Sheila E Sampling Life’s Cornucopia

Bay Area-born percussionist, songwriter, and performer Sheila Escovedo, known better by her stage name Sheila E., is living proof of the value of diversity when it comes to one’s upbringing and creative output. The versatile, prolific artist has collaborated with just about every big name under the sun, from Prince and Tito Puente to Hans Zimmer, Carlos Santana, and Beyoncé and she says, she owes this fact to growing up with every style of music being played in her home from a young age. Indeed, Sheila says, music was swirling around her even before she left her mother’s womb. She learned Latin Jazz at a young age before even studying classical violin. Later, she became more than proficient in rock music. She has salsa and gospel albums in the works, set to drop later this year, and she’s a legendary icon amongst just about everyone who’s held a beat or hummed a melody. But what this amounts to most, is that Sheila understands how to fit in with any song. It’s all about space, she says, and figuring out what not to play as much as choosing which notes or beats to strike.