The daughter of Johnny Copeland, a Texas blues guitarist, is a powerful, soul-inflected singer. Shemekia Copeland is the daughter of Johnny Copeland, a well-known Texas blues guitarist. Shemekia was only a teenager when she began to make a name for herself as a blues singer. Copeland displayed a maturity beyond her years. She was a strong, soul-inflected shouter, in the tradition Etta James and Koko Taylor, but also showed a greater range of emotions. Turn the Heat Up! was her 1998 Alligator debut. It featured a career-elevating rendition of “Ghetto Child” by her father. This song has been a part of her performance repertoire since then. The decade that followed saw her release three more critically acclaimed rough-and rowdy records. She then revealed a slower, more nuanced persona with Never Going Back in 2009, which was her first album. She became a powerful singer and stylist over her two next albums, 2012’s 33/3 and 2015’s Outskirts Of Love. She had given birth to her first child in 2017, and America’s Child was released a year later. By then, she was a mature artist with vision and depth. Copeland was born to Harlem in 1979. Her father encouraged her singing from an early age. He even took her to the Cotton Club as a child. At 16 years old, her father died from heart disease and she began to pursue a singing career. He took Shemekia along on his tour as his opening act. This helped to establish her name on blues circuit. At 19 years old, she signed a contract with Alligator. It issued her debut album, Turn The Heat Up! in 1998. Unfortunately, her father died before the event. Although Copeland was influenced by many of the same influences, her debut album, Turn the Heat Up! received enthusiastic reviews that praised its passion and energy. Copeland was a rising star and was a popular newcomer. She toured the blues festivals in America and Europe and received a lot of publicity. Wicked, her second album, was released in 2000. It featured a duet featuring one of her heroes, early-R.
