot of the time I have no clue what the hell she’s talking about. It’s like just all a gimmick. When I first saw who she was — was on a YouTube video where she was talking about how she was (having oral sex with) Remy Ma. She was all studded out! Just like, “Yeah I ate the box, I ate the box!” and now I see her, she got her ass done and her t–s. I was talking to my baby girl and was like, “Is that really her? Is she hiding who she really is? Or is she just doing this for the fame?” She’s got this song about being a dyke but in the video she’s with a man. So she’s feeding the kids some confusion, like do you even know who you are?

AE: Well and she denies it now. She denies even being bisexual.

SK: Right because that’s what her camp told her. From my understanding she was working with Lil Wayne‘s camp for a long time so she said, “Yeah I just did whatever Lil Wayne told me to do and he said I would be here if I did it his way,” and yeah! Sell your soul! But with me, I’m not doing all that.

The Most Wanted is now available from Fanatic Records.

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