SHA DRA - LUCY’d
The Asian-American rapper known as Sha Dra ELAV8 is from Houston, Texas by way of Taiwan, Republic of China. Sha Dra splits his time between the two locales and explores his multicultural roots in songs like “Soap,” “Moccasins,”and “Be Like Water.”
Sha Dra Elav8 (Shah-Drah Elevate; Shaman Dragon 玄武) cites as main artistic influences Tupac Shakur, John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Yelawolf, and Tech N9ne. Of these, his sound, style and themes take some from all. He has the razor-sharp skill of Tech N9ne, the philosophical bents of Tupac and Lennon, and southern nuances much less obvious than Yelawolf's which form an important part of Sha's overall character.
Taking cues from both his Asian heritage and the culture of the southern United States, Sha Dra Elav8's music is a message from the world's greatest teachers speaking through him, and is also booming American rap from one of today's most intriguing urban poets.
Sha Dra learned to rap while spending time in Washington, DC. “I started by freestyling, and gradually got better,” he says simply.
Sha Dra has made mysticism a large part of his personality and lifestyle, but Dra mixes this down-to-earth spirituality with the other half of his character, which stems from pop culture and hip-hop. The result is rap music that has more depth than much of the genre. Dra’s music is intelligent, positive, and uninterested in the negative stereotypes of hip-hop such as gang violence and the objectification of women. Sha Dra’s music, rather, focuses on self-realization and inner peace. In another of his popular songs for instance, he gives excellent advice for those trying to rid themselves of the negativity of others: “If you just can’t cope – just use soap.”
He has written elsewhere that he believes that our feelings and emotions strongly affect and even create our reality. “If this is true,” he writes, “then there is nothing that is stopping humanity from achieving peace on Earth. Nothing, save ourselves.”
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