Shea Flaherty: Movin’ On- Q&A
Shea Flaherty (aka shea.617 on TikTok) is an 18 year old artist from Dorchester, MA. Although he has only released two songs (Movin’ On and Dorchester), Shea has built a following on TikTok with his quick-witted 30 second to 1 minute freestyles. Shea possesses the ability to be extremely creative with his flow using plenty of similes and metaphors which attract breathtaking similarities to the late great Mac Miller.
Johnny Dube: How did you get introduced to music and who are some of your inspirations?
Shea: I’ve always loved music. Nobody in my family makes music per say but from a young age I was around a lot of genres giving me a lot of influences. My dad loves reggae and rap so rides with him were filled with Buju Banton and the great Bob Marley or maybe some Biggie or 50 Cent. Living with my grandmother for a bit gave me an appreciation for the classics like Frank Sinatra and Sam Cooke. As I grew up and started to listen to my own music and form my own taste, I started to really love rap , indulging countless hours in Mac Miller and J Cole mixtapes. As far as inspirations go, I’d say definitely Mac Miller and Cousin Stizz. I always felt a connection with Mac Miller based on the stuff he was talking about. He never acted like something he wasn’t just to fit a “rapper” mold and I appreciated that. Second, Cousin Stizz is a Dorchester legend. Me and my boys have been hanging down the park bumping No Bells since 2015. He really showed us that a kid from down the street could make it.
JD: When did you decide to start making music of your own, and what were/are some of the challenges?
S: Making music really started with me just coming home and not wanting to do my homework. I’d come home and play type beats off my ps4 and freestyle for hours. I started writing them down to show my friends in school and it just became a thing I liked. As my love for rapping grew , so did my appreciation for music as a whole , so I started taking music theory classes and am currently learning how to play the piano.
JD: What was it like growing up in Dorchester and how has that shaped you as an artist?
S: Growing up in Dorchester gave me a really special childhood. It’s a really tight-knit, blue collar community where I’ve met friends that have become more like brothers. Being from Dorchester and Boston in general, I try to mention it as much as possible in my bars. Boston’s music scene is definitely on the rise, but it’s nowhere near the scale of an Atlanta or New York . I think it would be really cool to see Boston transform into a music powerhouse and I think with the rise of more artists from The Bean, we can do that.
JD: You’ve gained a decent amount of attention from TikTok with your freestyles, what do you like about using that platform?
S: TikTok gets a lot of hate for being a “kids app” , but honestly if you make music, have a company, or do something that requires publicity , your stupid not to use it. The way it works puts you in front of 1000s of new people every video, you just need content. And the probability of you going “viral” on TikTok is crazy high. It’s the best way to publicize yourself or any product you have for free in the new age.
JD: How do you want people to feel when they are listening to your songs or your freestyles on TikTok?
S: Since the TikTok are usually only 30 seconds or so, my TikTok freestyles tend to just be chill, witty bars that keep the vibes coming. Compared to the music I’m working on now which is definitely more conscious. My worst fear is making music with no substance and the new stuff is definitely going to make you think more.
JD: What is next for you? Do you have any planned releases soon?
S: I’ve been in the studio for the last month or so working on my EP coming soon. I’m making the transition from making music in my closet to an actual studio so I’m really just excited to be making music in such a dope environment. This summer is going to be special.
