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By Rachel Burley

Sherrisa is a superior new R&B songstress. The South East London lady was born and bred in Lewisham, where she still resides today. With an independent deal with GDM Records, the 23-year-old has the talent, looks and personality to make it as a huge star on the UK’s urban music scene.

Her album ‘Don’t Hesitate’ is available in stores now, and embraces 17 tracks of soulful beats, lyrics and vocals. Having written every track on her debut, which was produced by Dollar-D and Silvastone, she introduces the flavour of her music. “It’s very soulful R&B and I’m very into lyrics,” explains Sherrisa. “It’s got a lot of different flavours: reggae, 80s, and I call myself a 90’s baby, ‘cos I’m into 90’s inspired music. It has that kind of edge.”

The majority of her album is about love and relationships, but there are also songs about being out in the clubs, partying and having a good time. “The first single ‘Sunshine’ was very happy, very love at first sight, school kid love; it has a nice vibe to it,” she describes. “There’s a couple of serious songs on the album; ‘Me’, the second single, is about someone being in a relationship and they’re not being treated right. I think a lot of people can relate to that situation.”

Lyrics have inspired her from a young age, and she goes on to reveal what motivates her to write songs and the creative process behind them. “Whenever I’m musically inspired, what I have a habit of doing is recording it on my Dictaphone. It will stay as a little piece for months on end then I’ll go back to it and do the rest of the song. The way I see song writing is when you’re inspired just get something down, get it down.”

Sherrisa has already won awards for her talent, including the BBC Urban Music Award in 2002, which has helped her to develop into the artist she is today. “I won that whilst studying in the last year of my degree. It was really great for people to appreciate my music and I got to meet a lot of influential people. After winning the award I got a placement on a scheme and got given money to develop as an artist. I learnt a lot from being there and afterwards I met GDM and signed up to do this album.”

She’s aspired to be an artist since the age of four, but the first band that originally inspired her isn’t one you’d expect. “To be honest, the first band I saw that made me want to be a singer was Bananarama,” she laughs. “I actually saw them at a very young age and I can remember thinking to myself, ‘You know what? That’s what I want to do’.” She continued, “I wanted to sing, but obviously not Bananarama style of music. As I’ve grown, matured and listened to more music, I’ve come to realise what it is I actually like about music: vocals, lyrics and melodies.”

Whilst her dream of a music career has been her goal in life from a young age, Sherrisa choose to do a university degree in sociology. “You know what? I kick myself all the time for the same thing. I don’t know what was wrong with me but I always said to myself, ‘Keep your music and your education separate’. In reality what I should have done is study something in music because that is what I really wanted to do.”

Even though she didn’t study a music related degree, her education has had a very positive impact on her life and her music career. “I’m very proud of the fact that I have my degree and I hope that it can be inspirational to other young artists,” she tells. “It shows it’s not just about music, it’s about you being well rounded, having your mind right and having stuff to fall back on. Maybe I should have done something in music but the knowledge I have gained from doing a sociology degree has been invaluable.” She continued: “To study a degree it takes a lot of dedication and determination. In music, a lot of times you have to put on your sensible hat and be focused on certain things, so it helps in that way.”

Studying for a degree and striving for musical success would have been a lot of hard work, but for Sherrisa, it’s all in a day’s work. “Not at all. I’ve always enjoyed singing and I’ve always been studying, so it’s second nature to me to be honest.” Surely she didn’t have time to live the student life as well? “Yes, surprisingly I did. I don’t remember the actual process, but everything fell into place!”

A well-grounded individual, Sherrisa still has a few unusual quirks about her. “Gosh, I can’t think and I know there are things. There’s something that people find strange… I don’t like pen lids, I can’t stand it when people chew on them. I don’t know why and my friends think I’m strange.”

Her next single, ‘Cupid’, is due to be released in April and Sherrisa plans to follow this with the re-release of her first single from the album, ‘Sunshine’, which has been remixed for the summer. The busy singer is also about to start touring at the end of March, and has plans to write more songs and do some collaborations.

With such a demanding schedule, Sherrisa has little spare time, but makes the most of what she does get. “My spare time always comes back to music, but I do like baking and cooking. I like being creative, drawing and stuff like that. Most of my spare time is taken up by music: working out, vocal training and song writing.”

A firm believer in the UK music scene, Sherrisa feels that it is too underrated and is not listened to enough. But, she’s hoping that doors are going to start opening for talented British artists. “A lot of people think that the UK industry doesn’t have the talent. We’re constantly being compared to the US and people say they’re better,” she comments. “They’re not better, things are just faster there and US people approach things very differently. In the UK, it’s very difficult for artists to get noticed because were not given the same chances as people in the States.” She continued: “I want to show that UK companies and artists are capable of building something that can hold its own. We do have the talent and I would like to prove it so the UK scene is taken seriously. On the plus side, the UK urban scene is flourishing at the moment; a lot more people are listening and I think that we’re on our way there.”

Sherrisa has already come a long way and still has a lot on her agenda. By this time next year she is hoping to be working with more established UK and US artists, to have worldwide success with her second album, and to see her label, GDM, more established. So what is it that motivates her passion and desire for success? “The love of music. I feel blessed to have the talent I have, to be in the position I’m in, and to be able to do what I’m doing. I love singing, being on the stage and writing, so I’m very happy to be in the position where I can.”

Sherrisa finds her rapture in music, but she revealed what it is that makes her tick in general. “Anything that makes me smile,” she says. “I like to smile… a lot. Being happy makes me tick.”

Sherrisa Stewart’s album is available online now at www.gdm-records.com and at all good record stores, including HMV and Virgin Records nationwide.