Just a few days remain until Essence Festival Of Culture’s 30th anniversary and ThisIsRnB had the honor of speaking with the Queen of percussion, Sheila E. She’s slated to perform live on the festival stage on Saturday, July 6th. Grab your tickets now!
Sheila Escovedo known to fans worldwide as Sheila E., picked up the drumsticks and started making music at the precocious age of three and hasn’t stopped bringing the best ever since. She reaches the depths of man’s and woman’s divine intervention through mediums of sound, beats, and Latin rhythms.
Her latest album “Bailar” is her first ever Salsa project. It is a powerful musical escapade that explodes with flavor, time signature, rhythmic notation beats, and measures connecting the Salsa dance of an amazing Latin R&B, Pop, and Hip-hop mixture. “Bailar” is a celebration of sounds that are dynamic and free, you never want to stop dancing. Sheila E. is electric with passion and excitement across the 10-track project.
With her Mexican and French Creole heritage and as a prodigy of the legendary Peter Escovedo, her father, Sheila E. was destined to become a trailblazer barrier breaker, the greatest percussionist/ drummer the world has ever witnessed.
Sheila E. became a top session and touring musician before the age of 20, performing and or recording with George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Billy Cobham, Con Funk Shun, Marvin Gaye (on his final world tour), Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Gloria Estefan, Patti LaBelle, and Steve Nicks amongst others.
Sheila E’s producing, arranging, and performance talents have been showcased throughout the music and film industry with appearances on, The Academy Awards, The Latin Grammy Awards, BET Awards, The American Music Awards, The Kennedy Center Honors, The Summer Olympics, WOW Awards, ALMA’s, and The Image Awards just to name a few.
Her more recent projects include ‘The E Family Now and Forever, Pete Escovedo Live at Stern Grove Festival, Sheila E. Live from Lugano Switzerland DVD, Silk Road from the group Heavenese hailing from Japan, a literary biography released by Simon & Schuster Publishing Titled ‘The Beat of My Own Drum,’ ICON Sheila’s 2014 solo album and the single release ‘Girl Meets Boy’ in memory of the late, great, Prince, 2017 ‘ICONIC’ was Sheila’s contribution to the music industry and her efforts in awareness to social issues and humanitarianism, 2024 released ‘Sheila E. And The E-Train “Hella FunkE,’ and lastest ‘Bailar.’
Sheila E. is not only a phenomenal musician, she’s also the CEO of StilettoFlats Inc., an entertainment company located in Los Angeles.
ThisIsRnB’s host Kadeja had an exclusive conversation with Sheila E. highlighting her incredible career, her performance at one of the biggest salsa dance festivals of the year, her new flavorful salsa dance album, ‘Bailar’ and so much more.
Watch our exclusive full interview with Sheila E. below: