"If love itself were to write you a letter according to your life's experience of different forms of love, what would that look like?"
This is the question Shae Universes poses and explores throughout Love's Letter. The album, which is a follow-up to her EP Unorthodox, takes a more conceptual approach as she delves into the ten-track album, exploring various forms of love through a timeline of a relationship that takes place throughout the album.
Starting with "Love Self," which features words spoken by her mother, and ending with the self-reflective track "Sincerely," the tracks in between take you on a journey that touches on the complexities of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery. Every song offers insight and reflections on love, creating a profoundly intimate and relatable listening experience. The themes explored in the album are not just personal to Shae, but they resonate with the experiences of many, making the listening experience even more profound.
The title poses a question explored when you listen to the album and are very intentional about what the project represents. "I decided to call it "Love's Letter", as opposed to "Love Letter" or "Love Letters", because this project is meant to tell a story of love itself. It touches on many different types of love, whether romantic, self-love, or God's love, and it's essentially supposed to make the listener think or reflect." Its title and lyrical content achieve the goal as you listen from top to bottom. It brings out a lot of various feelings and emotions, which make one think about and asses the topic of love in its various forms.
With the album as a whole and everything that has transpired from this era, one that comes across in everything from how it came together to the track listing and everything in between is the effortlessness and how it all came to be. Its inception did not happen until the creation of the track Oh Wait…. "Because the process organically started, and I only realized, after I'd created, "Oh, Wait…" that this is telling a story. That's when I realized these songs are cohesive, and it started to make sense." Painted against the background of a relationship in its demise, it was more about documenting the emotions and experiences that took place during its time of writing—contributing to the project's resonance, which has found relatability to those who have been able to listen to and connect with the album. "I was going through certain things in my relationship and creating music about them then. Because just like anything—relationships, life—it's not premeditated; you just go through it. Things happen. You find yourself in positions or situations you didn't anticipate, and then you must navigate from that situation or that position."
The letters written throughout the album are ones of self-discovery, growth, empowerment, and adoration with aspects of toxicity, forgiveness, self-doubt and insecurities, which paint an actual reality of what love can be and encompasses. However, you get a deeper understanding of her artistry and the personal evolution and transformation that has taken place from where we begin to where we end. As we gather on set for the cover shoot, it feels like a different Shae Universe is standing before us. Throughout the variety of looks she embodies, there is an overall aura of a superstar emerging. Not that this is anything to be surprised by. The evolution throughout her lyrical and sonic abilities on the album is one thing; however, that same evolution is also present from where she is in her career. Having been independent until now, she signed a deal that allowed her to distribute in the US and was part of the next stage of her career, evident in all that has transpired since the album's release.
This has been apparent to her, and she is not lost in the journey to get to this point. "As I've evolved in my career, I've noticed significant personal growth. Many things that were once dreams are now part of my everyday life." The reality of what this looks like is both exciting and somewhat overwhelming regarding the expectations, and what she feels is just the beginning. "It can also be daunting sometimes, even after all this work that I've put in and even after all the growth that I've seen getting to this point, sometimes I feel like I'm still only scratching the surface". The conversation of being underrated has surrounded Shae ever since she came onto the music scene. However, since the early beginnings, there's never been a doubt that she would always be somebody to look out for. Arriving at this stage and thinking about all the events that have led up to this moment, gratitude is the feeling that stands out to her from the process. "I'm filled with gratitude when I look back and see the growth I've experienced. It's also a blessing to have others recognize and appreciate this growth. This sense of gratitude is something I carry with me every day."
There is no doubt that 2024 will be one for the books in terms of where she currently is on that journey to superstardom. "Every artist is waiting for the breakthrough moment, and things begin from that moment, so all the work you've put in before that point serves as preparation. But then, once you break through and become a global star, you are in front of the world. That is like the start of a whole, completely different journey. "This journey being one that feels like she is on the cusp of reaching, with the album and all that has followed since, is only one part of the puzzle of the overall picture. Since its release in February, she has travelled all over the world, spending a lot of time in the US building her profile and achieving things such as playing a stellar Tiny Desk performance, which is not only a moment for her but for UK R&B in general and can only be described as an "A major milestone I can never forget." Not to mention playing the bill as the only UK artist at DLT's debut R&B The Recipe festival, joining the likes of Jazmine Sullivan, SiR, Alex Isley, Destin Conrad and Tone Sith, to name a few. Not stopping there, she is also embarking on her first headline tour, which will see her play shows across the UK, dates in Paris and Amsterdam, and one can only predict that the US will follow shortly.
