Southern Sinatra

   Shawn Allen Skinner, aka Southern Sinatra, was born in Marshall, Texas on July 18, 1991.  At the age of 4 his fascination with music began at Hillcrest Baptist Church where he would stand in the pews waving his hands as if he were conducting the choir.  He was inspired to write his 1st rhyme at age 13 with his brother, Mangus.  Some of his early idols were Eminem, Nas, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Eagles, and southern rappers. 

Soon after his mother and father split up, he moved into the Marshall city limits and became close friends with Herles Grant (who is now signed with UGK Records) and started the group “Indo Inc”.  This is when Skinner realized a music career doesn’t have to be just a dream, it could be reality.  With just a mic, a desktop computer, and a closet they were making recordings and selling CD’s to their friends in high school.  A couple of years later, Skinner ran into some trouble with the law when he held up a local gas station.  Being his first offence, he got 10 years probation. 

Fast forward a couple of years and Rhett Skinner (another of Shawn’s brothers) opens Musicians Unlimited, a multifaceted music business that has a record label incorporated in the mix.  “Well, after a few months, I got the label in order and started looking for local acts to sign” Rhett explained.  “Shawn had been telling me he was a rapper for years but I kinda just blew him off like ‘yea, you’re a rapper man..’ but I thought, what the heck.  So I called him and said come down and let’s see what ya got.  It wasn’t 30 minutes, he was in the lobby of MU, playing a beat, going off and he’s been impressing the heck out me ever since.”  

After a few months into getting the album recorded, Shawn came to Rhett and confided in him that he was addicted to prescription pain pills.  He soon admitted himself into rehab to kick the habit for good.  “Set aside that he’s my brother, the mission statement of Musicians Unlimited is to help musicians in whatever way we can to reach their goals” said Rhett.  “If there is an addiction involved, it’s not healthy for every aspect of a person’s life.  That’s gotta be resolved first and foremost before any other objective is approached.”  Shawn continually refers to his record deal and Musicians Unlimited as being the one of the main factors that keeps him clean, sober, and ready to take the music world by storm.