By Stranga The Great
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Anybody who reads a lot of the urban modeling publications is likely to be familiar with Shayna Kelly. She has a distinctive face and she is very fit, in other words, she is the total package and she is everywhere. Living in Chicago, Shayna Kelly has appeared in music videos with Bo Deal, Twista, and many more artists in the city.
Local love is what’s in and Shayna Kelly is a lady who made it work for herself right in the city of Chicago. Before getting into the music video industry, Shayna Kelly worked at a clothing store and it led to an endorsement from Baby Phat. From there, she rose the ranks and is now one of the more-popular urban models in the industry.
Shayna Kelly is Hip Hop Vibe’s latest Hottie of the Week and she talked to us about her career. Running it down one more time, Shayna Kelly is a brand within herself, working with the music videos, clothing lines, and appearing in magazines. In her interview, Shayna Kelly explained how all of this came together.
Read the entire interview below:
Of course, beauty is only skin deep, but when brands recruit you to represent their companies, they have taken notice of your looks, how does that feel? It feels great to know that whenever I get selected for something that they like, like my natural look without me having to do much. Plus nothing on me is fake. Nowadays, it’s much harder to get picked for anything without having surgery, weave, or ridiculous butt.
Baby Phat was one of the first brands you worked with, can you explain how that came together? I was actually working in a clothing store in River Oaks Mall when a man who worked for Baby Phat saw me and asked me would I be interested in being in a private fashion show at the Merchandise Mart Downtown Chicago for store owners. I always loved clothes and wanted to try modeling so I said “Yes!”
What was the experience like working with Baby Phat? Did it require you to travel much? It was a cool experience to model clothes for store owners to choose to order for there store. I tried on clothes all day and because I was so small, iI got to keep a lot of the sample sizes plus jewelry that wasn’t even out yet. The downside was I only worked the private show for two days, so I didn’t get to travel anywhere.
Modeling is a great way to be up close and personal with the business, what other ventures are you interested in? Now that I’ve gotten modeling down, I want to explore acting and I recently just started taking ballet. Life is too short to just focus on one thing, I want to explore my options.
Back in 2009, you appeared in Twista’s “Fire” video with Lil’ Boose, did that video open doors to your other video appearances? Being in Twista’s music video “Fire” made a lot more people look at me to do videos, especially since it was all over the internet. Plus, it helped that I damn near was the only girl in the video.
You’ve also been in videos with Gorilla Zoe, the L.E.P. Bogus Boys, and Bo Deal, do you have a chance to network with the artists? Usually, when I do videos, I barely have time to talk because everyone is trying to get ready. But, I might follow them on a social network and they follow back, but that’s about it.
Since you’ve begun modeling, you’ve appeared in a lot of magazines, do you ever get approached by fans who have seen you in certain publications? I always get approached about my spread in Skin Tones Magazine and Vixens Magazine, which are my favorite spreads by the way. A lot of my fans are people that I grew up with, which is extra cool! The first thing they do when they see it is tell me how they love my magazine spreads. Sometimes, when I walk in tattoo shops, I see some of my magazines hanging up which is the best feeling ever.
What, personally, is the most-exciting part of this game for you? The most exciting part of modeling is waiting to see the results. It makes the wait and hard work all worth it.
Is reality television an outlet you would use if you had the chance to? I never really thought about going on a reality show but if it was one about modeling i would think about it.
Where can we connect with you on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram? Here are some social networks you can check me out on. Facebook is Shay Davis, Twitter, @MsRoseKelly, Instagram, @MsRoseKelly, and ModelMayhem is Shayna Kelly.
See additional photos of Shayna Kelly below:
Follow Stranga The Great on Twitter @StrangaTheGreat.