This accession has seemingly been a seamless journey, looking at everything outwardly without knowing the realities. The realities of navigating the industry until this point have been another thing on its own. Having been an independent artist who, at one point, was self-managing herself, I have faced a lot of hurdles and obstacles to get to this point. The struggles of being understood, being seen for who you are, discerning trust, and navigating politics and relationships have been a part of her journey and not something easy to navigate. "Having a certain level of awareness can be draining, having to be constantly on guard. It takes a lot, and that's something that I've struggled with the most." Having to navigate things like who to trust and being more aware of people in new environments can cause one to be sheltered and become weary when engaging with others and navigating the new realities of life.
An important part of remaining on course and staying true to her journey comes from her faith. Her understanding and relationship with God carry her through most of the challenges she has been through and allow her to reach this point and understand the greater meaning and purpose of her singing gift. "My belief system is that this gift of singing that I have was given to me by God. I have an assignment with this gift to help the world." Through being a voice for people who cannot communicate or articulate their emotions in the way that happens so easily for her. The album perfectly displays how that is so clear for her in all that she can put through in the music. "It's rewarding to see the people whose lives you impact and the people whose lives you help. Because, again, music is a very spiritual thing. I feel like music is the timestamp of our lives, which is why people get so attached to certain songs because they remember a time in their life when they were, what they were doing, or how they felt, and to me, it just makes me realize that my music is a lot deeper than just me."
The chapter about this album and how it has arrived at this point in her life, not just in her career and artistically but also personally, is one of her most significant life-changing moments. Before reaching the end of the conversation, I enquire about how this shift has presented itself to her, thinking about all that has taken place and how the previous version of Shae before Love's Letter differs from the one after. Before answering me, there is a pause, and the question prompts certain realizations as she reflects. "The difference between Shae, who wrote Love's Letter about all her experiences, is that Shae was quite sad. As you can tell from the songs I was writing and the things I was going through. I was also pretty unsure of myself because the journey speaks about returning to love, self-assurance and being sure of who you are, but in return, you have to lose yourself first. You have to stray far from what feels like home or what feels familiar and get into unfamiliar territories to return to what you know is your truth and what resonates with you." There's an acknowledgement of feeling lost during that journey and that although from that time came the music she was able to share with the world, a lot had to take place before getting that to that point.
Expanding this further, the album's impact on her life is also pivotal in more ways than one. "The album is a pivotal point in my life for my growth as a woman, coming into myself again, learning, relearning myself, and unlearning all the unhealthy, negative things that I may have picked up knowingly and unknowingly." If one hasn't noticed or couldn't tell, there is a confidence that oozes through and was very much present on set while the shoot took place. This can also be attributed to the album and what it has done for Shae overall as a person. "Love's Letter gave me an unshakable level of self-assurance. I know that there is always room for improvement. But who I am at my core, I'm sure of now, and that wasn't the case before I knew exactly who I was."
This is a core part of getting to the next level of her career. At the end of the day, as artists chasing this dream who want to become the next global star. A key part of that is knowing yourself in an unshakable manner before you graduate to that point. The revelation that all these things have been part of the preparation, along with all the experiences of feeling disheartened and other hurdles that have been faced, is critical. And now, as the end of the year creeps upon us with an upcoming tour and the overall reflection of the Love's Letter era, I ask what the highlight has been, and to no surprise, it's the growth. "My growth as a person, outside of the music. The woman I'm walking into is one of confidence and fun. I want this next phase of my life to be the most fun era. I'm tired of struggling, crying, and being heartbroken. That is not my story anymore. I want to be a young, confident, sexy woman living her best life, being as present in every experience as possible, and experiencing new, exciting, once-in-a-lifetime things. That is what the next era of my life will be filled with, and that's what my music will be filled with because it will reflect this new calibre of life I'm now being exposed to."
Creative Director & Photographer: Karis Beaumont - @karisbeau
Producer: Seneo Mwamba - @seneomwamba
MUA: Dalila Bone - @Dalila_mua
Lighting Tech: Alex José - @alexjose.photo
Photographers assistant: Bella Bujosa-ArmoraStylist: Alaba Nwanya - @thenaturalhairwhisperer
Design: @deeds.studio (@shalemalone&@dianeadanna)
Nail Artist: Naomi Richards - @naysap_
Journalist: Seneo Mwamba - @seneomwamba
Studio: Blankbox Studios - @blankboxstudio
