My favourite singer ever in the world is Ari Up from The Slits. Her voice is amazing to me. It's carefree, but it's also really amazing.
When you're from a boring town, you have to find things to do. It's funny: I always knew I wanted to make music, so I was always kind of ahead of my peers. I had an MP3 player by the time I was in the fourth grade.
I wrote all my songs on my main instruments, and the songs I would record in my bedroom were just acoustic guitar, mandolin, and sometimes bass. I really like the texture the mandolin added to my music, but my fingers were too big to play it... I could only do little riffs and whatever.
I had always been a really peculiar child. My mom would tell you I grew up roughing it with the boys and playing with action figures and toy cars and stuff, but I also had an Easy Bake Oven... I find it amazing that in a really weird way, people are mad that they can't figure out my gender.
I think as long as you wear your imperfections on your sleeve, people respect it more.
Nina Simone had such an androgynous voice; the first time I listened to her I thought it was a man, and I'm sure a lot of people listening to me think I'm a woman. Her voice is kinda like the poster child for me.
If you listen to most of my songs, the lyrics are pretty kind of dark, but I like to put it behind happy music because then it evens it out... I'm really happy, actually. Obviously I have my bad moments, but I always challenge myself to not put negativity out there because there's already enough.
I'm naturally androgynous. I don't wear makeup or skirts.
I never felt like a boy or a girl, never felt I should wear this or dress like that. I think that's where that confidence comes from because I never felt I had to play a part in my life. I just always come as Shamir.
I'm just, 'Hi, I'm Shamir. I'm gonna sing, hug you, then you can buy my album.'
I want people to listen to my music and everyone to feel included, and I think it's kind of working because all my audiences are always so colorful.
I don't think I'm a singer that likes to flex my vocals. I'll do some runs and a bunch of high notes, but that's it. I really pride myself and I really work on just trying to sing. Like emotions. Just using my voice, not doing anything extra.
I don't really get nervous.
I'm not in a certain type of genre, and I can't be categorized or pigeonholed. That leaves a wide range of what I can do for myself, for other people, and with other people.
I always say I never felt 'latched' to a gender. I just kind of always felt like myself, and I never felt like I had to do certain things or be a certain way to fit into a certain mold.
My grandma has a picture of Louis Farrakhan playing violin in her house.
My main goal was to have something for everyone and not just one sound.
I can hit baritone notes, and I can sing in the soprano range if I wanted to. I did this thing a long time ago where I did a duet with myself. I sound like two different people.
I always surprise myself with my voice. A lot of people don't get it, and they're like, 'You can't sing. Stop. What are you doing?' And it's funny to hear a lot people say I sing in falsetto because it's not falsetto - that's my voice.
Ever since I was little, I showed traits of both masculine and feminine energies. Androgyny was never something that I thought about or tried for.
