By Patrice Wilson

Shauna Respass is a quadruple threat who raps, sings, writes and curates her own events through her company, DOAP Events. Respass has been like a line from one of her songs – “hot like the Sahara in the summer”– in Charlotte’s music scene since moving to the city in 2018.

Her rap name, ReeCee Raps, comes from a nickname her grandfather gave her.

“At five, I was the youngest member in the lip-syncing group ‘The Unspeakables’ that my grandad created,” she said. “I lip synced everything from Alvin and the Chipmunks to Patti Labelle and the Pointer Sisters. I didn’t realize how much of that I had inside of me until I moved to Charlotte and started performing my own songs. So using my name ReeCee is paying homage to my grandfather and what he instilled in me.”

Her move to Charlotte marked a new beginning in a city full of opportunities and a renewed commitment to herself and her dreams.

“I was just getting out of a 4 year long abusive relationship,” she shared. “I left everything behind, besides my dog, my car and a couple pairs of pants.”

Within months of being in the Queen City, Respass created a buzz for herself. She won female hip hop artist of the year for the 12th and 13th Queen City Music Awards and was named “Best Emerging Rapper” for Queen City Nerve’s “Best In the Nest” in 2019.

“That really let me know that I was on the right track,” she said.

Once Respass set out on her healing journey she began remembering and doing the things that she loved from her childhood.

“I wrote my first song in fifth grade; my dad was going to the store and I wanted him to bring me back some Cheetos, so I wrote a song about it,” she said. “He didn’t get the Cheetos.”

Getting back into writing provided Respass with the authentic look at herself she needed to find and shine the light within herself.

“Writing is therapy, writing helped me a lot getting out of the relationship,” she said. “I looked at some of my writings and saw how dark of a place I was in.”

Respass is using a 2022 Emerging Creators Fellowship from ASC to reinvest in herself and roll out her new project, “Queen of Hearts,” set to debut in February 2023. She is also using her fellowship to further support her artistry with vocal and piano lessons.

“I had never had any formal music training. It was something I had wanted to do and now with the grant I can do it,” she said.

The fellowship “came at a time when I really needed it,” Respass said.

“Being an entrepreneur, it’s hard to invest in yourself,” she said, “and so it really felt good to be recognized as a creative and to be able to have funds to put towards my creativity.”