“The Henny Is Just in Case”: Five Minutes Backstage With 070 Shake

070 Shake just celebrated a homecoming. The Jersey native, born Danielle Balbuena, kicked off her first headlining tour since 2021 late last month, and a lot has changed in the interim. After landing a Billboard hit on Raye’s “Escapism” and Ye’s “Violent Crimes,” then hitting the road with Kid Cudi and Coldplay, she’s long been ready to strike out on her own. Petrichor is Shake’s latest album, more raw and alive than ever before (orchestra on, autotune off), so this time her shows are more of a spectacle. “I’m growing up,” she says when we grabbed a few minutes with her post-soundcheck. “I can’t be doing that same old bullshit.” Back in the green room at the ornately carved, chandelier-lit Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, the day after a surprise fan meetup at a downtown chess shop, she told us about her Parisian style inspo, Indian food fixation, and typical backstage chaos before taking the stage for her most special show yet.

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MEKALA RAJAGOPAL: What’s up?

070 SHAKE: What’s good? I’m excited.

RAJAGOPAL: How was soundcheck?

SHAKE: Soundcheck was good. We have a couple of different elements to the show. There’s string players and some ballerinas and stuff, so it’s going to be cool.

RAJAGOPAL: Oh, wow. Wait, how was the chess club last night?

SHAKE: Oh, last night was very, very fun. It was actually better than I thought it was going to be. We announced it at the last minute, but a lot of people showed up and it was cool. I didn’t lose in chess, so that was good.

RAJAGOPAL: Are you a chess master?

SHAKE: I’m not gonna say I’m good.

RAJAGOPAL: Okay.

SHAKE: Listen, you know someone is all right when they don’t say they’re good. So I guess I just said that I’m good…

RAJAGOPAL: I feel like chess is really catching on with the girls. There’s been a lot of chess events.

SHAKE: Oh, shit. I didn’t know that it was becoming a thing. That makes me happy though, because I don’t ever have people my age to play with because nobody knows how to play.

RAJAGOPAL: It’s not just for old heads.

SHAKE: Right. We’ve got to bring it back.

RAJAGOPAL: How long will you be in New York?

SHAKE: I leave on Monday. I’m here for two days to soak it in.

RAJAGOPAL: Is there anything that you make sure you do when you come back?

SHAKE: Well, I see my friends and family, but the number one thing I always do whenever I come out here is I go to one of my favorite restaurants in the world in Jersey.

RAJAGOPAL: What is it? Are you gatekeeping?

SHAKE: [Laughs] Nah, I want people to go to that spot. It’s an Indian restaurant called Vaibhav.

RAJAGOPAL: What do you get?

SHAKE: There’s this dish called Gobi 65. It’s like deep-fried cauliflower, but I’m pretty sure that the chef that invented that dish at this restaurant. It’s so fucking good. And then I get the channa masala, garlic naan, dal makhani.

RAJAGOPAL: Okay, plant-based.

SHAKE: Yeah, when I do Indian food, I usually go plant-based with it, because I was plant-based for seven years. So Indian food was my saving grace.

RAJAGOPAL: I peeped the Ras.

SHAKE: That’s the Ethiopian spot. I eat meat now, but I’m very picky with it. I always love to get the ethnic foods, because it’s very easy to not eat meat. It’s always my go-to when ordering food. I don’t like to order meat. I’m freaked out about that kind of shit. [Laughs]

RAJAGOPAL: Well, you’ve been on the road for a week, right?

SHAKE: Yeah, felt like fucking a year.

RAJAGOPAL: What’s felt different about this tour compared to previous ones?

SHAKE: I’m approaching it in a more professional way. Now I’m taking it seriously, where in the past I’ve kind of not treated the show with the respect that it deserves. So I feel like now I’m being more responsible. 

RAJAGOPAL: This venue is so beautiful. It’s so crazy.

SHAKE: Yeah. Were you able to walk around?

RAJAGOPAL: I saw it as I was coming in and I was like, “Oh, wow.”

SHAKE: You got to go in the room. It’s an insane energy.

RAJAGOPAL: And the album feels equally grand and orchestral.

SHAKE: Thank you. I’m a very big fan of classical music, and I think live instruments always take the music to the next level—the violins, the cello, and the piano. I want to be able to perform in rooms like this and feel like I’m doing them justice.

RAJAGOPAL: You said you have an orchestra?

SHAKE: Not on tour, but tonight is a special night, so I’m bringing some strings out. It’s not a full orchestra, but we have some strings.

RAJAGOPAL: And ballerinas. Do you dance on stage?

SHAKE: No, I can’t fucking move a muscle. I am the worst dancer ever, so it wouldn’t be fair to the audience if I started dancing. [Laughs]

RAJAGOPAL: What’s been inspiring you lately? 

