Rhymes & Reasons presents Shannon Matesky.

Hip-hop heads share a special eloquence honed from years of reciting their favorite songs — it makes them fun to talk to. But Shannon Matesky’s in another league.

She’s a poet (watch her on Def Poetry Jam) with the commanding vocal presence of someone beyond her years.

Recently she spoke to Rhymes & Reasons about TLC’s “What About Your Friends,” Lauryn Hill’s “Everything is Everything,” and Eve’s “Love Is Blind.” See if you can trace a touch of each in Shannon’s own.

Check out the interview below:


About Rhymes and Reasons:

Rhymes & Reasons talks to hip-hop heads the globe over about their lives through the lens of songs that matter to them. Conscious, gangster, underground, commercial, Midwest, Dirty South, and everything in between — everybody’s got a little story to tell. These in-depth interviews explore what the person finds meaningful in the music and how the music impacted their life, particularly the social issues that play a role in influencing who the person has become. Interviewing people from all walks of life, Rhymes & Reasons hopes to highlight the beauty in hip-hop as we come to understand the shared nature of our stories.