{"id":1322,"date":"2013-11-05T04:29:53","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T04:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2013-11-05T06:49:46","modified_gmt":"2013-11-05T06:49:46","slug":"shoyu-more-than-rap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/","title":{"rendered":"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Shoyu\"

Shoyu<\/p><\/div>\n

I met rap artist Shoyu through a mutual friend. After I listened to his music, I asked him to be a featured artist. Shoyu has a very unique sound. His recordings are not traditional rap music. I hear Asian, ska and other types of musical influences behind the lyrics.<\/p>\n

Through the miracle of modern social media, Shoyu and I had a fabulous conversation, with Shoyu in Amsterdam, Netherlands and me in Portland, Oregon. How cool is that?<\/p>\n

Shoyu began his musical career playing viola. He writes poetry. Shoyu spent time emceeing and rapping. Combined with life experience, Shoyu sees himself as:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of many receivers, translators of bits and pieces<\/em>
\n Coming straight out of the universe<\/em>
\n From the low to the most high<\/em>
\n From the sun, the moon, the earth and the sky<\/em>
\n I\u2019m a fly guy, so to call myself a rapper would be a mistake.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Wow! I\u2019d call Shoyu a fabulous poet!<\/p>\n

Shoyu has an amazing list of influencers, all who contributed to his unique sound. He remembers the release of the first album from Public Enemy<\/a>; it really sparked his interest for hip hop. In 1998, Shoyu released his first \u201cspacey blues album.\u201d After that, he met a producer from the United States, Mark Sexx, one of the funk and hip hop producers of Digital Underground<\/a>. Soon after that, he met a producer from the UK named Mad Professor<\/a>, a Massive Dub producer.\u00a0 The Mad Professor introduced Shoyu to Lee “Scratch” Perry<\/a>, legendary Jamaican reggae producer and musician. Shoyu performed with a Jazz band called Ears Wide Open. \u201cI have many teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of his biggest influences was his mother\u2019s soul music records. He remembers listening to Lloyd Price<\/a> and Teddy Pendergrass<\/a>, amongst others in her record collection. To this day, most of the records in his personal collection are soul music, so \u201cI put a lot of soul into my music.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he records, Shoyu works with his DJ Mr. Iceman<\/a> and Achim Heine, percussionist from Twitching Eye Trio and drummer from Ears Wide Open. Shoyu records his own vocals, vocal affects and post-production, but the music is all done by separate producers. He puts the credits on every song. \u201cWithout the music, you have no color.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shoyu is currently working on a video that he plans to release in December. The song is about when you become a new parent. \u201cYou\u2019re blessed. There\u2019s no room for trouble. You want to be there for your kid. In Holland, we call it a pink cloud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019s just getting started using Twitter, Shoyu uses social media as a vehicle to put his music out there, so people can listen to it and he can start to communicate with people who like it. He uses it to provide an opportunity for people to get to know him better.<\/p>\n

His advice for musicians just starting out is \u201cDon\u2019t rush into things. Focus on what makes you a good artist. Make the product solid, pure, honest. People will appreciate that. Most of all, keep on fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

What a fantastic opportunity to meet with and learn from someone so interesting who lives half way across the planet! Shoyu, keep in touch.<\/p>\n

To watch the YouTube video interview:\u00a0http:\/\/youtu.be\/ihBH4SPGlB8<\/a><\/p>\n

Amused Now Featured Artist Series<\/p>\n

\"ShoyuShoyu
\n@ShoyuRealness<\/a>
\nhttp:\/\/soundcloud.com\/shoyu<\/a>
\nFacebook<\/a>
\nGoogle+<\/a>
\nYouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

Cynthia Kahn, Founder of Amused Now
\n@Amused_Now<\/a>
\nFacebook<\/a>
\nGoogle+<\/a>
\nYouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Shoyu<\/p>\n

Buy the music that influenced Shoyu! Just click on the album covers below:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\" \"\" \"\"<\/a>\"\" \"\"<\/a>\"\" \"\"<\/a>\"\" \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I met rap artist Shoyu through a mutual friend. After I listened to his music, I asked him to be a featured artist. Shoyu has a very unique sound. His recordings are not traditional rap music. I hear Asian, ska and other types of musical influences behind the lyrics. Through the miracle of modern social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[187,189,188,185,186],"class_list":["post-1322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-rap","tag-rap-artist","tag-rapper","tag-shoyu","tag-shoyu-realness"],"yoast_head":"\nShoyu ~ More Than Rap - Amused Now<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meet Shoyu, rap artist and poet from Amsterdam, Netherlands.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap - Amused Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meet Shoyu, rap artist and poet from Amsterdam, Netherlands.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Amused Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmusedNow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-05T04:29:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-11-05T06:49:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"225\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"204\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cynthia Kahn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cynthia Kahn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cynthia Kahn\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8\"},\"headline\":\"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-05T04:29:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-05T06:49:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":597,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Rap\",\"Rap Artist\",\"Rapper\",\"Shoyu\",\"Shoyu Realness\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Musicians\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/\",\"name\":\"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap - Amused Now\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-05T04:29:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-05T06:49:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8\"},\"description\":\"Meet Shoyu, rap artist and poet from Amsterdam, Netherlands.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/11\\\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg\",\"width\":225,\"height\":204,\"caption\":\"Shoyu\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/shoyu-more-than-rap\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Amused Now\",\"description\":\"Shine a spotlight on indie artists\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8\",\"name\":\"Cynthia Kahn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cynthia Kahn\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AmusedNow\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Amused_Now\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/amusednow.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/an_admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap - Amused Now","description":"Meet Shoyu, rap artist and poet from Amsterdam, Netherlands.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap - Amused Now","og_description":"Meet Shoyu, rap artist and poet from Amsterdam, Netherlands.","og_url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/","og_site_name":"Amused Now","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmusedNow","article_published_time":"2013-11-05T04:29:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-11-05T06:49:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":225,"height":204,"url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cynthia Kahn","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cynthia Kahn","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/"},"author":{"name":"Cynthia Kahn","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8"},"headline":"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap","datePublished":"2013-11-05T04:29:53+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-05T06:49:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/"},"wordCount":597,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg","keywords":["Rap","Rap Artist","Rapper","Shoyu","Shoyu Realness"],"articleSection":["Musicians"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/","url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/","name":"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap - Amused Now","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg","datePublished":"2013-11-05T04:29:53+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-05T06:49:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8"},"description":"Meet Shoyu, rap artist and poet from Amsterdam, Netherlands.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg","width":225,"height":204,"caption":"Shoyu"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/shoyu-more-than-rap\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Shoyu ~ More Than Rap"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/","name":"Amused Now","description":"Shine a spotlight on indie artists","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/715ddced1f46edbb7a6b2f651273b9d8","name":"Cynthia Kahn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/555099fc2c278d2e5096ec9be0207b3b001da38ecc607b6b54d475aac8398d37?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Cynthia Kahn"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/amusednow.com\/","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmusedNow","https:\/\/x.com\/Amused_Now"],"url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/author\/an_admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Shoyu-225x204.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1322"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1341,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1322\/revisions\/1341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amusednow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}