Having been one British R&B’s best-kept secrets for a number of years, Shaé Universe is now ready to take things global.
With her velvety voice, rich in tone and instantly recognisable, Shaé earned her seat at the table of the scene’s finest vocalists back in 2018. That year, she dropped “Misunderstood”, a soulful cut that seemed to set her on a course of R&B domination; however, the following year, she switched things up and emerged as one of the pioneers of R&Drill, which saw her soften the blow of drill’s typically hard-hitting sonics in the form of love songs.
“I shied away from claiming it but, truthfully, when I look back at it, I was definitely part of the pioneering of that sound,” Shaé says of the R&Drill movement. “It was just, like, an experimental thing to prove to myself that I could do whatever I put my mind to and to prove to myself that the strategy I had in my head could work. And it did. I thought to myself, ‘Right. How can I captivate the UK in a way that’s going to get more ears listening—more executive’s ears listening—without losing myself in the process? My producer at the time, OJ, had suggested that I try out this sound and it was just like, ‘Wow! This feels powerful. This feels liberating!’ So we just ran with it.”
By the time her 2022-released EP, Unorthodox, came around, the London-via-Watford artist had proven that she had an innovative streak to match the silk of her voice. And it's not only her avid fanbase that see her as having the whole package, it’s her peers too, having collaborated with the likes of Knucks, Kojey Radical, ENNY, Etta Bond and more. Shaé’s rise has been a slow but steady one, but that pace has been the best thing for her personal and professional development. It led her to the Valentine’s Day release of her debut album, Love’s Letter—a stellar 10-track offering that has set the bar high for R&B in 2024.
We caught up with Shaé Universe to talk about the significance of her debut album, how she came to love her songwriting ability, and the glass ceiling for R&B in the UK.
“My goal right now is to break the States. We’re making progress as an R&B scene in the UK and, on one end, it’s an admirable thing to be repping for the UK and everything, but on another end, I’m really just trying to get to wherever the love is.”
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COMPLEX: Hi Shaé! It’s been roughly a month since you released your debut album, Love’s Letter—how have people responded to it?
Shaé Universe: The reception has really, really, positively surprised me. I knew people would resonate with the music because it came from the heart, but it’s really gotten a great reception. I’ve had Tiwa Savage reach out to me and Stormzy shared the project on his socials as well. And even just my general supporters, I’m getting a lot of really heartfelt messages. People are saying that it’s helping them and healing them, and that's why I do it, so I’m happy and super grateful.
You have a vintage tone to your voice reminiscent of yesteryear’s greats. I assume you learned to sing in the church?
I started singing in the choir, supporting my mum who was the choir leader, so the church is where my relationship with music really began. I’ve always studied musical performance and related things—even in school. I’ve always had an interest and, I guess, natural flair for all things music. I grew up in a household where my mum would play a lot of ballad singers; the Anita Bakers, the Barry Whites. And then, as I got older, I started to discover my own faves and that leaned more into the neo-soul sector, with the D'Angelos, Lauryn Hills, the Erykah Badus, the Indie Aries, Brandy, etc. So many names. That’s how I started to form my own personal taste. And then, onward from that, I started doing covers; I’d do these super short covers that would go on my Twitter and end up going viral. That’s what essentially launched me into the music industry properly.
Your voice is amazing but you’re also a captivating songwriter. Would you say that writing lyrics has always been one of your strengths?
You know what’s crazy? Prior to this project, I would say I’ve been a little bit insecure about my pen, actually. I’ve studied greats like The Dream and Brandy—these people are phenomenal songwriters, right? So, I guess I just have a certain standard for myself. But, from this most recent project, I’ll be honest: I feel like it’s opened my eyes. It’s made me less of a perfectionist and made me really see my work for what it is. Not from a critical eye trying to see what I could have done better. I actually like my pen now. I do!
Much of your earlier work and your 2022 EP, Unorthodox, blends R&B elements with the skittering hi-hats and swooning 808s of UK Drill. How did the R&Drill sound come about?
I shied away from claiming it but, truthfully, when I look back at it, I was definitely part of the pioneering of that sound. I was doing my thing and my community respected it—they always supported me—but outside of my community, when it got to the industry execs, it was like, “Okay, you guys think I’m a good artist, but who’s actually willing to put their money where their mouth is?” And it would just be crickets. No one was willing to invest or bet on me because they didn’t really know what to do with me, essentially. And it put me in a place where I started to feel quite frustrated. At that point, though, I was still thinking very small, in terms of how I could appease the UK, not realising that, actually, my appeal was universal and my trajectory is going to take me far beyond the UK. But at the time, I thought to myself, “Right. How can I captivate the UK in a way that’s going to get more ears listening—more executive’s ears listening—without losing myself in the process? One of my producers, OJ, had suggested that I try out this sound, and it was just like, “Wow! This feels powerful. This feels liberating!” So we just ran with it. And that’s how the R&Drill thing came about.
