Tramayne Rayel Thompson (born October 22, 1979), known by his stage name Shade Sheist, is an American rapper from Inglewood, California. He began his career in 2000 by contributing the single " Where I Wanna Be" to a compilation executive produced by himself and local producer

Damizza Damion Young (born 1974), better known by his stage name Damizza, is an American radio executive, record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in po ...

. After writing and recording tracks for other artists, television, film and video game soundtracks, Shade Sheist released his debut album ''

Informal Introduction ''Informal Introduction'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Shade Sheist. It was released on September 10, 2002, through MCA Records. Recording sessions took place at Larrabee Studios, at Soundcastle, at Skip Saylor Recording, and at We ...

'', featuring "Where I Wanna Be" in 2002 under

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

Early life

Thompson was born in Inglewood, California and grew up in both Inglewood and neighboring city

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

. He started writing music around the age of 10 and formed a performing group with his best friends that won first and second place prizes at local talent shows produced by

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

. He worked with producers

Johnny "J" Johnny Lee Jackson (August 28, 1969 – October 3, 2008) was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records, and for his work with 2Pac on ''Me Against the Wor ...

, Howie Hersh and

Ronnie King Ronnie King is an American musician, producer, and co-owner of Blue Label Records with Sean Couevas. Credits include * 2Pac, keyboards on '' Still I Rise'', '' Until the End of Time'' * Snoop Dogg, Hammond organ on '' Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$ ...

on his early recordings.

Career

Shade Sheist performed from 1994 to 1999 as Shady Montage, signed to Hollywood Records. Two singles he released under this moniker, "Shake You Down" and "Leaving You Again" were well received and aired on major market radio stations nationally. At one point during this period he became label mates and recorded with

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

As a teen, he appeared in several music videos including 2Pac's " So Many Tears" and

South Circle South Circle was an American hip hop group composed of Houston rappers Mr. Mike (Mike Walls) and Thorough (Rex Robeson) that was signed to Suave House Records in the mid-90s. The duo's only album, '' Anotha Day Anotha Balla'' was released on J ...

's "Attitudes". Shade Sheist graduated from Alexander Hamilton High School in 1997. He first performed commercially as Shade Sheist in 2000 on the song "If You Were My Bitch" from the compilation ''Irv Gotti Presents: The Murderers''. That year, he also appeared on the song "It's Your Life" from

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with '' Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single " Holla Holla". Dur ...

's triple Platinum-selling album '' Rule 3:36''. Additionally, Shade Sheist met

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

-based producer

, who worked as senior director for artist relations at Los Angeles hip hop station

Power 106 KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's studi ...

and released a various-artists compilation titled ''Where I Wanna Be''. Shade Sheist,

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer who aided gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. He is one half of the rap duo Tha Dogg Po ...

and Nate Dogg performed the title single, which peaked at No. 60 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart but at No. 1 on the

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stati ...

. Shade Sheist and Nate Dogg collaborated again on the track "Cali Diseaz" on the soundtrack to the 2001 film ''

The Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

''. Damizza recorded the track "Bad News" with Shade Sheist and N.U.N.E. for the soundtrack to the

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

television drama '' Dark Angel''. In 2002, Shade Sheist released his debut album ''

'' through a deal between

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

and his own Baby Ree label. ''Informal Introduction'' featured production by

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

DJ Quik David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and producer, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop. Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, ...

, Damizza and

KayGee Keir Lamont Gist (born September 15, 1969), professionally known by his stage name KayGee, is an American DJ and record producer from East Orange, New Jersey, best known as a member of hip hop trio Naughty by Nature. He has won a Grammy Award f ...

of Naughty by Nature. The singles included "Money Owners", "Wake Up", and "John Doe". The "Where I Wanna Be" music video featured cameos from N.U.N.E., TQ,

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one rec ...

and

The D.O.C. Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), better known as The D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew and later collaborated with ga ...

The "Money Owners" music video featured a special appearance from

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

, who worked in the studio room next door to Shade Sheist during the recording of the ''Informal Introduction'' album. Shade Sheist stated that Dr. Dre was a big help during the creation of his debut album. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' asserted that Power 106 played Shade Sheist's singles more than any other

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

radio station in the U.S. and reported that Peter Hart of

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccu ...

brought up conflict of interest issues given that

Emmis Communications Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which h ...

funded both the radio station and Shade Sheist's label Baby Ree. Power 106 decided to disclose its ties to Shade Sheist after the ''LA Times'' brought up the issue. Emmis president Rick Cummings stated that his station played Shade Sheist's music based on listener tastes. Shade Sheist returned in 2004 with the single "What Would You Do" featuring Nate Dogg and Mariah Carey. The track appeared on Shade Sheist's second album ''Before the Waitin' Before the Hatin which originally released in 2005 and re-released in late 2006 with new tracks included. In 2008, Shade Sheist and N.U.N.E. set off on an international tour that would cover two years and several continents. In 2010, Shade Sheist released a new album with N.U.N.E., ''Movin Units'' which was his first original studio release in four years. The album featured the single "Movin Like a Boss" which spawned several international remixes. On August 1, 2013, Shade Sheist released a brand-new seven-track EP titled ''Blackops: Lite'', which featured himself on production as well as vocals. The EP served as a preview of his upcoming full-length LP of the same title. Shade Sheist simultaneously unveiled his Gfunkisforever label with the release of the EP.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Other charted songs

References

External links

Shade Sheist EP at DUBCNN.comShade Sheist Interview at BLKDMNDS.comShade Sheist Interview at PlanetUrban.com.auShade Sheist Interview at SoPrupRadio.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheist, Shade 1979 births Living people 21st-century American rappers Gangsta rappers Hardcore hip hop artists People from Inglewood, California Rappers from Los Angeles Universal Records artists West Coast hip hop musicians