Her music style is a unique blend of these genres and it is rare to see an artist mixing genres in this way. You don’t really see hip-hop or rap lyrics being placed over a track that has a pop/dance beat, particularly by a woman.

Influenced professionally by the likes of Lauryn Hill, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and The Game, you can clearly see how this is reflected in her music and style.

“Enrolling me in piano lessons at a young age, my mum has always encouraged my musical gifts.” Music was somewhat unavoidable in the McCoy household, growing up in a home where her mum listened to 50's and 60’s rock and roll, she fell in love with music at a young age.

“I loved the radio and I loved pop music. I heard rap music for the first time when my cousin purchased the Dangerous Minds soundtrack, instantly I was mesmerised and that made me want to learn to rap”.

Her professional journey began when she visited one of her best friends in Sydney and they had a night out at a Karaoke bar where ‘Sexual Healing’ was Shona’s song of choice! Her friend, exposed to her vocal gift and talent for the first time, encouraged her to take singing lessons.

After taking up some professional vocal coaching, combined with her unique mix of love for rap music and other genres she decided to record a cover of ‘Fly’ by Nicki Minaj. “I decided to have a go at rapping, I didn’t know if I could do it well enough but I liked it and rap is fun so I gave it a go, and it isn’t as nerve racking as singing, so I felt it was a comfortable starting point”. Shona had the opportunity to work with a producer who is also a rapper. He didn’t believe that she could lay down a rap, a perception based on looks alone. He was quickly proven wrong when she laid it down perfectly on the first take! Stunned and wide-eyed the producer/rapper was quick to want to get Shona recording more verses.

“This experience helped to build my confidence to put my own flavour and interpretation into the music and not to just mimic other artists”.

A love of writing since she was young, particularly of poems and rhymes, carried through to Shona’s adulthood and it was actually a song which she wrote in her sleep that has led to her greatest professional success thus far. “I don’t recall writing it, but I keep a pen and notebook by my bed and a few days later I discovered this mystery writing”. Loving the verse she had written sub-consciously she emailed it to her friend and now Fox FM DJ – Holly J. Holly loved the lyrics and immediately went to work creating beats for it while Shona continued to write. Feeling that some of the verses were masculine she decided to call upon her friend NeeQ to get on the track too. Together they created a track titled “666 drop”. Finally, in 2013, it aired on the Today FM national network and has been played at venues around the country as well as internationally. They achieved solid success and exposure with this track. It is yet to be formally released; however they have future plans to do so.

As an artist Shona is finding her direction and is currently enjoying the journey. She is actively writing, working with different producers and performing locally. Shona has a diverse talent that encompasses multiple areas of music and the creative process, she can write, rap and is an incredibly talented vocalist. Shona is growing creatively as an artist and is ready to make her mark in the industry.