Shane Morgan Raps, a songwriter/producer with a history of engineering, came from humble beginnings creating many of his early songs in his college dorm.
Taking his time to learn the ins and outs of intricate music creation, he vigorously studied songwriting and audio engineering. Wanting to put his new skills to the test, he decided to dive head first into recording and producing for other artists on his off time outside of school. Only when he felt genuinely ready did he decide to become a fully independent artist.
Focused on building his foundation, sound and fan base, Shane has consistently dropped vibe after vibe, with each song having a fresh and breezy tone akin to chilling on a rooftop watching a summer sunset with a cider in hand.
Shane’s latest musing release, “Back And Forth,” has him unashamedly wearing his heart on his sleeve as he gives us an inside look at how easily relationships can turn into a game of cat and mouse, sending you into a rollercoaster of up’s and down’s.
A cleverly unmixed acoustic riff immerses you in the room's ambience and seemingly transports you into the world of “Back And Forth” right from the outset. With a display of Shane’s well-earned mixing ingenuity, he brings it all to the forefront with a beautifully refined medley of soulful sounds. The smooth bouncing bass accents the reverbed guitar like a calm wind through a car window on a warm night, giving you all the nostalgic feels, and when the washed-out background vocals hit, they only add to the warm yet cool mood.
Shane Morgan Raps sets his sights amidst the summer night stars with a visual that effortlessly matches the dusky feel of “Back And Forth” and an upcoming NY tour. Check out the song and visual for “Back And Forth” out now on all streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Shane Morgan Raps. We admired your open-book approach to “Back And Forth.” After putting out songs about rocky relationships, do your exes ever reach out to you about them?
Truthfully I'm super bold with music and relationships. Luckily none of my exes reached out to me whenever I dropped a song about them. I treat my songs like I'm reporting on my life, and if someone happens to be part of that moment, I'll send her the song before it's out. Sometimes I'll even play it for her. If we're still involved and say, "Hey, I wrote this about you."
With such a high demand for studio time, mixing and producing, do you ever feel overwhelmed trying to balance the artist life with the producer/engineer life?
I love mixing and producing; it's just really time-consuming because of how much I care about the little details. I tend to make about 20 mixes with my songs and then choose the best one. When I mix and produce for other artists, it's overwhelming to execute someone else's vision for a song and make time for myself. We probably go back and forth for months about where the drums sit in the mix or how loud the verse vocals are compared to the chorus vocals. I could go on forever about that stuff; I geek out over mixing.
Your music sets a summery tone; when starting a song, what visuals usually come to mind to bring your vision to life?
Man, I love summer; it's my favourite time of year. When starting songs, I get all excited about what color the beat and vocals sound like. Then, when it's done, I usually have a solid idea of what the visual is gonna look like. I often find inspiration in skate compilation vids or old 80s movies because of how bright and saturated the colours are. I always felt like summer is a time of freedom and joy, ya know.
What message would you like to deliver to people in "Back And Forth?"
With Back and Forth, I originally freestyled everything except the second verse. I came back a week later and wrote a second verse, then realized the message I wanted to convey was just raw, unfiltered honesty about a relationship that's not working. The whole relationship is a whirlwind of romance and chaos, but I'm unphased by the highs and lows of it. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I'm fine," and things weren't fine. One week I'm blocked; next week, she's lying on my chest. That's what this song is about.
When can we expect to see Shane Morgan Raps on a NY tour?
I'm gearing up to drop a project or two this year so you can see me tour the city summer of 2023. I love performing and meeting people the music resonates with. My shows are usually filled with me having heart-to-heart conversations with people in the crowd in between my songs. I started telling jokes and making the show a fun and vulnerable time.