Interview: Catching Up With The Sh8peshifter + Watch “ABRACADABRAKAAFRIKA”

Sh8peshifter is more than a name. It is a movement. That’s the force driving Oakland-based Musician, Cultural Architect, Artist and Author Zakiya Harris who records as The Sh8peshifter.

Last year, she shared the stunning and empowering piece “ABRACADABRAKAAFRIKA” which will soon be featured on her new release After Darkness out later this Spring.

To go along with “ABRACADABRAKAAFRIKA” we sent Harris some questions to get to know her better and have it broken down in her own words. Check it all out below and be sure to follow The Sh8peshifter here.

Hi, Sh8peshifter! Can you tell us a little more about who you are and how you first got into making music?

I am an Oakland Native who has been singing and dancing my entire life. After a brief stint in law school I dropped out to purse my passion of being a creative and social entrepreneur. At this point in my life music is more of my medicine than a profession. It is literally my therapy and has carried me through the highs and lows of my life. If you want to know where I am in my life, just listen to my music.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

Music always starts the process. I am from deep east oakland so the 808 beat is everything. If the music moves me the lyrics start to form. For my upcoming project After Darkness, I worked closely with my bandmate Kevin McCann on the production. I would come to him with an idea, we would go into the studio and break it apart, editing, tweaking and modifying until it felt complete.

Biggest Influences: Grace Jones, Nina Simone, Nona Hendrix, Alice Coltrane, Georgia Ann Muldrow

What is “ABRACADABRAKAAFRIKA” about? How did it come to be?

This song was inspired by the death of Sandra Bland and an ode to little black girls like my 12 year old daughter. I wanted her and others like her to see Black Women represented as the highest expression of life, which is God.

What message would you like to spread to your listeners through your music?

I want them to understand that we are all Sh8peshifters. Being a Sh8peshifter means that you living authentically, bringing your gifts and talents to the world. We are in the midst of the greatest paradigm shift of our time, watching literally every system from real estate to the government fall. The world is shifting and we have to shift as well. I want listeners to feel inspired to be part of that shift, part of that movement.

What artists have recently inspired you?

I am always inspired by the greats. Whether they are musicians, freedom fighters, writers or just everyday people. Folks like Maya Angelou, Harriet Baldwin, James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry. Folks who had to carve a way without the internet, without basic human rights, against all odds. I am always struck that their work is so relevant, sometimes even more relevant today then it was when they were around because we are encountering so many of the same issues. They give me hope and inspiration to chart my own course in the face of adversity.

Any new artists/venues/purveyors of the arts in the Bay Area you could turn our readers onto?

Yes! Check out my other band Elephantine. Also the homies The Seshen, Bells Atlas and Queens D Light.

Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

You can follow me on all social media channels and online at sh8peshifter.com. Come to my EP release April 13th at Starline Social Club in Oakland, CA.

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

Keep Shifting!