Hustling & Hip-Hop

Shakim Bio Has New Novel

Shakim Bio- QUEENS FIVE PERCENTER STREET GENERAL IS BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH A NEW NOVEL.

ShaKim Bio is a Street General in every sense……He refuses to fail and refuses to lose…..Even being buried alive in prison for the past 22 years , he still aims high with determination and drive to be successful.

Incarcerated since Dec 1993, He cofounded Mikahs 7 Publishings in 2010 and authored & published 2 novels. “Love , Hell or Right” (2012), which is the 1st ever God & Earth love novel in print and “The Last Illest” (2013), which is the first official Street-Hop novel. Both novels being the first of it’s kind as ShaKim Bio strives to create a lane of his own which others will follow.

“The Last Illest” was featured in Cavario’s book section favorite pick in the Hip Hop Weekly magazine twice in 2013.

20150322_130834He also writes a monthly column on GorillaConvict.com titled “S.H.A.K.I.M.’s HOOD” (Stop. Holla And Keep It Moving!!) He touches on topics dealing with Prison life, Prison politics/politricks …some serious…some humorous.. but overall very REAL. He written short stories for Gorilla Convict Publications “Prison Stories II”

He has interviews on both his novels on this site….I said it before numerous times that “ShaKim Bio is truly a voice of his generation and one that needs to be heard…. He is one of my favorite authors”…….

His reputation is ironclad in the streets as well as in the federal prisons where he did 21 years and 11 months in some of the most notorious and violent United States Federal Max Penitentiaries……NOW ShaKim Bio is back again with his 3rd novel “Loyalty, Honor & Respect” and sat down with GorillaConvict.com to put us readers on point about his new novel and ongoing movement…

GORILLACONVICT: ShaKim Bio, what’s been up??? Its good to hear from you and get to sit you down for another interview…

SHAKIM BIO: Peace!!! I been good…grinding HARDBODY striving to make moves that make differences…I’m on novel number 3 now.

GC: You explained in your very first interview with us about “Love, Hell or Right” and what it is about, but now you came with a sequel….so I need you to breakdown the first novel “Love, Hell or Right” again and what the sequel is about.

S.B.: “Love, Hell or Right” is a prison Love story based on how I met my Earth, my Soulmate..the Love of my Life..how we connected,.. lost contact….and reconnected. I’m showing that mathematics do not lie..there is no coincidences. I speak on how I as a civilized and righteous man is living in Hell in these prisons, the trials & tribulations, ups & downs, victories & struggles to maintain righteousness and maintain a real relationship. I went through a lot of HELL with Shorty…Believe me…Everything was real in this piece.The sequel is “Loyalty, Honor & Respect”…see what I did is..the Love, Hell or Right came from the Supreme Alphabets ..the twelveth letter in the alphabets is L…which is Love, Hell or Right…I showed and proved the meaning and reality of it in the novel, so I took those letters “L,H,R” and produced “Loyalty, Honor & Respect”.

G.C.: What made you come with the sequel??…I know your 2nd novel was “The Last Illest” , but what brought about the sequel??

S.B.: I got a lot of feedback from Gods everywhere about the novel, Gods in prison and some free….people from different walks screamed at me..A lot of heads was really feeling the novel. It was a hot topic in debates with their girls, baby mothers, wives or amongst themselves. Brothers and Sisters was getting at me about their opinions of the story…How they felt it…how it helped them or messed up their relationship…..and I’m always asked “What’s up with Oceasia?….Are ya’ll still rocking or what?”…So one of my comrades from D.C. [Marv] , who read the novel came at me and said “Sha,…..You know you got to come with the sequel and let readers know where ya’ll at nowadays”. He sparked a thought that I wasn’t thinking of pursuing, but he was right. I owed my readers that to show that me and my Earth Oceasia went through all that…..and still standing.

G.C.: What kind of reaction and feedback did you get from the Nation of Gods & Earths about L, H ,R part 1?

S.B: The reaction I got wasn’t what I expected…I mean I thought that the novel would move at a teriffic speed due to it being the first ever God & Earth Love novel in print…NO ONE ever produced something like that , but it took time for the novel to start moving…and it moved SLOW…I put the novel EVERYWHERE that the Gods be at building…from Parliaments, to Show and Proves, to different functions. It stayed in the Five Percenter Newspaper (The Power Paper). It didn’t do what I expected…It got banned in a few State prisons…but OVERALL I Made History by producing the very 1st God & Earth Love story..I got feedback from all kinds of people..it was all Love…Superstar Alicia Keys even copped a copy..that was LOVE… I wondered if she actually read it or not and if she enjoyed it and shared it with others.

G.C.: The Nation of Gods and Earths aka the Five percenters…what exactly are they about?

