Shyan Selah is a man of innovation. After shrewdly navigating the music industry for the last 10 years, the 30-year-old has gained the respect of major industry leaders and insiders simply by conveying this simple message: Be Brave, a concept that applies to Shyan not just as an artist, but also as the CEO of Brave New World Entertainment, LLC. The last few years has seen Shyan go through his ups and downs as an artist and as the owner of an independent record label. He’s negotiated multi-million dollar deals and has been a force in uplifting and showcasing the next big talents to hit the world of entertainment. He has been said to embody a range of inspirational men from Bill Gates to Tupac Shakur, from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Russell Simmons. “My edge comes from a willingness to embrace the extreme and create an artistic explanation of the experience,” Shyan has said. “My mission is to create wealth from my music and empower the youth in my community to strive for excellence.” His quest for greatness goes beyond becoming a celebrated hip-hop star or lucrative businessman. It involves changing the world.

At the age of (?) Shyan changed tracks and decided to pursue music in lieu of a career in professional football. In 1996 he moved to L.A. from his home sate of Washington where he was a part of the championship football team at Central Washington University. However, Shyan discovered the road to success was not going to be an easy one. He signed his first deal with In Focus Entertainment as part of a group called Rainy Days. But when the members didn’t jibe well together, the deal panned out. In 2000 he signed a solo deal with the now defunct Adella Blue Records but left when the distributing company went bankrupt and records got shelved. In 2001 he moved back to Seattle and signed a new multi-million deal that fell through when the company went bankrupt. Shyan says it’s these experiences that taught him to be a better businessman.


“It wasn’t just going to happen for me,” he says. “I had to create my own path.” That path has included the start up of Brave New World Entertainment, LLC in (which year?) with its own label Brave New World Records. The first order of business: get Shyan’s sound out.

Shyan’s music is both unique and commercial. Something quickly realized when one first listens to the club-bangin’ newly-released single Concrete City. The song garnered so much attention, it was quickly snatched up by Ross Productions to be the theme song for the DVD “One Love,” featuring today’s hottest NBA stars. Shyan’s music is an extension of the man himself, being both diverse and mainstream, happening and honest. “Shyan Selah is something like a Lenny Kravitz, Jay Z, DeAngelo and Common combined in one.” (John Stockton, Def Jam).


Part of the reason Shyan has managed to maintain in such a competitive industry while staying true to his own artistic view is his ability to think like an entrepreneur. He recently completed a major international distribution deal with Activate/Universal, and has been contracted to write and record all the music for “Thug-a-Boo,” a new cartoon project by the Wayans Brothers, all the while securing many other entertainment-based partnerships ranging from publishing to film projects along the way. As a pioneer, he’s come up with new and groundbreaking ways to get his music to the masses. After becoming a fan of Rockstar Energy drink, he contacted the company and told them he wanted to promote their product. Soon Brave New World earned distribution rights to place the drink where they chose. Shyan came up with a theme song for Rockstar that got great feedback from the company and fans alike. He then followed suit with Royal Elastics Shoes, coming up with music for their website that advertised not only the shoes but Shyan as well.


“I wanted to do some things that would set me apart, create a bigger niche,” he says. While he keeps busy changing the face of music, Shyan works to change his community for the better. In 2006 he teamed up with Recording Artists Against Drinking and Driving (RADD) for a campaign to target youth. And while in Washington he devotedly takes on the role as a Community Leader, often speaking at public schools all over the state on the importance of staying in school, and becoming the New Urban Educational Leader for the Dr. Maxine Mimms Academy in Tacoma, WA for expelled and suspended youth.

In addition Shyan has made it his mission to show the world what others in the Northwest can do musically, hosting Brave New World Industry Nights at various venues in the Seattle area, where unsigned talent has a platform to be heard. For his music and his company his goal is to do something different, striving to incorporate elements that are cool and unique. Not, he says, the same old stuff. In the end Shyan Selah is more than triple threat. Through music, tenacity, and sheer force of character, he has the potential to change music and society as we know it.