21 ways…to mature

Ebony, Nov, 1994 by Aldore Collier

VOCAL artists have occasionally used their music to make statements, ranging from political to social and romantic issues. Add Shanice Wilson to the list. Shanice, who has been a recording artist since the age of 11, recently turned 21. And she wants her legions of fans to take notice.

Her current album, 21 Ways...To Grow, is a collection of 11 sensuous, mature ballads and hip, streetwise tunes. The first single, "Somewhere," is an up-tempo song about a young woman who is taking control of her life as she searches for the right relationship. "Turn Down The Lights," her "adult ballad" is the tune that raced up the record charts.

"I turned 21 last May 14," she proudly announces. "So, I'm 21 now and I just felt that as an artist and as a person I have grown in a lot of ways. Even creatively, I have grown. I cowrote some of the songs and I co-produced two songs. This album is who Shanice is."

The talented singer has been working since she was a child. "I signed with A&M Records when I was 11 and my first album came out when I was 14," she says. "So, people are used to seeing Shanice. But I'm more mature now. I am still the same person, but just a little more mature. It's funny because when I was 14 people thought I was lying about my age. They thought I was a lot older than 14. Maybe it was because of my voice. And now people think I'm still a little girl and don't belive I'm really 21."

Besides being happy with the way her career is going, Shanice blushes, giggles and beams with pride when she explains why she is now happier than at any point in her life. She says she has found a good man!

While doing the video for Turn Down The Lights, she met Johnnie Morton, a standout football player at the University of Southern California, who was a first-round draft pick for the NFL's Detroit Lions.

"He was the leading man in my video," she says. "He auditioned and I picked him. During the video, something just happened. After the video, for some reason, we just kept in touch. And this is the happiest I've ever been in my life. When I'm down, he brings me up. We're just alike, like twins."

And he is romantic, too. "When I went to Japan a little after we met, the first day he sent me a rose. The second day he sent me two roses and on the third he sent three. I love being romanced."

And Morton has received the stamp of approval from Shanice's manager/mother/confidante/best friend. "I love working with my mother," Shanice says. "We get along and I can trust her. We have so much fun together. She knows when to be my mom and when to be my best friend. She raised me by herself. She had to be mother/father."

Born in McKees Rocks, Pa., Shanice was raised an only child in Los Angeles by her mother Crystal. Now, at the age of 21, she is a big sister for the first time. Her father had a daughter, Chelsea, earlier this year in Pittsburgh. Shanice has dedicated the album to Chelsea.

Music was part of her life even before Shanice was born. "My mother said when she was pregnant my father used to take his guitar and play to her stomach every night. So, I was even hearing music when I was in my mother's stomach." She sang before she learned to walk. At the age of seven months, she says, she sang Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good." Her mother and her aunt Penni, who also manages her career, are both singers.

As a youngster, Shanice also modeled and acted in television commercials. Her biggest break came in the musical Get Happy. Her performance in that show at age 11 caught the attention of A&M Records. Her debut album, Discovery, was released in 1987 and spawned two No. 1 R&B hits, "(Baby Tell Me) Can You Dance?" and "No 1/2 Steppin'." Two years later, she hit the charts again with the song, "This Time."

She switched to Motown Records four years ago and went gold with the album Inner Child.

A couple of years ago, feeling very grown up, Shanice left home and found her own apartment in L.A. The only problem with the new arrangement was that she had to fend for herself at mealtime. After getting tired of eating out every day, she decided to move back and live with mom.

Music does not take up all of her life. She recently signed with the William Morris Agency for modeling work. She knows she is not tall enough for runway work, but is confident she can do print work.

Socially, she stays away from the limelight. "I'm not a party person. I don't go out a lot. I am a homebody," she says. "I have fun renting movies and inviting friends over and kicking it." She also roller skates, rides bikes, shops, swims and rides horses. As for the future, she wants to do a Broadway musical, record a jazz and gospel album and go to college, not necessarily in that order.