The name Shire may not ring any bells yet but if you think this beautiful, Baltimore bred songstress is a rookie to the game, think again. Shire has seen every in and out, every trial, and every tribulation the music game has to offer. On the flip side, it hasn’t been all-negative either.

Her and her group were the first artists signed to, at the time, pop sensation Sisqo’s imprint at the legendary, Def Jam Records. She was also featured on Dru Hill’s second album and The Rush Hour 2 soundtrack.

It wasn’t long however, before the bottom caved in and Shire found herself back home in Baltimore, one of the roughest cities in America, and back to the struggle.

Through pure determination and relentless grind, Shire was able to work herself up again using her talent and past resume in the business to get back where she belongs, the top.

Now aligned with power production duo Midi Mafia and SRC Records, Shire is set to go back to her glory days and start a new beginning. Sixshot.com caught up with the songstress to discuss being signed to Sisqo, her upbringing, and how she plans to make it to the top.

Sup girl, how you doin'?

I'm doing great, thanks.
 
So what was it like g rowing up in Baltimore?

Growing up in Baltimore for me was all always a hustle. It's a city that has great potential to be better but you gotta be careful anywhere you are.
 
When did you discover your talent?

I discovered I really like singing in elementary school. I remember singing at my 5th grade graduation and even though I was nervous, I knew it was something I liked doing.
 
You met Sisqo in high school right? What was your relationship with him like?

Sisqo and I met a little before I got to high school. We lived 5 minutes from each other. We caught the same bus route and every morning he always was singing. I used to be like boy you are so talented. And he then introduced me to all the members of Dru Hill.  It was when I heard them singing together I really knew I wanted to sing. It wasn't too long after that Dru Hill was signed and doing they thang!  And Sisqo and I became really good friends.
 
Tell us about the group Lovher.

Now the group Lovher was Sisqo's vision.  From our close friendship and him recognizing my voice he thought it would be cool if I could be the female version of him and he could develop the female Dru Hill.  The idea was Bananas! And yes we were the female version.  
 
How did it feel to be the first female group signed to Def Jam?

It felt great being the first girl group at Def Jam.  We got so much attention from the staff and other artist. They felt we were very talented.
 
Was it overwhelming for you being so young and having all that success?

I have to be honest being signed when you are young sometimes alters your perception of how things really are.  I can’t say we had success but we did reap the benefits of Sisqo's success. And experiencing so much so young makes you sometimes take things for granted.  It had become more of a lifestyle thing instead of a work thing.

At this point you had a lot of success, you were getting national attention in magazines, why do you feel the album didn't come out?

I think our album never came out because of money and the powers that be.  We were signed through an artist to a major label. We sat for a number of years and that gets extremely costly. Honestly we would've needed to sell a whole lot of records to recoup fa sho!

You were on Dru Hills' second album, what was that experience like?

I loved working on Dru Hill's second album.  We all have a close relationship that it didn't feel like work but that I was singing with my boys.

How was it being involved in the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack?

The Rush Hour 2 soundtrack was crazy!!  All the big dogs at the time were on that album. We felt very thankful to be apart of a movie that big.

How did it feel when you had to move back home to Baltimore?

Baltimore is my home and moving back wasn't that big of an issue.  Being broke was the issue. It was very hard facing the truth of it all that things didn't work out.  I had to let go of my broken heart cause that’s what it felt like when you lose a deal.  It's like your married and got a divorce.  I thank my family though for still pushing me to do music when I felt like it could be a wrap. But when it's in your blood you really don't stop. 
 
You've also done some acting right? Tell us about that.

When I moved back to Baltimore it really help ground me.  I let go of who I once was and tapped back into my other passions, which are acting and writing.  I started taking acting classes and got involved in some plays. And wow that was therapy for me releasing all those feelings out on stage.  It made me realize that I had a new calling.

Why did you decide to move to Philly?

I moved to Philly at first to try rekindling things with the girls but through our creative differences we realize that we had our time.  I got a job at a hotel and worked with Hot City's producers.  My goal at the time was to perfect my writing.
 
How did you get with Midi Mafia?

While continuing to work in the studio, CK of Hot City kept a great line of communication with Bruce Wayne of Midi Mafia.  Bruce listened to a few of the songs I had written and saw great potential for me as a writer.  At the time Midi Mafia was busy working on Fantasia's hit single "When I See You". So Bruce sent me tracks and I continued to write.

Bruce would have my vocals mixed by his partner Dirty Swift. And with that finishing touch on my vocals we knew it was only a matter of time that through all of us working together that we would become a team. So Hot City (Charles King and Mike Floyd) teamed up with super talented Midi Mafia to develop me as an artist.
 
How did the deal come about with Steve Rifkind?

It was really special how the deal with Steve Rifkind came about.  Both partners Bruce Wayne and Dirty Swift happened to be in NY letting execs hear a few records. They informed me that meetings were already being set up.  I came up to New York a day early and Bruce somehow runs into to Steve Rifkind, plays him 3 songs and he wanted meet me that night. And when we got there he looked at me and said, "That's you singing like that?” I was like yeah.  I sang and he was sold. All I heard was "Who is your attorney?"
 
What projects do you have coming up that we should look for?

You definitely can expect my album Pickin' up da Pieces coming Summer 2008. I'm on the 2nd single for SRC's own Topic and that too will be out in early spring.
 
Anything you'd like to say to your fans at Sixshot.com?

Whassup this is Shire' and believe me never give up on yourself.  Things may not happen the way you see it or planned it but be prepared for opportunity and keep pushing!