By Liz Hammond, Digital Media Editor
Throwing it all the way back to August, let’s take a look at Kodie Shane’s “Back From the Future” EP.
Clocking in around 17 minutes with only seven songs and no features on the EP, it was a little risky, but Shane pulls it off with ease.
If you haven’t heard of her, honestly, I don’t blame you. She made her name on SoundCloud and was picked up right away as the First Lady of the Sailing Team, aka Lil Yachty’s squad.
The Sailing Team also includes Jbans, Earl the Pearll, BigBruthaChubba, TheGoodPerry, Erron Vercetti and Byou.
Shane also hails from Atlanta and was even getting buzz from Coach K, who is Duke’s head basketball coach. That right there is enough to like her music if you ask me.
I recently discovered Shane while reading an article. I decided that it would be worth it to give her a listen and wow, was I right.
Right away I noticed how smooth her music sounds: it’s easy to sit there and jam for hours with this EP on repeat.
It opens with “Get Right,” which just sets the tone for the rest of the EP with an upbeat approach to rap, which sounds better against her smooth voice.
Her rap doesn’t come across as aggressive but instead it sounds effortless as if she just talks in rhymes.
The next song, “Indecisive,” will have you singing it in your head for days.
The chorus is so addicting: “I feel like Cam’ron back in ‘06” for the rest of the year. I even find myself just walking to class and bopping my head, not even listening to the song.
Two songs have been added to my everyday playlist and they are “Normal” and “Runway.” I know all the words to both songs and have only been listening for a week.
“Normal,” has me thinking that I’m famous. Which, by no means am I famous, but the whole song is about how her ex-girlfriend breaking up with her brought her back to reality a little bit.
“Runway” is just a fun song to sing to, but it reminds me of “Fashion Killa” by A$AP Rocky, just based on what the song is about. Both songs are about brands and how people love you based on the brands you wear.
This EP is by no means perfect, but you can feel how much talent Shane has. If Coach K and Yachty want to be on her team, you have to know that something special is there.
Her career is just starting and in an interview with Complex News Shane said, “I definitely hope that I’m inspiring a lot of different female artists to run with the boys.”
“I say that’s what I’m doing,” Shane said. “I run with the boys.” Her more standout songs,
however, aren’t on the EP. Her single with Yachty, “Sad,” is one of her best songs to date. She is painfully honest about what her feelings are, something that I think most rappers would rather hide. She doesn’t pretend to be anything she’s not.
Soon enough she will go out on her own without Yachty and the rest of the Sailing Team and do just fine. With the backing that she has from SoundCloud and You- tube alike, her albums would hit the Top 10 easily. She has been rapping since the early age of 14 and hasn’t stopped since. She has definitely set her own unique path.
In an interview with XXL, they asked her what her goal in hip-hop was. She responded, “Well, my goal in general is to make music for the youth that the youth can love.”
“Not only just for the youth but almost be their voice,” Shane continued. “Just show that they can do whatever they want.”
Quite the admirable response, but what separates Shane and other rappers that say the same thing is that I actually believe her.
Shane has good intentions with what she wants her music to come across as. I mean, yeah, she’s doing it for fun, but it also has a deeper meaning for her.
She just needs to hit her stride like Yachty and Uzi did. This is something that takes time and her beats and lyrics will only grow from here.
Her talent is unlimited, so be on the lookout for Shane the rest of the year. You don’t want to be the last person to know who she is when she ends up making it big.
