Shystie's 2003 blew up big-style with her smash white label response to Dizzee Rascal's 'I Luv U' and a hugely successful tour with Basement Jaxx which led to her being scooped up by major label Universal, Polydor.



But 2004 promised much more with her long-playin', lightning-speed rhymin' debut Diamond In The Dirt which will showcase her as a major new UK talent. "I want all the success but I don't want to get it by talkin' about stupid things on some funky pop track. I want to sell loads of albums but I want to keep it street," Shystie says. "I'm controversial. All my tunes have something naughty, rude or in-your-face. Singing r'n'b is all about the nice life and getting it on with your boyfriend, but with MCing you can be more real. I don't want no album of 'I need help getting some sleep, type of tunes!" Shystie aka Chanelle Calica got her nickname, which means sweet but cheeky & Sly, at school and was born and raised in Hackney, East London but now resides in North london.

She started MCing at Sixth Form College with the boys she hung around with. "The boys'd freestyle over tapes at lunchtime and I didn't want to get left out. So every night after school I'd write, write, write. I didn't eat dinner 'til after midnight. Then I'd go in and say I'd just scribbled it out after EastEnders." Inspired by Eminem, Lauren hill and Busta Rhymes and writing most of her lyrics on her Nokia phone, she wanted to sound different and made her flow faster and faster. "It's my trademark. I rhyme fast and people know it's me. It's my speed and my triple-rhymin'." Her distinctive style propelled her onto the mic at garage raves, pirate airwaves and then onto the Dreem Teem's Radio One show. All the while, she was putting in the hours doing a sound engineering course. Now with her debut recorded, everyone is vibing off Diamond In The Dirt and for good reason.

In 2004 Shystie spent her time and year performing in and out of the country, (America, Germany, Brazil, Chille, Argentina) promoting her new album and show casing her home town London talents all over, was on the front of 8 front covers of newpapers/magazines and was also the first artist in the UK to have her own Character named 'Shystie' of course to be featured in a computer game called 'JUICED' which was released on the playstation and xbox platforms and also featured on the games soundtrack, which she also shot a video for.

Shystie features in the tv-show: Dubplate Drama in which she plays a young grime-mc (Dionne Duplat aka mc Pressure) trying to make it in the music industry. The show is particularly loved because the audience gets to vote at the end of each episode how the story will progress.
http://www.dubplatedrama.tv