Being able to evolve your sound so early into your career really speaks to your versatility.
And also to my faith, because I feel like a lot of artists wouldn’t be able to do that out of fear of getting boxed in. But I was never scared, honestly, because I always believed in my ability to do whatever I choose to do well. So if I do the unorthodox and it goes down well—great! But whatever I choose to do, as long as I’m executing to an excellent standard, it will still be received well.
“We live in a day and age where a lot of the things labels are doing for artists, independent artists can do for themselves too, especially when it comes to building a community.”
Let’s talk about the album—how did the theme of Love’s Letter come to you?
It was very organic and it was very authentic. The stimulus for the project was a relationship that I was in with a guy who was based in LA; every single song has come directly from some sort of experience I went through, but it is more nuanced than that. Because, even though every song pulls from a personal experience or feeling I took from that relationship, the overall story or overall impact I want to leave on the listener is not solely romantically related. It’s not just a love story between two people. Whilst I was creating the Love’s Letter, I started to realise that this is reflective of a much bigger journey—it's a much bigger journey of self-discovery.
What does this project represent in the scheme of your career?
I feel like it’s the real introduction to Shaé Universe. This is me making the music that comes most naturally to my soul; it’s not an experimentation. I love all the music I make but I think this project is a genre, a style of music, that comes most naturally to me. And I also feel like it’s going to be the project to really change my life in a crazy way. But with all things that are timeless, it’s a process, you know? So I’m just taking each day as it comes and waiting for the world to catch up.
The album’s penultimate track, “More Than Enough”, features the legendary Lalah Hathaway. That’s one hell of a co-sign!
It still feels quite surreal, to be honest. Even though I understand I was born to do everything that I’m doing, even though I believe God will equip me with what I need to handle being a global star, I’m the kind of person that will always have a certain gratitude and will always be in touch with my inner child. So as these things are happening, I still get very excited. Working with Lalah Hathaway was crazy! It’s still crazy to me and the album’s been out for a month! [Laughs] It’s still very wild that this is somebody I can just openly have a conversation with, call her phone, message her and she responds. Even that came about entirely organically; I had realised that she’d followed me on Twitter and Instagram one day, and the rest is history.
In the opening of Love’s Letter, you have your mother saying that the pace of your career progression has helped your personal growth, too. Could you give us some insight on how you’ve grown?
I feel like my growth as an artist and my growth as a person has come hand-in-hand because, for a long period of my career, I was managing myself. It really helped me develop as a person; it’s helped me learn how to handle or deal with so many different types of people. It’s made me a lot calmer, in the sense of when things don’t seem like they’re going the way I want, to not panic, to just wait, observe, and pray about it. Now, I hardly worry. It’s the first time I’ve really thought about it but, yeah, it's been a while since I’ve been worried about anything. You know, certain things happen that are not in the plan of course, that might be a bit annoying, but in terms of feeling worried about something? It's been a while since I’ve felt that emotion. So we thank God, because I think that’s definitely attributed to everything I’ve experienced thus far as a person and as a business woman.
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On the topic of business: you’ve opted to be independent thus far in your career. Would that ever change?
Funnily enough, I’ve never been tempted to sign to a major label. We live in a day and age where a lot of the things labels are doing for artists, independent artists can do for themselves too, especially when it comes to building a community. And I’ve also realised that labels can give you numbers, but numbers don’t necessarily equal impact. Streaming numbers don’t guarantee that your show is going to be sold-out with fans that actually care about you and your journey. And as I’ve climbed the ladder, I’ve come to realise that this is what I actually care about. The numbers will come, but I’m not chasing that. I guess the one thing that major labels help with is financially. But put it this way: if I’m going to sign with a major, they need to be offering me ‘fuck off money’—excuse my language. I never want to be in a position where I’m reliant on a label or I’m having to play into the rat race to clear my debts and stuff like that.
You’ve started getting recognition in the States. How important do you reckon America and the acceptance of the R&B scene there will be for your career?
My goal right now is to break the States. When I was first starting out in this industry, my goal was to be an R&B girl that flies the flag for the UK. I sing in my British accent so it would have made so much sense for me to be that girl. We’re making progress as an R&B scene in the UK and, on one end, it’s an admirable thing to be repping for the UK and everything, but on another end, I’m really just trying to get to wherever the love is. And, fortunately or unfortunately—however you want to look at it—the love is definitely way stronger in America. That’s not to say the love I have here isn’t strong, but because of the size of the US and their relationship with R&B, they just understand me in a way that the UK executives and that side of the industry have not understood up until now. It’s not about my community; my community has been amazing. But when you get to America, the UK will eventually follow suit and still support in the end.
