When it comes to R&B, I’m not the biggest expert, but you don’t have to be an expert too notice when an artist has talent. R&B has seen its decline and there’s really no one around to give it hope for females. Let’s be honest, Mary J. Blige’s reign has long passed, Keyshia Cole (meh), and Elle Varner is seemingly coming up the ladder, but nothing has really impressed me. The leaders of female R&B to me are Melanie Fiona (CANADIAN) & Jhene Aiko, and Jhene hasn’t even released an album as of yet. On the list of future R&B female artists to take the stage one day and grace the limelight is Toronto’s own, Shi Wisdom.

I’ve heard her on JD Era’s ‘No Handouts’ mixtape, and I was like “wow this girl has a lot of soul in her voice”, but I never followed up by looking for her music, but I’d always heard her name buzzing across the city from people who knew and listened to her. The first time I saw her perform live was at the annual Manifesto festival (September 2012), on the closing day. Soul – that’s the operative word that I need to greatly emphasize. Not only does she have great lyrical content, but her style that blends with a hip hop/jazz ensemble is comparable to the likes of Jill Scott & the late Amy Winehouse.

Her voice is captivating, and I can’t lie, I instantly fell in love with it.  She has that spunk and charisma that could really take her places in the near future, and I encourage people to give her a listen, because she has a great voice that all should hear. Homegrown talent is good for the soul, it’s great for the city, but also it’s good that R&B isn’t dead, but it’s in need of some serious adjustments. We need singers like her.

Check out her bandcamp page that features one of her mixtapes and a couple of singles that shows off her songwriting ability. She’s still growing, so catch on while she’s on the rise.

http://shiwisdommusic.bandcamp.com/
@ShiWisdom

That’s My Word & It STiXX