Women’s History Month: Digging into 070 Shake’s Creativity

Emma Paff

Rap/Hip-Hop Director 

There’s something to say about artists who shy away from constant exposure. 070 Shake is one of the most creative, yet reclusive artists I’ve stumbled upon. The first time I heard her voice was on the track “Ghost Town,” from Kanye’s album Ye. I was drawn to the underlying emotion expressed in her raw-sounding yet smooth vocals. Since then, I’ve noticed that her social media presence has been very limited, with few posts and occasional interviews. Her low profile led me to conclude that the best way to connect to 070 Shake is through her art and music. 

As you begin to explore her music, you will discover just how versatile she is. Her music blends alternative rap, electronic, hip-hop, and indie rock influences with darker and cinematic themes. A good example of this is her 2024 album Petrichor. The track, “Elephant,” begins with a wavering guitar strum that builds up with spacey synths and slowly leads into her voice. As she works alongside producer Dave Hamelin, you can hear how married her vocals are to this track. The kick lies heavy under the lyrics, and the bass rumbles and dissipates, carrying you from one verse to another. In the track “Cocoon,” the production is more minimalistic, highlighting the echoing vocal effect that reminds me of 8D audio as the bass wraps around the echoes. By blending genres in her track, her discography and sound appear very versatile while remaining uniquely hers.  

If you focus on the underlying themes, there’s a darker presence in her lyrics, as she touches on loneliness, love, mental health, and vulnerability. One of the things I appreciate about her lyricism is how straightforward she is. In the track “I Laugh When I’m With Friends But Sad When I’m Alone,” Shake opens up about her struggle with substance abuse while growing up, “Sniffin’ [explicit] at 14, it becomes a little hard | When you livin’ in a scene where the healthy [explicit] is far | But the [explicit] are not further than your room or your car.” The song evolves into a clear message: things will get better, but you have to find the strength to fight for it. Her blatant and open messages make it easy for a listener to connect or relate to her. 

Saying that 070 Shake is just a musician feels like saying all a DJ does is press buttons. As DJs multitask like crazy to curate the atmosphere during their sets, so does Shake with her music. In a recent interview with russh.com, you can see how much she has invested in all aspects of her content. She draws inspiration from her favorite directors, like Paul Thomas Anderson. 

Heavily influenced by the 1983 film The Outsiders, her music video for “Guilty Conscience” plays like a mini documentary filmed by a friend. It opens with a statement written by her moniker, Dani Moon, about how she wanted her vulnerability to be viewed by the way we might view a man’s. Men are often raised to hide their emotions and create a “shell” that protects them. Cracks in the shell almost feel explosive and chaotic, causing a need to express them violently. The video starts with a close-up of a man who appears to be in a confrontation with his emotions. His eyes are damp as he looks down to wipe them. 

Moving into the plot that follows her and a group of men, hanging out in a junkyard, denting cars, smashing windows, and smashing old appliances with a baseball bat. These acts eventually escalate into a mosh pit-like scene as the man from the beginning walks up with his group to meet hers, and a fight ensues. After, we see isolated shots of the men looking defeated and exhausted. The video perfectly encapsulates Shake’s opening statement about vulnerability through a masculine perspective, as their emotions build up into the fight scene. 

070 Shake is like a chameleon; constantly shifting into different spaces. Her production style grabs elements from multiple genres, and her lyricism draws you into her mind. By curating short stories in her music videos, you can get a feel for just how much TV and film have influenced her over the years. Her limited media presence allows engagement to be completely through her art. As Women’s History Month continues, I can’t help but celebrate such a creative and thoughtful mind like 070 Shake’s.