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From a young age, her mother knew Dshaunta Hayward had rhythm. Growing up on the 1500 block of South Dover Street, where she still lives with her family, the oldest of six children (five girls, one boy) would often rap into a hairbrush. In later years, a bona fide microphone would replace the grooming tool at family functions and parties.
"As I got older, the love was still there for music so I just started writing," the 19-year-old hip-hop artist known as Shorty Roc told the Review.
Inspired by Jay-Z, who she cites as her biggest influence, the Philadelphia YouthBuild Charter School (Broad Street and Girard Avenue) senior began writing songs when she was 13, but it wasn’t until she signed with Keith Mungin’s WalkDown Entertainment in 2007 her message took a positive turn — avoiding obscenities, the denouncing of women and use of the "N-word."
"[Mungin] inspired me to write this new way of hip-hop. At first I was iffy, I didn’t know if people would listen, but the responses I’m getting are great. It’s a good feeling," she said.
Mungin said he encouraged Shorty Roc to abandon the negativity hip-hop is often associated with because there’s enough of that vibe in the world. "There’s an outlet for positive things out there. Kids need to hear other things than what’s out there," Mungin said.
Shorty Roc pens lyrics to beats by mostly South Philly-based producers such as L., T-Money and Damon Bennett, the latter of whom has worked with Jay-Z.
Her spring-release EP "Class is in Session," which features more than a dozen songs, is dedicated to schools throughout the world. "I feel as though some kids might get the wrong idea about hip-hop. I don’t want them to think that all hip-hop is that you have to curse, degrade women, use the ‘N-word.’ I’m trying to show them a new way of hip-hop.
"That’s why I named the album ‘Class is in Session’ because I’m trying to teach them a new way. It’s all about having fun and learning at the same time," she said.
Mungin, whose company is based in South Philly, inspired her to write the first single "Put the Guns Down" — which premiered on WRTI 91.7 last year — for her forthcoming EP. The song was written to the beat of Jay-Z’s "Show Me What You Got" from his 2006 CD "Kingdom Come." Her catchy tune gets right down to business: "Hey yo, listen up … I’m talkin’ to all the high schools: South Philly High, Franklin, Gratz, MLK, Lincoln/We gotta pick up the books and put down the guns — for real — we’re dying ya’ll."
The artist said she used Jay-Z’s beat to lure listeners then delivers her antiviolence message, inspired in part by the shooting death of her 35-year-old cousin in West Philly.
"I’m speaking to the world about there’s too much killing going on in our community. I’m trying to encourage people that you don’t have to be tough to shoot people. There’s a lot of nonsense about why people are getting shot. It’s stupid reasons. We’re killing each other off and enough is enough," she said.
She’s written two songs about single-parent moms, of which her own mother Jenica "Nikki" Hayward is one. "I’ll See You in Court" takes on absentee dads and "Mom I Hear you Crying," was inspired by her mother’s difficulty supporting her family.
"It’s a struggle raising six kids in a home. We just want to let her know we love her and we’re there for her for being strong all these years," Shorty Roc said of her mom.
But the subject matter on "Class is in Session" is not all serious. Shorty Roc has many "party songs," as she puts it.
"I’m 19, I still like to have fun," she said with a laugh.
"Who You Rockin’ With?" was inspired by a phrase from Mungin’s 9-year-old daughter Keyonna and is dedicated to Shorty Roc’s fans. And when it comes to fans, Shorty Roc has a large local following from kids to older people, many of whom stop her on the street or at The Gallery at Market East to thank her for her positive message. "That makes me feel good," she said.
After signing with Mungin, the artist soon found herself booked at schools throughout Philadelphia and other community and city events including "Put it Down," the city’s kick-off campaign for violence reduction; a November youth conference hosted by state Sen. Vincent Hughes in West Philly; the fourth annual "We Care Day" in Germantown; the "Unity in the Community" festival in Logan; and the X-Offenders for Community Empowerment Eighth Annual Rally in North Philly. "I’ll See You in Court" is the opening song for a TV show Mungin created that debuts Jan. 5 on WYBE Channel 35. Airing 9 to 9:30 a.m. Saturdays, the show Mungin describes as a documentary/talk show is called "Baby Mama Drama Child Support Court" and features lawyers, judges, psychologists, social workers and teachers.
Jan. 18, Shorty Roc begins a national school tour in Memphis, Tenn., followed by a performance at the National African-American Student Leadership Conference in Holly Springs, Miss. The trek winds its way back to the East Coast in February with dates in the tri-state area — with a stop in Philly that has yet to be scheduled.
"I’m really excited [about the tour] because there is a lot of violence in schools. If I could come into a school and change somebody’s mind, if I could show them a different way, that would be great," she said.
The teen is in it for the long haul and one day hopes to play global venues.
"This is what I want to do as a career — to make music, perform throughout the world. I want to be like Jay-Z — as big or bigger," she said with a laugh.
