The Biography of $hak Get’em
Shakir (“$hak G “aka” $hak Get’em) Hodsoll was born in Long Branch, New Jersey on March 13th 1989 at 5:11 p.m. to parents Lejoy Robinson and Kevin Hodsoll. His parents both had a knack for music; his mother being into the old school genre and his father the reggae genre. From a baby, his father would sit Shakir in his lap and play the guitar. He would also spin records on the turntable, which excited their baby boy very much. This made Shakir have a musical ear from a very young age.
Somewhere along the line, there was bad blood between his parents, which caused them to split. Shakir and his mother then moved to the island of Bermuda where he was raised from the age of three.
As he grew up, he always had a love for music; listening to Bob Marley and the Wailers, Peter Tosh Pato Benton, Tippa Irie, and Maxi Priest just to name a few. Little did he know this would be the beginning of his musical start. Shakir then began singing all of their songs and was able to recite every lyric word for word. His mother and father as well as family members were very amazed at his musical talents at such a very young age.
By the age of seven he was already collecting mass amounts of cassette tapes and CD's keeping them in mint condition. He would listen to them as he lay down every night, falling asleep to the sweet sounds of their music. Apart from his reggae musical background, old school artist such as The Dramatics, Teddy Pendergrass, The Chi-Lites and The Isley Brothers have greatly influenced his love for the old school sound and feel. Some would say that he is a sixties/ seventies Motown artist trapped in a present day body. This again amazed his mother and father because not a lot of people his age appreciate that type of music and sound.
At the age of eleven his appreciation for music carried on into the rap sector when he turned on the TV and heard Ice Cube’s “It was a good day”. At that moment rapping was something he was very interested in. Shakir took on the name MC Shaka and by the time junior high hit he was writing verses and battling other classmates in writing competitions held by the guidance counselor. He would win every competition because of his metaphoric flow and creativity with words. This impressed a lot of his classmates as well as the teachers and they strongly encouraged him to pursue a musical career. He was also voted most likely to become a rapper/singer by his peers.
$hak Get’em was also interested in playing an instrument, and by the age of twelve, he signed up for drumming lessons with “Eddie Ming’s Drum Lab” in Bermuda. Over the years he became quite good, and was featured in numerous concerts hosted by Eddie Ming, playing the drums with major Jazz groups on the island. His playing became so good, that he was allowed to travel to New York to attend a two week drum session at The Collective. This was a great experience for Shakir, learning new things about drums as well as the different styles that could be played. The Collective put on a show at the end of the two weeks, allowing Shakir to be featured in another small playing session.
If that wasn’t enough, he took to the piano as well; never taking lessons, but playing by ear. He would sit and listen to a song; then recite it on the piano. A hard task for some, but it became natural to a music lover like Shak G. This was yet another stepping stone on his musical journey, and as time moved on his love for music became even stronger.
By 2004 at the rebellious stage in his life, he and his mother had a falling out and at the age of fourteen he moved back to New Jersey to live with his father. From then on, he got the American feel as well as their appreciation for the rap culture. He and his good friend Paul “Paul Wall” Morris would sit up in his room writing and recording songs day and night with a digital camera. By this time, Shakir had took on the rap name “$hak Get‘em “aka“ $hak G“(changing it from MC Shaka). The G was added on by his friend Paul due to the fact of always being called “G“. $hak G then put together a compilation of all their songs at that tine and named the CD “First Bite At The Game”. This CD was his first low quality compilation, and the beginning of hearing himself recorded. They printed up a few copies, and distributed them to all of their friends; giving them a taste of their talent.
$hak G then took a break for a while to complete his high school years but in 2006 tragedy struck and a dear friend named Derrick “Manzy” Paynter was killed in road fatality on the island streets of Bermuda. The pain then sparked a need to write a song to commemorate his best friends passing. From then on, Derick's memory has inspired $hak Get’em to push forward and continue in his music career.
In 2007 $hak G hooked up with Cheyenne “C-Lew” Lewis and Edgar “E-Sali” Salinas, becoming the third member of the J.S.G. (Jersey State Gang) clique. But in early 2008, $hak G ran into trouble with the law, taking up a great deal of time in his life and was briefly incarcerated. After that he continued to record, but it had was a great deal of stress on his mind. That ordeal changed his life, and he has vowed to keep himself out of the judicial system.
In March of 2009, $hak G became a father to a newborn son, Nasir Sani Hodsoll, which greatly inspires him to continue his music career and to be a well rounded role model for his son.
Now in the year 2010, at age 21, $hak Get’em resides in Florida, with 100+ songs under his belt - 4 of which are featured on the Coast To Coast Mixtape Circuit. They are as follows - “Sex Feen“, “On My Level“, “Offa My Chest“ & “Dey Ain‘t Got“ - and the link to confirm is - http://www.coast2coastmixtapes.com/artists/artistdetail.aspx?artistid=20757&membertype=1
He has a highly anticipated mixtape titled, “$hak Get’em’s Smokin’ Sessions Vol. 1“, as well as the Vol. 2 to be released right after that. He is very familiar with the pro tools, and does shows in the Orlando/Miami area to broaden his rap career. He is a very self-motivated person, who thrives for nothing but the best. $hak Get’em is a old school/new school rapper ready to take the game to new heights. Nothing would please him more than to have the people of the world listening to his message and the lyrical songs written by him. & he quotes,” The fame doesn’t matter to me as much as putting good music out there for the people to listen to - I do not want to deny them of that - and with good music continuously flowing; the fame will come.”…………
$HAK GET’EM can be contacted at:
Phone: - 732-298-2823
E-Mail Addresses:
Lovehate89@hotmail.com
Shakgetem@hotmail.com
Websites:
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!! - WWW.TWITTER.COM/SHAKGETEM
www.myspace.com/shakgesc
http://www.facebook.com/getemshak
www.youtube.com/user/shakgetem
www.showcaseyourmusic.com/ShakG
www.datpiff.com/profile/shakg89
www.ourstage.com/profile/shakg
Updated: January 3rd, 2010
[Rap, HipHop, Underground]
