The Beginning:
Shawn Patrick Stockman was born on September 26, 1972 in Southwest Philadelphia. He was born to JoAnn Stockman and Thurman Sanders. Shawn remembers his mom being sure that her boys never lost a fight by encouraging the boys when in a fight to beat them up good. Shawn now says that his mom is much more mellow and can't believe the way that she used to be and the way that she is now how much it has changed. Shawn didn't know his father for a while in his child, Thurman would sometimes deny being his father, but he was really his father. Shawn came from a very large family of seven brothers and two sisters. His seven brothers were Two Marks, Chris, Rodney, Thurman, Steven, and David. His two sisters are Taterea and Deborah. Unlike the other fellas, Shawn didn't have as rough of a childhood. His mother, JoAnn's good nature helped Shawn and his siblings have a pretty good childhood. They would always have nice clothes, and had the things they needed to live. JoAnn would sometimes shield her stress from her five children so it wouldn't make them feel sad or bad about their money situation. Also, Shawn says that every Sunday he remembered having a special sports day where most of his brothers and Taterea would play any game that was on the television that Sunday. They would play football, basketball, etc. every Sunday inside their house which sometimes they would accidentally end up vandalizing their mom's furniture, which caused some minor beatings, but nothing serious that would cause them to be taken away from their mother or break any bones, it was just to teach them a lesson. When Shawn was still a kid, his parents knew the talent that he had, so they were encouraging him to capitalize on his great talent. But, his parents knew how fickle the music industry was and still is, so they also encouraged Shawn to work in other activities besides singing. While Shawn was in the sixth grade, he has one teacher that he can now consider a role model. Her name was Miss Bailey and she was one of the most caring teachers that Shawn ever knew. Remembering his childhood, Shawn said he acted differently in certain situations. When he was a child he was shy, but very "bubbly" when around the guys when playing football for school. When around girls he suddenly turned shy or demure. He didn't combine his friends from school and at home together either, so he was considered a private type of guy. Through the years of Shawn's childhood, his mother started noticing more and more about Shawn's musical talent. One day in particular is when Jeffery Osborne's "On the Wings of Love" came on the radio. Shawn sang that song emotionally and beautifully, just like he does now in Boyz II Men. His mother took notice and enrolled Shawn into a different school for musical education. Soon after that, they found about the Creative and Performing Arts High School which at the time was only about five years old. When Shawn enlisted at the school, the other three fellas were already enrolled, history was just waiting to happen.
Now in high school, Shawn had friends other than Nate, Mike, and Wanya. Shawn had a best friend during high school, Andre Solomon, even though he didn't go the CAPA high school, they still kept in touch and in 1995, they sometimes did. The two always discussed wrestling, which Shawn still adores to this day! But, before he got into Boyz II Men (before they were actually noticed there), Shawn was not very popular among his peers. Shawn and his friends were considered nerds. He had another best friend, but at CAPA, Greg Kennedy. They used to collect comic books and Shawn still enjoys collecting comics, so he's obviously still a kid at heart. Shawn was also introduced to metal music in high school. Metallica was just being introduced in the '80's, and Shawn instantly liked them, and he still does. Because of reading, Shawn never thought that Nate, Mike, and Wanya actually knew who he was, until the day that he sang his solo in the choir. His life would change forever. After that solo, Shawn was in Boyz II Men for good. Also after that solo he got at least eight more solos in the choir and Wanya joined after Shawn was noticed. Shawn still remembers Wanya never being a shy person, imitating Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" all of the time. Even though Wanya and Shawn had two opposite personalities, he got along great with Wanya and Mike and Nate. But, there was also that fifth member at the time, Marc Nelson. Shawn never got along with him at all. The hatred started when Marc had already considered Shawn a nerd and talking about him behind his back. Shawn had enough of it and let all of the aggression out to him and told him how he felt which caused even more tension in the group then there was before. Once Marc left for solo stardom, the group got along like brothers. Unlike Mike, Shawn didn't even have to think about staying in Boyz II Men or going to college. Once Michael Bivins discovered them, all Shawn focused on was Boyz II Men and nothing else, not even the SAT's in his senior year. Shawn says that he is the type of person that can only think about one thing at a time, and school was not the one, it was Boyz II Men. That was probably one of the best decisions of his life. Boyz II Men would of course go on to be one of the biggest success stories of the '90's.
