After years of refining his sound, marketing sophomore Shaun Vaughn, better known as Shaunzy, is gearing up for the release of his first album, “On My Way.”
Shaunzy, originally from New Albany, Mississippi, has been writing for as long as he can remember. His career in hip hop began when his grandparents bought him a microphone when he was 15-years-old. Within a matter of three months, his first mix tape was available on iTunes.
“There weren’t a lot of rappers where I grew up,” Shaunzy said. “That made me want to rap even more.”
Shaunzy released a handful of mix tapes and EPs in the past, but his album is his biggest and most ambitious project yet. “On My Way” is a compilation of his best work since 11th grade, the rapper said.
Shaunzy explained most rappers from the Baton Rouge area typically rely heavily on the trap elements that have grown prevalent in Southern hip hop. Instead of following this formula, he tries to push the limits of hip hop by incorporating elements of other genres, like R&B and reggae.
He said the artists with the biggest influence on his style include Drake, Big Sean and Kanye West. West was the first artist to show him how to experiment with the structure of traditional hip hop.
“Kanye opened some doors as far as what can be done with the genre,” Shaunzy said. “He shows how you can arrange music that doesn’t even feel like rap while you’re still rapping.”
Shaunzy said he feels that he’s able to take a new approach to hip-hop song writing because of his student status.
“I’m just sharing life from a college student’s point of view, which is something a lot of rappers can’t really talk about,” he said. “A lot of rappers aren’t in college.”
“On My Way” will be available on every major music streaming service, including iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio and TIDAL.
Shaunzy said he is also working on a side project which will be released at the same time as his album that will feature a handful of previously unreleased tracks.
Along with mix tapes and EPs leading up to the album release, he’s released a number of music videos in the past. Film sophomore Lindsey Potter will film and edit a new music video for his song “Head Hurt” within the coming months. This will be the first music video Potter has worked on, she said.
“The video’s going to focus on a college student struggling with every aspect of his life contemplating suicide,” Potter said. “After a long battle, he realizes that’s not what he should be doing.”
Shaunzy will be performing at The Spanish Moon on March 5 and March 27 with fellow Baton Rouge artists The Chambers, Nice Dog and DJ Dream Giant.

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Wingate Jones

Shaunzy will be performing at an underground concert on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at The Spanish Moon