S.B: The Nation of Gods & Earths aka 5%ers are a God centered culture, who teach civilization, righteousness, and the science of everything in Life, Love, Peace & Happiness to all the human families of the planet Earth. The Nation of Gods & Earths are the poor righteous teachers, who don’t believe in the teachings of a mystery God….We bare witness that the Blackman is God…we are Universal Builders…we are EVERYWHERE…in the streets,..in the prisons,…in the Corporate World , overseas…we are everywhere doing what Builders do……BUILD!!!!!

chick with booksG.C.: You wrote the very 1st God & Earth Love novel in print…I congratulate you on that…but what made you do that?

S.B.: I am a real true reader of books…I read all kinds of books from Self Help, to Science to Theology to Urban to any kind….Knowledge is a range of information… One day while I was in my plotting zone I thought of what kind of books can I bring into existence that will stand out and not erode with time..Something that can still matter 100 years from now and as I was drawing that up [mentally] I realized my situation was a great one to write about…for number one: There are more Black men in prison in the U.S. than there are in Colleges nowadays.. or who were in Slavery in the 1800’s….So many that’s going through this same situation… So many women who have a family member or members in prison, or friends or Loved ones who is or been Locked up. Prison affects so many people..so I wanted to go that route because LOVE is a Big part of Life itself and my culture is another Big thing… So I figured that needs to be done..who is going to do it if I don’t?….I remember reading Ashe Bandele’s “The Prisoner’s Wife” in 2000 while I was on vacation in USP Marion Supermax, and that storyline was strong..It was her version of telling her story from the outside looking in…so I wanted to tell a story from the inside .It was a great opportunity and I had to do it.

G.C.:In this era of technology and how everything is made simple nowadays..How does the book industry works in getting your novels out there?

S.B.: The way things are so advanced today..its CRAZY… Even when I studied ways to promote & market my novels through Self Help books and taking classes that was available to me in prison..I was still kind of old school with it. I spent a lot of money promoting and marketing my novels when I should of tooken advantage and utilized the Social media platforms instead. I was putting ads in Hip Hop magazines and newspapers when the outside world isn’t buying magazines and newspapers like that. EVERYTHING is online from novels (ebooks), mags, newspapers…..everything… so I was moving wrong..I had to learn the hard way…you got to overstand..I am in prison making moves..we still get physical books , mags and newspapers..even though in them they say they are now available online…we in prisons are just now getting ebooks to download on our MP3’s and jp5 devices..we recently got emailing and texting access, video grams and all that..Snail mail is a thing of the past in some ways in prison now..We catching up with the times…I strive to stay relevant in today’s society. I was trusting to move units like “50 Shades of Grey” , but today’s generation is not on complex reading and thinking..Everything has to be simple and dumbed down…look at the music people listen to nowadays.., but I Love and respect the culture, so I must make ways to stay relevant and exist in any kind of times/genre…I must remain very swift & changeable… I’m make moves regardless to whom or what.

G.C.: What kind of market you are targeting??

S.B.: From the beginning I was striving to target three different audiences…1] The Nation of Gods & Earths…I wanted to present something that was ours..2] the women …for they are the ones who loves us and stand by us…not to mention women are very big readers and buyers of books in general..and 3]..the brothers in the struggle who are locked up..I wanted them to know and overstand that our struggle is being brought to everyone to feel, absorb and understand what we go through…I felt I did an incredible job, even though I didn’t move crazy units like I expected…It was a great story and very great read..The novel was banned in several state prisons who target and label us as “STG”‘s because the Universal flag on the cover, but now I revised the cover and re-releasing the novel. I also made the sequel’s cover simple…so there’s no reason to reject the novel.

G.C.: Tell us about yourself…..and about your situation.

S.B.: My name is ShaKim Bio-Chemical Wise….aka ShaKim Bio, I was born in Medina (Brooklyn) and raised in the Desert (Queens), both of my parents are Jamaicans…I had knowledge of Self since 1979…I travelled all through the boroughs building..I use to spit (rhyme/rap) and was nice with it, so I was also known for that….I got caught up in the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980’s to mid 90’s. I was getting a little money and got carried away with it,

running around NYC and started going out of state…Things got out of control a bit..I got caught up in a 9 state drug conspiracy and the Feds came and snatched heads up..It was exaggerated how we were getting money and moving..I went to trial, got found guilty and hit with 480 months (40 yrs), and later the state of Ohio came at me on another case that me and my co defendants are innocent on…I got smashed on that and got that sentence ran wild (consecutive).. I been at war for my ultimate freedom. President Obama showed a lot of love to heads that was caught up in the drug epidemic with the false kingpin laws, that gives out alphabet letters and football numbers…In 2008, Amendment 706 became retroactive.. I gave back 100 months …In 2012, Amendment 750 became retroactive and I gave back another 73 months…and on November 2015, Amendment 782 became retroactive and over 5000 federal inmates got affected by that new drug law. I got pushed out the Fed system to Ohio to start that sentence that was ran wild. I did 21 years and 11 moons in the feds and stood standing tall.

G.C.: You just completed damn near 22 years in the Feds….WOWW!!…and now you are in Ohio’s prison system….how did that happen?

