Fresh off the success of his new EP, we sat down with MOBO Award winner Shakka to find out how the smooth UK star stays fit in between all the demands of being a musical prodigy.
How would you rate your fitness on a scale of 1 to ten?
Recently I’ve been at about a two! I’ll tell you why, because when I was doing the EP I was spending more time ensuring that it got done properly. I do everything myself: I produce, I sing, I song-write, I perform, I engineer, I mix and I master, so I was doing all kinds of stuff. My fitness is on the way now though, I’d say it’s like a three or a four at the moment. I’ve got three more days training this week, so give me a ding on Friday and I’ll tell you how much of a superhuman I am then…
How important is health and fitness to you?
So important – it isn’t just me performing on stage, it’s mental fitness as well. I need as much stamina as possible and in order to do that I need to get accustomed to the intensity that I would need to perform on stage for an hour and a half.
What do you do, fitness-wise?
I start off with a quick warm up – ten minutes on the treadmill – then, if not rowing, I’ll do some core exercises, like planking or some sit ups. Then I’ll do some weight training. On other days I’ll do some laps in the pool. It’s so important for singers to swim, because you’re exercising the respiratory system a lot more than on the treadmill or weight-lifting.
What do you do to motivate yourself?
My motivation is insane. I say this because as a musician, you start your day with a blank canvas. You have to come up with stuff on the spot, so you have to build up a sense of motivation of your own, to get yourself through the day. So when it comes to the gym, I’m no stranger to that, it’s like “Ok cool, let’s just get on with it.” The only difficulty for me is leaving the house to go to the gym, once I get there, I ain’t got to worry about anything.
What’s the highlight of your fitness week?
Friday. Because my fitness week is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, so the moment I hit Friday I’ve got the whole weekend to relax until Monday. Also, I get to show off to my friends by saying I did four days in the gym…
How is your fitness fingerprint unique to you?
The reason why mine would be unique is I need my body to make a living, I need all of my limbs and every aspect of my body for my job. I need my brain obviously, I need my legs and arms for entertaining and performing on stage, I need my joints and ligaments to be well oiled, and I need a body with good recovery practices. I need to know that my body is able to recover in order to start the next day at 100%. So it’s pretty important, because I want to tour for as many days as possible, and make as much music as possible.
Shakka’s new EP The Lost Boys is out now. Listen to it, it’s really good.
