I think it’s safe to say you must be hot if you get signed without the people knowing what you look like. Shareefa has that type of pull with her vocals and it had DTP calling her in to meet their people based on the strength of her 12 track demo without a picture or a bio.

With her Jersey accent and extremely hyper personality, Shareefa seems to act more like a rapper than a singer. Charming none the less, she’ll quickly point out the differences from herself and the rest. Her first single, “Need a Boss,” is a great reference point to her aggressiveness and sexiness...

Shareefa: “You sound a little out of it, you tired?

JayRich: Yeah, man; I just got that Southern drawl. Where you from?

Shareefa: “I’m from Jersey originally.”

JayRich: What’s the scene like in Jersey?

Shareefa: “Um… I’m trying to think of an artist that’s out from Jersey; it’s been a minute right? We got Lauryn, Meth and Red, Queen Latifah, Jaheim…Jaheim doing his thing right now. Jersey been quiet for a minute, but that’s okay; we hitting hard.”

JayRich: How did you hook-up with DTP?

Shareefa: “A few years ago I did a demo, right; a friend of mine put it in the hands of Jeff Dickens, which is one of the CEO’s of DTP. The next week I met him in Harlem; the next day I met Ludacris backstage of TRL and. (sounding like her own hypeman) here we go two years later, album ready, hitting stores in September; Point of No Return.”

JayRich: What was the mindset for you going into creating this album?

Shareefa: “The feeling was me and it’s all about me and what I was feeling that day. I’m hungry, my ribs is touching right now. I’m my worst critic; I’m super hard on myself. I want for my music to be classic, so you can throw it on ten years from now and it’ll still be banging. It’s not about the now, now, now, it’s about longevity.”

JayRich: What was it that made you pick DTP; did you have any other offers on the table?

Shareefa: “(Signing with DTP) was spur of the moment. I didn’t have any pictures or a bio. They didn’t know how I looked; they didn’t know if I was an ex-murderer or not. They just came at me like, “You hot;” and I respected that. They saw the big picture and you couldn’t ask for a better team.”

JayRich: Do you rap as well; you got a rapper’s demeanor.

Shareefa: “I do a lil’ sumthin’, sumthin’; but I stick to the singing.”

JayRich: You go do a lil’ “sumthin’, sumthin” on the album?

Shareefa: “I might; I don’t know because once you do that people start looking at you crazy. I drop a few bars here and there.”

JayRich: Would you rank your album up there with Lauryn Hill’s debut?

Shareefa: “Definitely, I don’t even rank it… I listen to Lauryn, Mary J. Blige, Donny Hathaway, Anita Baker… I listen to songs and try to see how they make me feel. I work on my music and get straight to the point; I don’t beat around the bush for nothing. You gotta watch how you word it and I just do my thing and go hard. You know, go hard or go home.”

JayRich: You sound like a coach or sumthin’.

Shareefa: “I know right.”

JayRich: What missing on the music scene besides yourself?

Shareefa: “Myself.” (laughs)

JayRich: I knew you were going to say that.

Shareefa: “I wanna close that gap and, hopefully, be a trendsetter.”

JayRich: When you say that, what do you mean exactly?

Shareefa: “You can’t be anybody else. There’s only one Barry White, one Mary, one Aretha. I just wanna to bring the good music back into the game. When was the last time you went out and bought three CD’s? You got the cut for yo car, the cut for the house, and the emergency one. (laughs) You know what I mean? I remember that, like, “Who touched my No More Drama CD? You get ready to fight over yo music.”

JayRich: Like who touched the Pac or my Biggie?

Shareefa: “Yeah, like, “Who got my Life After Death, my disc 2 is missing?!” That feeling isn’t gone; I just feel like it needs to come back.”

JayRich: What about your creative process?

Shareefa: “I get a beat and let it talk to me. I hear one that makes me feels this or that. I might get the one that makes me wanna tell a story. It’s like, when the producer comes with it, I’m coming with it.”

JayRich: Do you play instruments as well?

Shareefa: “Nah, but if I did, man! They wouldn’t be able to tell me nothing! I do want to learn how to play the guitar and the piano. I’d be a baddddd… mutha baby. I’d go onstage with the guitar and just be playing….with a string bikini on. (laughs). Just playin.”

JayRich: Tell me about the first single; you got the video shot yet?

Shareefa: “Did I shoot a video! Man, I feel like me and Luda got one of the hottest songs out right now.”

JayRich: Yeah, I heard it and thought it was a hit myself.”

Shareefa: (she thought I shitted on her song) “Come man. That song is hot.”

JayRich: That’s what’s I said.

Shareefa: “Oh, my bad.”

JayRich: (jokingly) Calm down, man. Calm down.

(laughs)

JayRich: Outside of the DTP family, who’s on the album?

Shareefa: “Naw, I wanted to keep this album very personal. I didn’t wanna spoil it with too many features. When you hear the album, I want you to feel like I didn’t need anymore features.”

JayRich: What’s the relationship with the other female singers?

Shareefa: “I don’t have a relationship; everybody’s cool with me. Everybody is trying to get to the same spot and do their thing. You do your thing, just know you got my love and support, but I’m gonna to do my thing.”

JayRich: What’s one thing about you that people would never guess?

Shareefa: “I’m a homebody.”

JayRich: What….?

Shareefa: “I know, right. I like chilling with my sister at the crib having drinks and just kicking it; bugging out, playing Taboo or something like that. That’s funny right; cause when you meet me I’m so hyper like wherever I go it’s a party. But, I cut down on the club because shit happen. It’s old to me now cause I done been there and done that and I know what people on when they go out. You trying to get a number, you trying to get some ass, you know what I mean.”

JayRich: You said you had a 12 track demo; how long did it take for you to put that together and get it out?

Shareefa: “3 weeks.”

JayRich: How long were you pursuing music before that?

Shareefa: “Since I was 16 til about 20, 21. I was off and on with it for about 4 years. Like, I would get mad, get unfocused, start wilding out. You know, going through shit and worrying about things. I got a reality check.”

JayRich: What was the breaking point that made you feel that way?

Shareefa: “The judge told if he saw me again that I was going to prison. I had the shackles and shit on my feet and hands and he was like, “Miss Cooper, If I see you again, you’re headed down to women’s prison.” He wouldn’t release me to nobody; he usually release me to my Mom. He said that and I couldn’t swallow. My whole goddamn throat closed up. I was like, “Oh hell no; you mean it’s a prison after the county?!” I knew I had to get it together because once your freedom has been taken away from you, it fucks you up in the head.”

JayRich: Do you feel it’s harder for a rapper to get on than a singer?

Shareefa: “No, because a rapper can have one voice, you can just go over yo track on stage and talk about somebody else life. You know what I saying.”

JayRich: Do you feel a lot of pressure to dance?

Shareefa: “No, cause I do me. If I don’t feel like dancing, then I’m not ‘finna’ do it.”

JayRich: Any last remarks?

Shareefa: “(back in hypeman mode) Man, Point of No Return coming; keep voting “Need a Boss” on the countdowns. The interview was fun; I know I took you on a rollercoaster.”

JayRich: Naw, it was fun; plenty much love.

Either way, Shareefa’s in it to win and as she says, “Go hard or go home.” That phrase, among others, has her sounding more like a coach or an MC. Her struggles have molded her into the woman you will have to become familiar with now.

--By Joe "JayRich" Robinson