TRINA MASHELL

 

With her southing soulful countryish sound that she calls Urban Folk.Trina Mashell is an artist to look out for.

She was asked to lead her youth choir at Morning Star Baptist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi at the age of 10 years old.  "Just tell them what notes to sing and when to stop," is what she was told and she took it from there.  It was in her heart to sing for God from an early age. Her cousin told her that Atlanta was the new Motown, so at age 22 she grabbed a few shirts with only $50 in her pocket and caught the train to Atlanta.

Ten years later she's still committed to making that dream a reality, working during the days and making music in the evenings.  You can feel the heart and power of her struggle as you listen to the words of "Time I Wasted."   She left a verbally and physically abusive relationship with a boyfriend in Hattiesburg in 1999.  Coming to Atlanta, she spent four to five homeless years traveling from friend to friend sleeping on couches and finding rest wherever she could.  That ex-boyfriend later followed her to Atlanta and at a time of desperation, she went back to him seeking financial stability soon realizing the abuse was still apart of the relationship.  It ended up being a five-year relationship that went no where.  But, you can hear those sounds of hope in the first few words of "Time I Wasted."

   I wanted you to come out and speak your mind
   so we could get together and spend some time
   and then we could share all the details of our lives

   well I'm not to sure what you expect of me
   and I'm not to sure what you take me to be
   but I, I want to give this love a try

It was her grandmother who took her Trina to Blues festivals to hear the sounds of greats like BB King and others.  Later, working in Atlanta a friend gave her a country CD to listen to with the sounds of the Dixie Chicks and Lee Ann Womack.  Initially, she rejected the idea that her voice might have the marks of a country sound, but she picked that CD up and started listening to it everyday when she realized that she wanted to make those incredible country tones part of her own music.