Sha Stimuli, born Sherod Khaalis, is an American rapper from Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his mixtape releases, beginning with Let Me Show You The Way in 2002, which earned him a spot in Source Magazine's Unsigned Hype section. Sha Stimuli is the cousin of Dre Knight and is the younger brother of producer and rapper Lord Digga, through whom he was introduced to Brooklyn rappers such as Notorious B.I.G. and Masta Ace.
Background
As a kid, Sha Stimuli often followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Lord Digga, learning about the music business. As a producer on the Notorious B.I.G.'s album Ready To Die, Digga often took his little brother to recording sessions at the studio, which later influenced him to become a rapper. At only 14 years old, Stimuli, as Kid Dynamite, appeared on Masta Ace's album SlaughtaHouse. Before continuing with music, Stimuli focused on his other love, basketball, playing at Brooklyn Technical High School, and heading to Iowa to play NCAA Division 1. In 1997, he studied at Delaware State University while interning at Roc-A-Fella Records, bringing him closer to his passion of music.
Musical career
In college, Stimuli gained recognition by being active in freestyle ciphers. Beginning his mixtape career in 2002, Stimuli released his first tape, Let Me Show You the Way, gaining him recognition in various print and online publications. Some years later, Stimuli was signed to Virgin Records and was set to release his debut album, Thee Emotion Picture, in the third quarter of 2007. Recording at Baseline Studios, Stimuli had producers Just Blaze and Nottz working on production for the album, but the process soon came to a halt due to problems that arose at Virgin Records. In early 2008, legal issues between Virgin Records and Def Jam left Sha Stimuli without a management team or label. In early 2008, together with childhood friend DJ Victorious, Stimuli took on an endeavour to release one mixtape per month for the next 12 months. Each mixtape had a theme and concept, ranging from politics to relationships, and gained him a significant amount of attention. In October 2008 Sha was also featured on the track "Destined to Shine" from Statik Selektah's album Stick 2 the Script.
Debut album
Sha Stimuli released his debut album, My Soul To Keep, on October 27, 2009 with Chambermusik Records / El Distribution. The first single, "Move Back," features rappers Freeway and Young Chris and was produced by Just Blaze. The album was released to critical success.
2012
On January 23, 2012, Sha Stimuli released The Calling, the first EP from his 2012 "The Rent Tape" series of 12 EPs. This series is similar to his 2008 series, in which he released 12 mixtapes in 12 months.
2016
On September 27, 2016, Sha Stimuli returned from a four-year hiatus from the music industry to release a new song titled "Sticks and Stones". Stimuli also announced his signing to 10 Minutes Late Records who will release his new album, "Lazarus", in 2017. On December 11, 2016, Sha Stimuli continued his return to music and released a new song titled "New Jordans/A Poem for Mike" produced by Just Blaze and Needlz respectively. This song was met with positive reception.
