TORONTO, ONTARIO – In a career-shifting move, Role Model Records lead recording artist, Spoken, drops the moniker in favour of what he calls, “a natural evolution in my growth, not simply as an artist, but as a man.” The artist is officially changing his name to Shopé, which in fact, is his real name (with a slight variation in spelling). When asked about the motivation surrounding his decision, the recently married 25 year old stated, “all arrows pointed to it…it simply is the right time.”
In recent years, Shopé (fka Spoken), has generated a lot of buzz performing at major festivals like SXSW and Alive Festival, alongside international acts like Trip Lee, Britt Nicole, and Crowder. He has also worked and graced the stage with virtually all the major names in the Christian Hip Hop scene. As Spoken’s credentials grew, he increasingly noticed some confusion in the blogosphere pertaining to fans of a similarly named iconic rock band. This immediately prompted the need for a name change. With a growing fan base, both artist and label (Toronto-based, Role Model Records) believe now is the best time to brandish the new identity.
Additionally, Shopé believes the new name is more reflective of the kind of music he hopes to make. He states,
“…words like transparent and vulnerable have become clichés and buzz words…not with me…I really plan to put it all out there…well most of it at least…he laughs…I want to show people a real Christian who’s tryna figure out how to navigate this thing called life…someone who’s a real Christian, but notwithstanding understands that life is hard…with my recent marriage, I already have a lot of good writing material…he laughs again…”
Shopé believes that by dropping the moniker, he removes the invisible wall that exists between him and his fans.
Finally, the change was also motivated by a conversation the artist had with a well-known radio personality. He advised Shopé to change his name for some of the reason stated above. Unbeknownst to him, the artist had already been considering it for 2 years, and the suggestion simply served as a final confirmation. Interestingly, being of African decent, Shopé’s full first name, Mosopeoluwa actually means “I make joy to the Lord.” This served as yet another reason in favour of his re-branding.
Naturally, with a new name comes a new product and Shopé is very happy to deliver. He is set to unveil his new single in late July and a new self-titled EP slated for an August 26th release. This will be followed by a month-long national tour (Sep.–Oct.) alongside label mates Julien, and DJ Lagit, as well as national recording artists, Canon (Reflection Music Group), S.O (Lampmode Recordings), and J’son (Lampmode Recordings). This artist is one to keep a close eye one. For more information, visit www.allofshope.com and www.rolemodelrecords.ca.