"...our purpose is to appeal to everyone..."
Once the mammoth success of Boyz II Men hit, Shawn's personality did not go exactly the opposite that it was before the huge success. He still considers himself prive and to himself like he was when he was a child. But, he does consider himself a lot more wiser than he was. Fame has also affected the way that Shawn and his family interact. Shawn now can do things for people that he never thought he could do. But, that does have a downside when those people depend on you for money all of the time. Shawn says that he and the rest of the group try and give their family nice things a lot, but not too much that it'll make them keep wanting more and more. Sometimes, when the group thinks about their very humble beginnings, they can get sad and the people that get money from their success are constantly happy. Keeping your family in check can be a tough thing, but the guys have done a good job of keeping everyone in check as good as they can. At certain family functions, some family members can get a little boastful about having a star in the family. It gets Shawn angry since a family get together should be all about the family not about "my family member in Boyz II Men." Not all of the members of his family want things from him though. There is another music artist in the family. His second cousin is Tameka Cottle who was in the group Xscape before they went their separate ways in late 1998.
Shawn has many great things to say, and I personally have enjoyed two of his quotes a lot. One of them was taken from The Boyz II Men Success Story, Defying the Odds. Here it is: "When Boyz II Men make music, our purpose is to appeal to everyone-young and old, black and white. Our main focus is to be the best in this music industry we possibly can, and to take this group to a level of new heights." That was a much longer quote, but that is the essence of the quote. My absolute favorite quote made by any Boyz II Men member is one that Shawn made in the Us II You. The quote is: "The music is it. It is what brought us together, and it is what keeps us together." That quote signifies that Boyz II Men will be together physically for as long as they can, but they will always be together if the music is still there and no stupid situations will never break them up. Quick note, that quote got me my job at the V.I.P. Club, that's why I love it so much!
"Slim" not only has the best personality of the group, but is one of the most talented writers of the group. Shawn has written and co-written many gems for Boyz II Men including "Motownphilly," "You're Not Alone," '50 Candles," "Doin' Just Fine," and many more. Shawn has also written many songs for other artists including Commissioned, Color Me Badd, Uncle Sam, and more. He also went solo twice in late 1995 and late 1998. The first was the influential "Visions of a Sunset" which appeared on The Mr. Holland's Opus Soundtrack. His second solo attempt is now on the Down in the Delta Soundtrack, and it is called "Just a Little Luv" about the problems of the earth. Shawn wrote and produced both of the songs.
Shawn Patrick Stockman has one of the most real personalities of the group, from his life before Boyz II Men to his life now. Not only is the guy nice to the fans, he even gave out his E-Mail address (Shawnslims@hotmail.com) during a interview conducted by BET in late 1998. As long as Boyz II Men will be around, Shawn will be the guy that is known as the peacemaker, who doesn't get into arguments often with other group members, but he will always try and stop the verbal disagreement before it gets really ugly. Shawn will always be the sweet guy in Boyz II Men that you know would never want to hurt no one unless they hurt him. Shawn is definitely one of the sweetest and friendliest fellas on the earth.
Shawn Quick Facts:
Full Name: Shawn Patrick Stockman
Birthday: September 26, 1972
Favorite Color: Brown
Old Nickname: Slim
Pet: A yorkish terrior named Little Shawn which was given to him by his girlfriend
Weird Fact: Shawn's girlfriend gave Shawn an actual WCW championship belt for his birthday one year
Some information has been taken from The Boyz II Men Success Story, Defying the Odds. Some sources could be wrong, so please excuse me if there are any major mistakes. Also, if you have a Boyz II Men web site, don't even think about taking this biography, logo or background from my page and putting it on yours. I made this on my own and I personally hate it when I see my hard work on someone else's web page. Thank You.