S.B.: My sentence was ran wild, but I’m still at war…Things is looking beautiful for my codees right now..we about to give back and come home.

G.C.: What is the difference of State prisons from the Fed pens you been in?

S.B.: There’s mad luxuries over here in the state…the 15 inch flat screen t.v. in the cell with cable..remote control stuff..JP5 to upload & download emails, photos, videograms, music, video games with the Ill graphics, ..we could make the 30 seconds video gram videos….there’s video visits, physical visits…30 lbs food and clothes boxes….Its sweet on that aspect….but the dudes in the state is very petty and the respect level here is at an all time low…Its crazy over here on that tip..I just came from a very violent environment (Feds) , but over here I’m in Disney’s world [laughing]..They don’t network like how we did in the feds..there’s no educational programs and things to challenge you mentally. These young dudes have nothing to do but wild out.. Its crazy on this side, but ShaKim Bio stays GOOD..I’m focused on coming home…I don’t let these distractions of the luxuries sidetrack my objective & goals of getting home to my family and loved ones..even though I do have all the luxuries… I got to get to the Free cipher.

G.C.: Where are you at with your current situation?

S.B.: Right now my codee Al Monday got the case in a beautiful place..He exhausted all his state remedies and was able to get it on the Federal level where he got it reversed in 2012..but Ohio is fighting nail and tooth..and dirty..He opened the door for us to get back in..I got several Innocence projects that jumped on board…Trustfully I will be home in the Free cipher (world) soon.

G.C.: What’s in the future of ShaKim Bio and Mikahs 7 publishing?

S.B.: I have a lot of projects lined up and some in motion..I got the “S.H.A.K.I.M.’s HOOD” column popping off..I do that as a monthly column…its going on 3 yrs now…I’m working on “The Last Illest 2”..but its going to be a collaboration with Kwame Teague, who is the author of the “Dutch” series…Son saw my novel in the Hip Hop Weekly magazine and ordered it and loved it…He is a pure Hip Hop head like myself…so he reached out to me and we were on our Hip Hop quizzes back & forth…. He told me that he respected my pen game and knowledge on the Hip Hop culture as far as spitting goes…Getting praises from him felt like getting a B.E.T. Hip Hop award or Soul Train award..Son wrote a classic!!!..so we are linking up to do “The Last Illest 2”..I also got an idea I’m on where I’m penning a drama/suspence novel, but under another handle to target a bigger audience.. I’m also penning treatments for two documentary DVDs that I’m working on under this other company that I formulated. Its three companies..a production, promotion and publishing companies all under the same umbrella, made into ONE company… We going to do two documentaries and use “Crowdfunding” to complete the projects. I’m working on writing a Reality show…I’M BUSY!!!..Mikahs 7 publishing is just the first step..we are not going to lose, fail, or fold…we are still here and about to expand…This novel was a real challenge to me because it tested me.. as far as patience… friendships…and where the company stood..there was a lot of obstacles to overcome..and so many setbacks.. but I kept on keeping on.

G.C.: Anything you feel you need to share with the people reading your interview?

S.B.: True Indeed!..Prison is an Ill place, but a person can take advantage of their situation and rebuild themselves on the mental, physical and spiritual levels/aspects…Prison can be college to those who allows themselves to reform..I hate being in prison..there is NOTHING to glorify about being here, but at the same time I am taking advantage of all opportunities to be more positive and productive.

G.C.: how can people find and order your novels?

S.B.: We are now on Amazon.com ..you can order the physical novels or the ebooks on there..we still are doing orders thru “Mikahspublishing@yahoo.com”, but only 2 titles are available there. “Love, Hell or Right” with the Universal flag, and “The Last Illest”..the novels are $10 a pop with $3.95 shipping/handling on Mikahspublishing@yahoo.com…but on Amazon .com all 3 titles…and the revised cover of “Love ,Hell or Right” is there…you only can get the new novel through ordering it on Amazon.

G.C.: Good Looking on the interview…..Any Shout outs?

S.B.: Peace to the Nation of Gods & Earths, ..all my supporters…all my comrades in the struggle inside and out…To the women who loves us and holds us down, and not holding us back..to my Street teams…You know who you Be!!!..shout out to Ice at Harlemworld bookstore…Ms. Tee at Royal-T Pub,…Cop my new novel “Loyalty , Honor & Respect” and my old ones..Show love and support,… peep out my monthly column too…..Big Shout outs to GORILLA CONVICT!!!!!……..PEACE!!!

 

If you like this check out Shakim’s Hood- https://gorillaconvict.com/2015/06/s-h-a-k-i-m-s-hood/

2 Comments

  • Tammy says:

    I’m so PROUD of you shakin

  • Clara Rodriguez Torres says:

    peace god. for years (about 10) I’ve had some question about you. i’m going to read part 2 then i will ask the questions i need to. glad you still writing thank you for inspiring me to write books.

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