Shay Pitts is making the music she needed to hear growing up

Beyond the 6 is a CBC Music series that highlights hip-hop artists and scenes across Canada, beyond Toronto. This month, we talked to Halifax artist Shay Pitts.

When Shay Pitts first heard that American rapper Freddie Gibbs was going to play a show in Halifax this past summer, she was in the studio with a group of rappers who immediately started vying with each other as to who would open for him. 

"[The men] were all fighting, like joking around [saying], 'No, I'm gonna get it now,' 'Nah bro, I'm gonna get it, I'm gonna message the promoter,'" remembers Pitts. "And I sat back. I was like, 'You know what? This is for you guys.' And then [the promoter] actually messaged me, out of all people."

It's not that surprising, though, considering the 20-year-old rapper has been writing and hustling in the local music scene since she was 13 — after watching Nicki Minaj perform "Anaconda" at the MTV VMAs and suddenly realizing: "I'm going to do that." As for how the Gibbs opening slot went, performing for close to 1,000 people (Pitts's biggest audience so far): "It was probably my most favourite performance I've ever done."

Named an artist to watch by Halifax's The Coast as early as 2018, Pitts started recording her own music about a year before that when she connected with now close friend and rising R&B star Jody Upshaw (whose song "Straight Shooter" was featured in Season 2 of Euphoria). Upshaw was already recording her own music by the time the two met, and Pitts was able to take her writing to the studio for the first time because of it. 

"Throughout that first summer that I began music, working with Jody definitely was the beginning that helped me to launch off into my own solo career," says Pitts, who still gushes about her friend's talents. (The two recently faced off against each other to win a coveted spot as Music Nova Scotia's Artist in Residence, which Upshaw ultimately won.)

Pitts describes her music as both "sassy" and "independent," which is evident as soon as you dip into her catalogue. As she raps on recent single "Gimme Some," featuring fellow local rising rapper Lxvndr:

'Cause I'm a bad little bitch with my eyes on the prize
She got me hooked with the size of her thighs
Can't even lie, got me hypnotized
She hit me up, I said she could ride.

"Gimme Some" revels in excess, with Pitts, Lxvndr and friends draping themselves over every inch of a candy shop in the sex-positive video. Pitts juxtaposes her spit-fire verses with sugary pop, packaging her singing and rapping talents into a single confection — while writing a song that's close to her heart.

"I am a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and a lot of the times I have been invalidated just because I am femme-representing," explains Pitts, of writing "Gimme Some." "So I did want to make a song that kind of touched on queerness from a feminine lens."

It was the last single before Pitts dropped her September 2022 EP, Attitude, which was a re-introduction of sorts for the artist. Released three years after her debut EP, Glory, the new project was written during the pandemic, after Pitts broke out of what she describes as "a pretty toxic relationship." The first song to come out of that writing time was "Cryin'," an empowerment anthem meant to be blasted at full volume. While that song didn't end up on the recent EP, it did give Pitts the energy she needed to recalibrate. 

"From ['Cryin''] I was able to formulate music that still follows that theme of being independent and not allowing other people to get in the way of that," says Pitts. "And especially with a track like 'Don't You Dare,' which is just heartbreaking and sad and terrible, I feel like it showcases that it's OK to feel these negative, raw emotions. But then here's the rest of the EP that can bring you out of that and help you recognize who you are. So [the EP is] a little bit of both: [it] allows people to feel, but then also pushes you into more of an independent, 'bad bitch' headspace."

On Attitude, Pitts isn't afraid to spread her feelings out on the floor, but she's also not about to let anyone take advantage of her vulnerability. It's what makes her music so compelling: with as many soft lines as sharp edges, a Shay Pitts song is a genuine, raw thing. 

One thing Pitts credits for her success — and the ability to feel safe while vulnerable — is the Halifax rap scene. While she notes that it's very male-dominated, Pitts says she feels welcomed. She lists rappers Maje, Kxng Wooz and Lxvndr as instrumental supporters in the local scene, as well as close friends Jayden Austin and Upshaw and Pitts's partner, Fifi Three.

"I feel held — [that's] the only way I can really explain [it]," says Pitts. "The men in the industry out here definitely have taken on father/brother/uncle roles for me. But I feel like that might be my own independent experience, considering they've seen me go from 13 to 20, so it's a little less competitive."

Pitts lists her main international influences today as Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat and Beyoncé, and her artistic goal is to be able to give a killer performance with just a mic onstage — "no dancers, no crazy lights, just a back track." But her No. 1 career goal is to be a role model for young Black girls.

"I grew up in Enfield [N.S.], I was the only Black person in my high school and I found growing up really difficult," explains Pitts. "And the one thing that did carry me through my experience throughout my adolescence was definitely powerful Black women that made music, and listening to that music, watching their interviews and feeling supported and helped through their art form."

It's who she thinks about when she writes, performs or releases new music: the young girls who will be tuning in. 

"When they turn on a Shay Pitts music video, when they listen to a Shay Pitts song, they feel empowered and confident. My music is definitely for the stars that shine bright but don't realize that they shine."