Shanell Puts Her Own Twist on Lil Wayne's 'How to Love'

Posted Jun 30th 2011 5:45PM by Theo Bark
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Todd Williamson, WireImage

If Nicki Minaj is Young Money's reigning queen, Shanell is the crew's chanteuse; equal parts muse, choreographer, vocalist and dancer, who made her unforgettable debut on Lil Wayne's 'Prom Queen.'

Following up on the recent release of her new single 'My Button' with a sultry, breathy take on Weezy's new single 'How to Love,' Shanell has stepped out from the background, singing one for the ladies. While Wayne's original may prove to be a little too "singer-songwriter" for his more hardcore fans, Shanell's take works almost as if the original never existed. The Atlanta-based singer-songwriter, long rumored to be Lil Wayne's "in-house chick," sounds at home over producer Detail's acoustic guitar licks, adding subtle personal touches to the lyrics like "But I admire your bottle poppin' and tippin' just as much as you admire late night and trickin'."

While she continues prepping her Young Money debut, Shanell recently revealed that she has several albums-worth of material for her "lil gypsy" fans.

"If Wayne would let me, I could give ya'll three or four albums right now, that's how much music I have, but I'm trying to put the right collection of songs together for ya'll," Shanell said of her delayed debut. "And I'm ahead of my time, and I don't want to force feed people with stuff they aren't ready for ... I want to be eclectic without it being such a thought process -– [I] want it to be listened to and enjoyed."

Listen to Shanell's take on Lil Wayne's 'How to Love' here, and her feature on another Weezy track, 'Runnin' below. Expect some onstage collaborations this summer, as she joins Wayne for the second leg of his 'I Am Still Music' tour next month.

Watch Lil Wayne's 'Runnin' Feat. Shanell

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