DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines teen is determined to break through the male-dominated history of hip-hop, one note at a time.
With help from her parents, Shae Bae, 15, is finding her voice.
"When I hear the melody, it just brings out the music, or sometimes when I was little, and I always used to get picked on at school, and I couldn't hardly talk about my feelings," explained Shae Bae.
With role models like Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj, Shae Bae hopes that her small recording studio in her home will get her into the industry. She has struggled with dyslexia and bullying. However, she's found a way to deal with it.
"So what I started doing is singing through my pain and through all of my emotions," Shae Bae told Local 5's Samantha Mesa. "And it helped me a lot."
But as any artist knows, it takes a lot of grit to perform.
"People always warn me, about the outsiders," she said. "'Shae Bae, you're gonna have people commenting on every stuff of yours and doing this.' And I always tell them that that won't bother me because I'm already going through it right now."
The teen refers to herself as "The Remix" because she loves blues and country. Her other heroes are Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
Shae Bae's parents, Shawkrice Harris Jordan and Lafayette Harris, support their daughter's work so much, they even turned the front door hall into a studio for her to record.
"It's hard, don't give up," Shawkrice said about encouraging her daughter. "Just keep going, hold your head up and show up for your child."
Shae Bae's dad had a similar answer.
"Just be supportive, be behind her back," Lafayette said. "Make sure she gets what she needs."
Meanwhile, Shae Bae is going to continue her own blazing trail.
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