There are at least 11 artists with the name Shades: 1. A Collaboration project of Alix Perez and EPROM. 2. A Hip-Hop artist from Bradford, UK 3. A four piece electronic band from Boise, Idaho. 4. A pop solo project. 5. A rock band from Votkinsk, Russia. 6. A co-educational collegiate a cappella group founded to celebrate music of the African diaspora and other world cultures. 7. A post-hardcore band from Newcastle Upon Tyne. 8. A R&B/pop group signed to Motown, releasing a selftitled album in 1997. The album featured the hits 'Serenade' & 'Tell Me (I'll Be Around). Also included is a cover of The Bee Gees 'How Deep Is Your Love'. 9. A dark folk project from Portugal. 10. A metal project with Arima Emily as the vocalist. 11. Singer-songwriter Justin Marra of Warwick, Rhode Island active between 2002 and 2009. Self released three albums and recorded singles for Doctor Corporate record label. 4. SHADES is Ana, a girl who always saw at parties and concerts they went. When we met told us of his strong interest in music and acting, the chemistry with Negative Youth team came quickly, JC and Cas (the musicians in our team, also known as Ritualz and Teehn Bwitches ), who were interested in producing music different from their own projects, he offered to work together. SHADES was then born. Inspired by the emotional pop music of the past 30 years and dance music styles such as reggaeton, jungle, drum & bass and trip-hop, SHADES aims to create a new kind of pop for our generation, one that is made entirely in the style DIY, but has ambitions of a proposed big pop record label. For this project we became very talented collaborators, our friends Jaime Martinez and Santiago Cendejas in the visual, and Petit Pistoletto in coordinating fashion. "Spectacular" and "Throwdown" are the first issues, expect much more." -Negative Youth 6. It is the group's mission to "offer a unique, musically excellent, and spiritually enriching performance experience to audiences at Yale University and beyond." Drawing from the diverse backgrounds of its members, Shades strives to portray authentically the depth and complexity of ethnic experience in America. The group was established by Titilayo Ngwenya and a small group of other Yale freshmen in 1988 at a pre-orientation program for freshmen of color then known as PROP, now known as Cultural Connections. Performances during the early years of Yale's youngest singing group included free Valentine's Day concerts at midnight on Valentine's Day in Durfee's Sweet Shop (now known as Durfee's Convenience Store) on Old Campus. Currently, Shades presents four annual singing jams on campus and, in recent years, has traveled extensively to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Japan, and South Africa. The group's most notable tour was in August of 2003, when Shades was invited to Phokeng, South Africa, to sing for the enthronement ceremony of Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation. The group's performance at a soccer stadium of over 20,000 included former president Nelson Mandela and the royal family of Botswana. Shades has very active alumni devoted to helping current members. The group's two closing songs, arranged by the founding members and usually sung with any alumni who are in the audience, are "Shut de Do," a traditional Caribbean folk song, and "Amen/We Shall Overcome," a medley of two traditional negro spirituals connected to the American Civil Rights Movement. In recent years, Shades has had several alums pursue successful careers in music upon graduation. Cicily Daniels, Anika Larsen and Nicole Lewis are some of the Shades alums who have been on Broadway.