SHAKE: I’ve been reading some stuff, watching documentaries. I’m watching a lot of James Brown and Elvis documentaries. Reading a lot of different kinds of poetry. And spending time in Paris and soaking in all the architecture. You can tell by my outfit, I’m like—

RAJAGOPAL: Garçonne.

SHAKE: Fully that. I’m on my farmer’s south of France shit.

RAJAGOPAL: Is that the vibe for the looks on tour?

SHAKE: Yeah, it is. On stage, I like to do more of a magician vibe, very magnificent, because I’m really into the aesthetic of the album itself, Petrichor. There’s a folky sound to it, so I think I’ve just naturally followed into the folkiness of it. 

RAJAGOPAL: What are you wearing tonight?

SHAKE: I think I’m gonna pretty much be wearing the same thing I’ve worn every night. I don’t know yet. I think I might wear a suit. We’ll see.

RAJAGOPAL: Very wizarding. How do you write? Do you keep a journal?

SHAKE: I think there’s two styles for me. So yeah I do, when I write freely, that’s not necessarily lyrics. As far as lyrics, when it’s time to make a song, I do everything together. It’s like cooking in the kitchen. If you’re going to make a dish, you take all the different ingredients and you put them all together. So it’s never just about the lyrics and never just about the production. They’re creating each other simultaneously. 

RAJAGOPAL: What does your notes app look like?

SHAKE: My notes app is a dark place. It’s a black hole, actually. [Laughs] It’s weird more than anything.

RAJAGOPAL: What’s the energy been like at the shows so far?

SHAKE: It’s been good. Like I said, I’ve been approaching the shows in a different way. Rather than trying to get a physical reaction from the crowd, I’ve been wanting to really put on a show that they can watch. In the past I used to really want people to mosh pit, which is still cool and I love that vibe. But for this round I want to have people hypnotized by watching the show and listening to the music.

RAJAGOPAL: What’s been your favorite song to perform?

SHAKE: I think “Into Your Garden” is one of them, and “Pieces of You.” Those have been really cool.

RAJAGOPAL: What do you think about when you’re on stage?

SHAKE: I’m just super in the moment. It’s very meditative in a way where I’m not really thinking about it at all. Because of that, I get a little bit lost and start forgetting lyrics. It feels kind of like I’m a machine, I press play and then I go.

RAJAGOPAL: On autopilot.

SHAKE: Yeah, definitely.

RAJAGOPAL: Have you signed anything crazy yet?

SHAKE: I signed somebody’s forehead. I haven’t signed anything too crazy yet. 

RAJAGOPAL: It seems like a classy party.

SHAKE: Yeah, I’m growing up. I’m getting old, I can’t be doing that same old bullshit.

RAJAGOPAL: It’s time for jazz.

SHAKE: [Laughs] Exactly.

RAJAGOPAL: You said it would be packed in the green room.

SHAKE: Yeah, it’s gonna be nasty in here. It’s gonna be disgusting. Well, I don’t know what’s going to happen, because there’s a capacity back here.

RAJAGOPAL: It doesn’t seem like it can take more than 20 people.

SHAKE: I told you my guest list is 100 people. I’m scared. I had to tell my tour manager I need my own separate room to decompress, because it’s gonna be plátano central up in here.

SPEAKER 3: I have to show you a video later.

SHAKE: Yeah, I know it’s some Dominican shit.

RAJAGOPAL: How do you like to prepare before you go up?

SHAKE: Just red wine to calm nerves a little bit. That’s the only thing. You’ll find them everywhere, the bottles.

RAJAGOPAL: I saw red wine. I saw Henny.

SHAKE: Yeah. The Henny is just in case. We’re not gonna do Henny tonight. We’re gonna keep it classy.

RAJAGOPAL: Okay.

SHAKE: But I’m not a prepper. I don’t like to overthink things. I don’t do any rituals or anything. Just throw me in there. 

RAJAGOPAL: What’s on your rider? 

SHAKE: Just Ethiopian food, but honestly I don’t eat anything. I don’t care about the rider. I am not one of those “I need my fucking M&M’s,” because I never eat anything on my rider. I just need some good food throughout the day and that’s pretty much it. I don’t even know whose shit this is. Green apples, bananas, Tostitos. Is that pita bread? I don’t know what that got to do with me.

RAJAGOPAL: What’s your tour fragrance?

SHAKE: I can’t tell you that.

RAJAGOPAL: Okay, I won’t tell anyone.

SHAKE: If it’s just for you, I’ll tell you. It’s [REDACTED].

RAJAGOPAL: Really?

SHAKE: Yes. It smells good.

RAJAGOPAL: Nobody’s going to be able to copy that.

SHAKE: Exactly. There we go.