Meet Shelldhn | Singer / Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shelldhn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shelldhn, why did you pursue a creative career?
The reason I decided to pursue an artistic career is because of my love for music I always had a passion for creativity. I would always be singing around the house. Growing up I had a music all around me. My mom sang in church, and set the foundation. Initially, it was just a hobby, but I found a real love for it in high school when I was in chorus class my instructor Mr. Collins was an instrumental part in pushing me to pursue music as a career.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
My name is Sheldon Thomas, but my artist name is spelled SHELLDHN pronounce the same way as my first name. The music that I primarily make for the moment is R&B. That is my home, and that is my foundation in terms of my music. I am influence from people like Stevie Wonder, D’Angelo, Nat King Cole, Lenny Kravitz, Sam, Cook, and many others.

My musical journey so far has led me to some incredible opportunities. I am still the most proud of a show that I put together fully funded and arranged and produced by myself that I did of July 2022 that was the start of my journey as a musical artist, and also as a recording artist. That performance showed me a lot of what I’m capable of, but it also showed me of where I’m going and what the future holds. Since then I have dropped two EP’s. They are both entitled 1-800-4DA-LVRS Part one and Part two respectively. Those two EP‘s definitely set the foundation of my musical artistry and showed me what I could do not only as an artist but as a producer as well and currently, I am working on a few projects that I am super excited about but what I am most excited about, this debut album that I am working on. It’s going to be a love letter to the 2000s specifically the early 2000s I am super excited about it and I can’t wait to release it in the summer of 2025.

Professionally speaking how I got here, today is kind of by happenstance, but it was still a conscious decision when I was in college at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. I was majoring in biology preprofessional medicine. Once the pandemic hit, and school was over. I decided to change career paths I no longer felt the urge or desire to become a doctor, so that’s when I started to begin to write some of my first songs and start to learn how to produce, that was the catalyst and the kickstart of my whole career. it definitely wasn’t the easiest decision, but if I had to do it all over again, I certainly would because it was the most freeing I’ve ever felt in my life so far.

Throughout the many ups and downs of doing this music, I’ve learned that there will always be someone who can outperform you, out sing you, out dance you, whatever you want to fill in the blank with. But more times than less you won’t out work me. Because what I pride myself on is my work ethic, and my tenacity and my willingness to get it done. The thing about music in the music industry that I’ve learned that I want to share with people is that it really is about how much work you’re willing to put in and how much time you’re willing to develop and push and dedicate to this craft, because ultimately at the end of the day, we shouldn’t be doing this for the accolades or even the recognition. We should be doing this because we love it. Because I can truly say that I’m doing this because I love it.

I’ve only been in the music industry in writing and singing and producing songs for about two years now but in that short period of time that I have been doing this, I have learned so much about who I am as a creative and what I will won’t allow into my space in terms of my productivity. I am so excited to see what is in the store because again as I stated, I’m just getting started, and the sky is the limit.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, as a Nashville native, there are many places that a but I think the first place that I would go to take them. If they’ve never been to my city before is Prince’s hot chicken. It’s a local staple here and to be honest if I could eat there every week I would. Since there are so many places to visit, I guess we can start on Broadway then make our way from downtown to a couple of local dive bars, then throughout the week, try different bunch of local venues and foods along the way and probably rounded off with either some live music or even a museum.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shout out to my amazing friends who are more like a second family. They have held me down and have supported me even before I decided to make music a full-time profession. I would also like to dedicate this shout out to my parents. They have been my rocks and have been a huge support system for me.

Website: https://shelldhn.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelldhn?igsh=MTE3Zzc5MDdxbHA1Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
Photos by Samad Dimbie @laidmadeit