Shae Fiol (born Shae Geever on December 2, 1978, in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

) is a Cuban-American singer-songwriter who currently lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The name Shae was given to her after the Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Her mother is American born and her father is of Cuban descent. Shae's sound is described as acoustic soul, with Latin and jazz influence. She has been compared to artists

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

Esthero Esthero ( ; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name ''Esthero'' refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself ...

, and

Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...

Biography

Shae attended the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

and graduated with a degree in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

while playing three years of division I

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

at UNM. Shae moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to pursue the label interest of the former

Loud Records Loud Records, LLC. is a record label founded by Steve Rifkind and Rich Isaacson in 1991. Loud is a hip hop label that released material by acts such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Pun, Mobb Deep, Krayzie Bone, The Beatnuts, M.O.P., Tha Alkaholiks, Pete ...

. Her vocal collaboration with

Tha Alkaholiks Tha Alkaholiks, also known as Tha Liks, is an American hip hop trio from Los Angeles, California, United States. Since the early 1990s they have produced party music with a hardcore hip hop edge, powered by the beats of DJ and producer E-Swift ...

on "Run Wild", introduced her to notable hip-hop artist J-Ro of Tha Liks and Grammy Award-winning hip-hop producer Rockwilder. Her "2001" self-produced demo tape, recorded by Tom Robinson, her former music theory teacher from UNM, earned her the respect and interest of

J-Ro Tha Alkaholiks, also known as Tha Liks, is an American hip hop trio from Los Angeles, California, United States. Since the early 1990s they have produced party music with a hardcore hip hop edge, powered by the beats of DJ and producer E-Swift ...

(Steve Rifkin) of Loud Records and A&R Shane Mooney, and

Rockwilder Dana Stinson (born February 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Rockwilder, is an American hip hop record producer and rapper. A long term friend of Def Jam rapper Redman, Rockwilder got his start producing for East Coast hip hop artists ...

. Shae Fiol moved in 2003 to New York and began writing and recording her first album (demo project) with Rockwilder. In 2006 Shae Fiol, teamed up with Karibi Fubara of the management company, Datoalamichael, DJ K. Life Walks, and sound Engineer Gianni Fontana, of Explode Studios. She resumed the production and recording of her debut album Catch a Ride (released June 3, 2009), of which she was the sole vocalist, primary producer, arranger and writer. The original music from her song "All of the Above" was featured in a Neutrogena commercial for the product "Upgrade" endorsed by Jennifer Garner and it aired for one quarter in 2007. Shae made an appearance on stage with Esthero at the Hiro Ballroom in 2007, where Shae sang "A Woman's Presence" (by S.Foster and S.Fiol). Following her performance she spoke with producer

Stuart Matthewman Stuart Colin Matthewman (born 18 August 1960), also known as Cottonbelly, is an English songwriter, record producer and musician. With Sade Adu, Paul S. Denman, and Andrew Hale, he gained worldwide fame as the guitarist/saxophonist of the band Sa ...

of Sade, who had been at the Esthero concert when she sang. He produced the song "Lonely, Lovely" (M. Eaton/S.Foster/S.Fiol), which appears on her debut album "Catch a Ride." Other notable producers and musicians that appear on the album, are Rockwilder,

Adam Deitch Adam David Deitch (born April 26, 1976) is a Grammy-nominated American record producer and drummer based in Denver, Colorado. He is the drummer for the bands Lettuce, Break Science, and The Adam Deitch Quartet, and has worked in the hip hop, funk ...

, and Mireya Ramos. Shae Fiol is a founding member of

Flor de Toloache Flor de Toloache is an all-female mariachi band based in New York City and founded by Mireya I. Ramos and Shae Fiol in 2008. Flor de Toloache first began playing in the New York City subways where they were noticed by numerous media outlets inclu ...

, an all-women mariachi group based in New York City. Flor de Toloache was the ''2017 Latin Grammy Winner for Best Ranchero Album, 'Las Caras Lindas.’'' The group was featured in the album ''‘Holidays Rule Vol. 2’'' along with Paul McCartney'', ''Norah Jones'', ''The Roots'','' and others.

Discography

Studio albums

2009
Catch a Ride
(Shae Butter Music/Purpose Records/ Datoalamichael)

Soundtracks

2004

The Best Thief in the World ''The Best Thief in the World'' is a comedy-drama film directed by Jacob Kornbluth starring Mary-Louise Parker. The movie was released in 2004 at the Sundance Film Festival, and it aired on Showtime on January 11, 2005. Plot The movie is about ...

(Vocal performance by Shae Fiol, written and produced by Prince Paul and

Don Newkirk Donald Newkirk ( – November 2022) was an American musician, composer, and record producer. Newkirk appeared on several hip hop records including the remix to "Say No Go" by De La Soul and Stetsasonic's "Talking All That Jazz". In October 198 ...

) Independent Film score, starring Mary-Louise Parker. The song appeared in the credits of the movie score.

Collaborations

2001 "Run Wild" (Featuring Shae Fiol) by The Alkaholiks (from the album X.O. Experience) 2004 ''

Never Scared ''Never Scared'' is a television special that premiered on HBO on April 17, 2004, starring comedian Chris Rock. It is the fourth special by Chris Rock recorded at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2004. CD version The ...

'', 2004 by

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

(Personnel: Background vocalist) released on Geffen Records

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiol, Shae 1978 births Living people American women singer-songwriters University of New Mexico alumni Singers from Portland, Oregon Singers from New York City Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Oregon 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Mariachi musicians Women in Latin music