Photography by Daniel Seung Lee. Styling by Michael Cook. Hair: Andrita Renee. Makeup: Justine Sweetman. Jacket and Shirt by Burberry.
Kodie Shane is only 19, but she's been writing music for years, dropping her first rap, "Crown Me," on Soundcloud when she was 15. Released under her then-moniker The Don Baby and clocking in at just a minute and a half, "Crown Me" already signaled the brash lyricism, braggadocio, and high-octane energy that would come to characterize her current work. But she also quickly displayed a softer side when, in 2016, she unveiled the more introspective "Sad," a message to young kids that it's OK to be vulnerable.
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That's the thing about Shane -- she can't be pinned down, nor does she want to be. "Kodie Shane is a punk-rock cowgirl pop star, R&B singer, and rapper," says the Atlanta native, born Kodie Williams. Named after a cowboy, Shane was raised in a family steeped in musical history; her father was part of a 1980s Detroit R&B group, and her sister was a member of the early-aughties girl trio Blaque.
Two years ago, she was discovered by Coach K, a.k.a. Kevin Lee -- the Atlanta record manager and executive credited with steering the careers of Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, and Migos -- and soon found herself boarding Lil Yachty's Sailing Team and contributing a verse to their joint single "All In." She's been cruising ever since.
After putting out 2016's acclaimed EP Zero Gravity and January's hook-heavy mixtape Big Trouble Little Jupiter, Shane is hard at work on a new album due later this year. Though she remains coy about the details, she says it will feature collabs with producers like 21-year-old WondaGurl and present a more "grown-up" version of Kodie Shane. "I'm doing a lot of different shit, with a more elevated sound -- it's very mature," she says, calling it, simply, "a fire record with a lot of dope tracks."
Still, whether she's trafficking in trap, soul, new jack swing, or Rufus and Chaka Khan samples, she insists it all comes from a place of love. "Everything is love," Shane says, and you'd be crazy not to believe her.
