the young people's professor

With today’s radio & television airwaves overwhelmed by an endless parade of monotonous Beyonce B-sides, chances are you’ve never seen or heard of Warner Brothers recording artist Shanelle Brown, aka Ms. Brown. Do me a favor boys and girls: turn up your laptop speaker, grab an L, and sit back and take in the vocals of this dope, 20 year old, Atlanta-based, Morgan State college drop-out.

A musical amalgamation of Jazmine Sullivan, Janelle Monae, and Alice Smith, Ms. Brown still manages to resist coming across as simply a prepackaged, manufactured, corporatized afro-punk ingenue. There’s something funky fresh about this woman that deserves attention, that demands a second and third listen.

Take for instance her debut single “Wonderland.” Pure afro-futuristic deliciousness, right? You’ll watch this video and find yourself struggling to figure out what the hell is going on visually. Is this an E-pill gone wrong? Perfect.

Afterwards, visit Ms. Brown on myspace (yeah, homegirl doesn’t have an “official” website yet) and listen to “Frivolous,” “You’re the World,” and “Suicide.” I guarantee you, you wont be disappointed.

Is this too good to be true? Or rather, why is it that all the truly good black artists are still only found underground?


Watch the video here.