How being Kanye West’s Protégé Elevated 070 Shake’s Career

Taken under the wing of rap legends, G.O.O.D. Music artist 070 Shake is now flying on her own.

Written by Thomas Galindo

In early summer 2018, Pusha T and Kanye West’s label G.O.O.D. Music decided they were going to run the month of June, and they did. Starting with Pusha T’s Daytona that dropped the last week of May and ending with Teyana Taylor’s K.T.S.E that dropped in June 23, each week, the label had a different artist of theirs drop a seven-song album four Fridays in a row. This month-long run also included a joint Kanye West and Kid Cudi self-titled album under the moniker Kids See Ghosts and Kanye’s solo ye, the album where 070 Shake truly made her mark.

Danielle Balbuena is a 22-year-old alternative pop singer and rapper from New Jersey. She is a part of the 070 music collective, who are all signed to G.O.O.D. Music, the record label founded by Kanye West in 2004. The standing president of the label is frequent Kanye collaborator and fellow rapper, Pusha T. From the jump, Balbuena, better known by her stage name 070 Shake, had her sights set on signing with Kanye, and her vision came true in 2016.

“A girl from my town played Kanye one of my songs, called “Sunday Night,”” she said in an interview with Complex. “Initially, there were labels that were looking at me, but I said I’m not going to sign to anyone unless it’s Kanye West. And a week and a half later, Steven Victor found me.”

Steven Victor was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of G.O.O.D. Music at the time, and was previously the manager for Tyga, Pusha T, and another Kanye West protégé, Desiigner. Even though G.O.O.D Music had Shake under contract in 2016, their major artists wouldn’t utilize her talent until mid-2018.

First was Daytona, Pusha T’s third solo studio album, released on May 25, 2018. The hard-hitting exclusive production by Kanye West fed perfectly into Pusha’s cutthroat energy, and the album was one of the best of the year. 070 Shake makes her G.O.O.D. Music debut on the fifth track “Santeria.” After an aggressive verse from Pusha in the first minute of the song, Shake takes over with a beautifully haunting chorus sung in Spanish. Originally, a sample was supposed to be used for the chorus but Kanye could not get it cleared by the release date, so he and Pusha T called up Shake to deliver the hook instead. She nailed it.

Then came ye, Kanye West’s 24-minute long, eighth studio album. Of the seven songs on the record, 070 Shake particularly controlled the final two, “Ghost Town” and “Violent Crimes.” In “Ghost Town,” the first half of the song is occupied by Kanye West and Kid Cudi, who masterfully go back and forth between Kanye’s harmonized verses and Kid Cudi’s stunning chorus. The second half, however, begins abruptly, after Kid Cudi’s final chorus, with a “Woah!” from Shake and the rest is history. “I put my hand on the stove, to see if I still bleed / And nothing hurts anymore I feel kind of free / We’re still the kids we used to be” is debatably the most iconic lyric on the record because of how beautifully it is sung, triggering goosebumps for most. Directly after “Ghost Town” is the final song, “Violent Crimes,” where Shake opens the track immediately with a minute-long show-stopping, authentic, anecdotal performance full of advice and grace, followed by a candid, sorrowful verse by Kanye about his daughter.

Fast forward to 2020. On Jan. 17, Shake released her first solo studio album, Modus Vivendi. The rollout for the record began with the release of two singles in April 2019, “Nice to Have” and the catchy-as-hell “Morrow.” These are both featured on the album, which is full of up-tempo electronic beats and elegant singing by Shake. While the lyrics are contemplative, the product shows 070 Shake confident with her sound and comfortable singing over this production. The catchiest, most addicting songs off this record are “Under the Moon,” “Guilty Conscience,” and “Morrow.” They all include passionate choruses and a great ability to ride hip-hop oriented beats that are similar to Kanye West-style production.

070 Shake has the clout and now the material to back it up. As a talented artist with a luxurious voice, she’s comparable to stars in today’s R&B scene — a little less sassy than Kehlani and a little more aggressive than The Weeknd. It would be in every music fan’s best interest to keep an eye out for 070 Shake, because some of hip-hop’s most seasoned and established veterans certainly have.

Afterglow ATXMarch 24, 2020