Shuree Rivera (born June 21, 1978, as Shuree Danyell Lee Jennings), who goes by the stage name Shuree, is an American

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aro ...

ian. Her first extended play released by a label, ''Be the Change'', was released in 2014 by

BEC Recordings BEC (Brandon Ebel Company) Recordings is a Christian rock record label that is an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. The label was formed in 1997 in partnership with the EMI Christian Music Group. The label promotes bands with more adult Chri ...

. The song, "Be the Change", charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine Christian Airplay chart. She was featured on ''

Invader Volume 1 ''Invader Volume 1'' is the fourth extended play from the New Zealand Christian hip hop band Rapture Ruckus. It released on 25 February 2014 by BEC Recordings. The EP charted at No. 61 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and it was awarded four star rati ...

'', with the song, "In This Together", and this charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine Christian AC/CHR chart alongside the Christian Airplay chart.

Early life

Shuree was born as Shuree Danyell Lee Jennings, on June 21, 1978, She was raised in a broken home environment as a child. She faced the death of her sister to a fatal drug overdose, at 21 years old, while growing up in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. Her pathway out of this environment was to go away to college at

Nyack College Alliance University (formerly Nyack College ()) is a private Christian college affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and located in New York, New York. Enrolling just over 1,000 students, the school is organized in three academic ...

, located in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a village located primarily in the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retains a very small western section in Clarkstown. It is a suburb of New York City lying approximately n ...

. Where she would obtain her degree in music business, and where she found her calling to minister to other young people. After college, she would relocate to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

to further her ministry at Willow Creek Church. Her mother and father would eventually get their lives on track, and coming to reconciliation with each other.

Music career

Her music recording career commenced in 2004, with the independently release album, ''Author of My Life''. She would eventually sign with

, where they would release her first

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''Be the Change'', and it was released on November 4, 2014. The single, "Be the Change", charted on the ''Billboard'' magazine Christian Airplay chart at No. 45.Chart search for Shuree
at billboard.com/biz She was featured on the

Rapture Ruckus Rapture Ruckus was a Christian hip hop and rock band from Wellington, New Zealand signed to BEC Recordings. They have released four albums: ''Rapture Ruckus'' in 2002, ''I Believe'' in 2006, '' Rapture Ruckus Live at World's End'' in 2008, and ' ...

extended play, ''

'', with the song "In This Together", and this charted on the aforementioned chart at No. 48, while it placed at peak of No. 11 on the Christian AC/CHR songs chart.

Personal life

She is married to her husband, Paul Rivera, and together they had ministered at The Compass Church, located in

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was established by the banks of the DuPage river, ...

, just right outside Chicago, where the couple resides. The couple were married on July 22, 2006, in Columbus, Ohio.

Discography

;EPs * ''Be the Change'' (November 4, 2014, BEC)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuree 1978 births Living people African-American songwriters African-American Christians Musicians from Illinois Musicians from New York (state) Musicians from Ohio Songwriters from Illinois Songwriters from New York (state) Songwriters from Ohio BEC Recordings artists 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people