Being able to create and to seeing people appreciate and react positively to his creativity are among the things that inspire Shane Eagle.
The hip hop artist was speaking on the eve of the third leg of the #theyellowtour held in Port Elizabeth last Friday at The Gallery.
“Being able to create something that was never there before and putting it out into the universe, and being able to meet as many people as I can through the shows inspire me,” he said.
Shane’s rise to success has seen him start up his own record label and produce his award-winning album titled Yellow in 2017.
“[My rise] feels exactly the way I always knew it would; it feels natural because I have a genuine connection with everyone who supports me and my music,” the 22-year-old said.
“Being an independent artist who has produced an award-winning album through my own record label is an accomplishment on its own and it leaves room for growth and has [prepared] me for a lot of the things I [have in the pipeline],” Shane said.
He said being an independent artist was challenging.
“It’s more rewarding being independent and successful than it would be having five to 10 people [having a slice of your pie] before you get served,” he quipped.
Speaking about #theyellowtour, Shane said it started on August 31 on the first anniversary of his Yellow album.
“The tour has been amazing thus far: Seeing people coming to the shows wearing our merchandise and singing each song word for word is exhilarating.
“The fans don’t know how much work goes into making a tour happen; they just see the final product and seeing them enjoy all this effort is really rewarding,” he said.
“The tour has been like this big tidal wave; it keeps getting better and better, and the next one will be the one that brings them all together..
“With the PE tour we found a new venue and named it The Gallery and it was the first time anyone had ever performed there. Moreover this [was] a full-on production: We [brought] our own stage design, sound and our own creatives,” he said.
The event was initially meant to be held at Chicky’s Yard. In his quest to produce art that is different, Shane asked Masonwabe Ntloko to do the art direction for his tour.
Shane had seen one of the Nelson Mandela University student’s illustrations on Twitter and loved his creative approach.
“As a creative person, when you see someone that is aligned to your [sentiments] and is a maverick, you automatically plug in,” Shane said.
Ntloko attended #theyellowtour for the first time and said he was excited to see how they had put everything together.
“Seeing something that I was part of from the beginning is really amazing, because when he came to me it was just an idea. Who would ever have thought I’d be working [with the likes of Shane Eagle] and his whole team,” Ntloko said.
“Most of the work I did was for the exhibition we had at the pop-up in Johannesburg, where we made the announcement of the tour.
“From there, I did all the imagery that was used [in promoting] the tour,” Ntloko said.
#theyellowtour stage also saw performances by Priddy Ugly and Shekhinah, with both Shane and Shekhinah performing with PE bass guitarist Grant Allison, drummer Thoba Goba and pianist Wesley Keet.
The final event will be in Johannesburg at The Alex Theatre on December 7.