The highly competitive music industry is already oversaturated, with many talented producers, singers, and artists possessing the same dream to make it big. Guyanese native Shawn Hall, also known as Shawn2Hot, is not a stranger to the struggle to make his voice and story heard. 

Born in Georgetown, the rising hip hop star can still recall his humble beginnings, back when the dream felt out of reach. Shawn2Hot grew up exposed to a wide variety of music like oldies, reggae, alternative, and rock music, but no genre has ever felt the same way to him as hip hop. The world of rap was introduced to him through the hip-hop classic album, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle. At a young age, the aspiring musician would then find himself writing poems, beating on desks to create beats for him or his friends to perform. This was also the time he delved into audio production. For Shawn2Hot, these moments in high school were some of the happiest moments of his life.

At the age of 16, the gifted lyricist migrated to the United States, where he continued to pursue his love and passion for music. There he was able to further hone his skills and talents, such as producing tracks, formulating melodies, and writing music, without any professional training. This led to Shawn2Hot releasing his first-ever single entitled “Can’t Hold Me” followed by another single, “Lust.” “Lust” went on to become a sensation in the underground hip-hop scene, garnering over 100,000 streams. Shawn2Hot then followed this with his third single entitled “Into You,” which was aired on Power105, along with his sixth single, “Right Now.”

Aside from being a recording artist, through grit and determination, the rap virtuoso was able to start a beat store, which he later converted into a record label under the name Volcano Records. Knowing what it’s like to not have access to resources, Shawn2Hot is helping young aspiring artists through his label to actualize their vision and build their brand.

“Sitting around, waiting for a major label to pick my work up seemed like a pipe dream,” Shawn2Hot looked back. “I needed to take control of the situation.”

“I want Volcano Music Group to be a household name for music and other business ventures,” he shared. 

The rap star’s humble beginnings play a tremendous part in his lyricism. Even now, he can still recall the challenges of growing up in a poverty-ridden environment surrounded with violence. Today, Shawn2Hot channels these memories into his gritty writing style and battle rap flow.

“It’s not about where you are today,” he said. “It’s about where you want to be tomorrow, next week, next month, or the following year.”

Shawn2Hot’s highly anticipated album entitled Volcano Music Vol. 1 is set to be released on the 27th of May this year. His magnum opus will feature some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Busta Rhymes, StephG, Sabrina Foxx, Adrian Roxstar, Chantae Vatrice and more. Through his relentless drive to rise further to the top and great love for music, the talented rap artist believes that Volcano Music Vol. 1 is bound to change the hip-hop game forever.