| Shawnna | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rashawnna Guy |
| Also known as | Queen of Chicago |
| Born | January 3, 1978 [1] |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Occupations | Rapper, singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | DTP (1999–2005, 2007-2009) Def Jam (2009-present) M.O.E. (CEO)(2007-present) Hustle Period (2006-present) Nappy Boy (2009-present) |
| Associated acts | Ludacris, T-Pain, Tay Dizm, Tech N9ne |
| Website | http://www.twitter.com/shawnnamusic |
Rashawnna Guy[2] (born January 3, 1978)[3], better known by her stage name Shawnna is an American rapper. She was the first female artist signed to Def Jam through Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace Records. She is a former member of the female Chicago rap duo Infamous Syndicate and she is also the daughter of the blues musician Buddy Guy.
She is known for her rapid fire delivery and her sexual themes. She is one of only four female rappers (others being Lauryn Hill, Lil' Kim and Remy Ma) to ever have a #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 with 2003's "Stand Up" with Ludacris.
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An MC from the south side of Chicago and the daughter of blues guitarist Buddy Guy. Shawnna began writing rhymes while in high school. She caught her first break in 1996, when her duo Infamous Syndicate opened for Junior M.A.F.I.A. in Chicago. Infamous Syndicate signed to Relativity a year later and released "Changing the Game" in 1999. The album did not live up to its title, despite production help from No I.D. and Kanye West, the duo was dropped and eventually split. She then went on to team with Ludacris where she was featured on his song "What's Your Fantasy". Before she recorded her first album, Shawnna was featured on the remix to the song "Loverboy" by Mariah Carey for the album and movie Glitter. She was featured in the video along with Ludacris, Da Brat, and Twenty II.
Shawnna's debut album Worth tha Weight, originally scheduled to be released in October 2002, was delayed until September 26, 2004 and was released with little promotion due to disputes at Def Jam. Her album was well-received by critics, and spawned the singles "Shake Dat Shit" and "Weight a Minute".
Shawnna's second album "Block Music" was released on June 27, 2006. Its sales have been initially lower than expected. The album has so far sold over 260,000 copies Worldwide. In preparation of the album, Shawnna teamed up with Clinton Sparks, one of Rolling Stone's Top 10 mixtape producers, to release the official prelude to the album titled "Block Music: The Mixtape". This mixtape features exclusive tracks and freestyles as well as the official "Gettin' Some (All-Star remix)" that featured Busta Rhymes, Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Jim Jones, Pimp C, Ludacris, Twista, Pharrell, Too Short, Lil Wayne, Dre, Pitbull & Sean J. She was also announced as Artist of the week on Hollyscoop.com. As of April 26, 2007, in an interview, Shawnna confirmed that she was no longer with DTP Records, but remains friends with everyone on the label. Although she has left DTP she is still considered to be on their label according to paperwork-said by Remy Ma. She said that she was happy to be an independent artist, and it was something she always wanted to do.
She is managed through Hustle Period and has started her own label M.O.E., which stands for Money Over Everything. Her third album is complete and will be released soon. In October 2009, Shawnna signed with T-Pain's Nappy Boy Entertainment. Later in 2010, she released a mixtape titled Bitch Like Me hosted by Dj Dirty Money. Her third album will be rerecorded, and is scheduled to be released in 2012. She has a new mixtape titled Tales From The Crypt that is to be released in the winter of 2011. On Friday October 28th, 2011, Money Over Everything Entertainment released the new thriller and music video for “Horror Show” by Shawnna, just in time for Halloween.
“I am an extreme fan of Horror movies, I have loved them since I was a kid – everything from Freddy and all of his movies to Jason and Poltergeist,” Shawnna revealed during a recent interview.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Rap | ||
| 2004 | Worth tha Weight | 22 | 5 | — |
| 2006 | Block Music | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Rap | ||||
| 2005 | "Shake Dat Shit" (featuring Ludacris) | 63 | 28 | 16 | Worth tha Weight | |
| "Weight a Minute" | — | 95 | — | |||
| 2006 | "Gettin' Some" | 31 | 4 | 5 | Block Music | |
| "Damn" (featuring Smoke) | — | 91 | — | |||
| 2011 | "Big Booty Judy" | — | — | — | TBA | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||
| Year | Song | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. R&B | U.S. Rap | UK | |||
| 2000 | "What's Your Fantasy" (Ludacris featuring Shawnna) | 21 | 10 | 5 | 19 | Back for the First Time |
| 2003 | "P-Poppin'" (Ludacris featuring Shawnna & Lil Fate) | — | — | — | — | Chicken-n-Beer |
| "Stand Up" (Ludacris featuring Shawnna) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 2004 | "I Caught Him Lookin'" (Janielle featuring Shawnna) | — | — | — | — | |
| 2007 | "Diddy Rock" (Diddy featuring Twista, Timbaland & Shawnna | — | 124 | — | — | Press Play |
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "What's Your Fantasy" (Ludacris featuring Shawnna) | Back for the First Time |
| 2001 | "Loverboy" (Remix) (Mariah Carey featuring Ludacris, Shawnna, 22 and Da Brat) | Glitter |
| 2003 | "P-Poppin'" (Ludacris featuring Shawnna and Lil Fate) | Chicken-n-Beer |
| "Stand Up" (Ludacris featuring Shawnna) | ||
| 2004 | "Dude (Remix)" (Beenie Man featuring Shawnna and Ms. Thing) | Back to Basics & Worth tha Weight |
| "Slow Fuckin'" (I-20 featuring Shawnna) | Self Explanatory | |
| 2006 | "I Caught Him Lookin'" (Janielle featuring Shawnna) | TBA |
| "Diddy Rock" (Diddy featuring Shawnna, Timbaland and Twista) | Press Play | |
| "4 Minutes (Remix)" (Avant featuring Shawnna and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony) | Director | |
| 2007 | "Hold N' Back" (Marques Houston featuring Mýa and Shawnna) | Veteran |
| "Backseat Action" (T-Pain featuring Shawnna) | Epiphany | |
| "I Might Be" (Gucci Mane featuring Shawnna) | Back to the Trap House | |
| 2008 | "Wheaties" (Tech N9ne featuring Shawnna) | Killer |
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