Pop artist Beckah Shae is gold. She’s been refined by fire and polished to a sweet, smooth finish. Now, she’s emerging, armed for life’s battles. She’s up for the challenge with her fierce new album, Destiny, a collection of songs born out of a wealth of experience.

Destiny—produced by Shae’s husband, Jack “Shoc” Shocklee (Montell Jordan, TobyMac, Group 1 Crew)—may have the same beats that current Top 40 hits use to entice listeners, but the songs serve as a wake-up call for this generation. “This album is an anthem for the army of God, for those who are surrendered and focused on their purpose and mission to be strengthened, encouraged and ready for battle. It’s also a wake-up call for those who aren’t ready, to get in line, get in position and be reminded that God’s greatest victory is but a breath away.”

NRT’s Bill Lurwick spoke to Beckah about the project, and taking back music for God’s glory.

So Destiny is your fifth project--wow! You are just cranking it out. It seems like one every year.

Yeah. My husband and I have such an awesome, unique situation because we work together. We work from home and it’s so nice. It’s such a blessing because it’s just convenient for us, so we can do it whenever God gives us music or whenever He gives us songs or ideas or inspirations.

We just figure there’s no need to wait and hold it back. Put it out. I love relevance. I think relevance is very powerful and necessary. I hate sitting on a song even for just a couple of months. I’m like, “No. People need to hear this.” As long as we can, we’re going to keep on.


The tunes on Destiny have the same kind of beats and stylings as current Top 40 hits, but the message in the music is drastically a 180 degree difference. Talk about that.

Praise God. Music belongs to the Lord. It belongs to God and He’s so worthy of every sound and every praise, every note. I’ve been seriously fed up--just so fed up with what I was hearing all over the place. You can’t even go in the gas station without hearing these songs that are just terrible. They’re just so horrible and they’re so catchy, so that’s what really got me so upset and I thought to myself, “This whole generation right now, they are hearing these songs.”

I won’t even have to name names, but if I could just say the top five Billboard artists. You can go and just research who they are and read the lyrics of the top five songs. I did, because I really wanted to know what this generation is consuming. It really, literally made me sick.

If it really was up to me, Bill, you know what I’d be doing? I’d be in my room worshiping in the secret place. I’d be doing sweet worship songs, but that is something we’re going to be doing for eternity, and right now these people need something to see. They need an example and they need a standard to show them that.


The first single from the album is “#putyourloveglasseson.” Tell us about it.

I tell people all the time, “Everybody has a task. Everybody has a future,” and that’s the whole purpose of “#putyourloveglasseson.” It’s just like... don’t judge people. We’re so misunderstood. We’re so misjudged all the time--everyone. I love people. I love sitting down with a person and just going deeper, not doing the small talk business. I like to say, “What’s your story?” and most of the time people get caught off-guard when I ask.

As much as our awesome heavenly Father loves us with this deep love, the truth of the matter is that there is also an enemy in the devil who hates our guts and he’d love to kill us and destroy us.

When we have the knowledge of God in our lives, so it’s just interesting to find out how people have overcome and how they’ve walked through a victory. It’s difficult to do a short version of my story, but I will just say I know what it’s like to have a little. I know what it’s like to have a lot. I know what it’s like to experience violence or insecurity or fears.

I’ve definitely tasted darkness, walked in the darkness before and now I know what it’s like to walk in His marvelous light. I know the differences between those and I praise God that He’s finally taken me and revealed to me His glory. That’s the difference.


What has God been teaching you lately?

I’ve learned a lot about God’s love and mercy. It’s been so wonderful through most of my ministry sharing about just God’s love and God is taking me now with this CD and this time in my life. You can’t have His beautiful and wonderful mercy and grace and His love apart from the truth that says, “This is not okay.”

That’s like me having my two and four year olds and as much as I love them. I think they’re the most adorable squishy, smushy little girls ever and they’re running around and they’re hopping all over the furniture at somebody’s house and they’re yelling and screaming or they’re going to go touch a hot stove. I’m going to yell at them and say, “No, don’t do that. It’s not okay.”

I don’t want them to be burned. I don’t want them to be hurt and I’m learning that right now that that’s not always easy because disciplining my children was such a hard thing for me to learn. They’re only two and four, so I was going, “Oh my gosh. I have to do this.” When I first had my children I’m like, “I don’t like discipline. I love them, but I don’t like to, but I have to,” because I want them to learn and I don’t want them to do the things later. I don’t want them to have to experience hardship later.

So if we truly love our brothers and sisters, we have to be able to stand and tell them the truth, tell them what is not okay. Love is what draws us to Him. It’s His loving kindness that draws us to Him, but it’s the truth that really sets people free and saves them. So there has to be that balance.

Thanks for spending time with us, Beckah.

Thank you so much.