New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The songwriter and producer of hip hop known as Steph
Simon has released his latest official LP album, "Born on
Black Wall Street." The LP album contains 13 original Steph
Simon tracks for an approximate total listening time of 50 minutes. It has been proudly published as an independent release without the involvement of the corporate recording industry on the Skyline Star Records music label. Direct, performed deep in the groove, and often more than a little funny, "Born on
Black Wall Street" showcases Steph
Simon as one of the most intriguing hip-hop artists of the year so far and promises that he has plenty more where that came from.
In addition to the considerable skills of Steph Simon, "Born on
Black Wall St." also features performances from local artists J. Friday, Dial Tone, Krisheena Suarez,
George Young, and Sassieon Dupris.
Tulsa, Oklahoma's Steph
Simon cites as main artistic influences the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Nipsey Hussle, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Phife Dawg, N.E.R.D.,
Solange Knowles, Missy Elliot, and J. Cole. Steph Simon's own sound takes elements from every one of these and adds his own regional, personal and intellectual flavor for a result unlike anything today's hip-hop fans have heard before. With an emphasis on carefully crafted urban poetry, socially deliberate themes, and undeniable beats with one foot firmly in the old-school, "Born on
Black Wall Street" by Steph
Simon has a little something for everybody.
A deliberately sociopolitical record, "Born on
Black Wall St." is named for Tulsa's Greenwood area. According to Wiki, this was "one of the most commercially successful and affluent majority-African American communities in the United States" until the 1921
Massacre and race riot which claimed more than 300 African American lives.
Asked to describe the overall meaning of "Born on
Black Wall Street," Steph
Simon writes, "My album is the story of a black kid growing up to learn about his city's history of
Black Wall St. in Tulsa. I take the traditions that were lost in the 1921 Race
Massacre and apply it to life to rebuild and recreate a new
Black Wall Street."
Throughout his new album,
Simon draws parallels between the creative culture in Tulsa today and the energy that made
Black Wall St. thrive in the first place. Taking a historically accurate role,
Simon raps as "Diamond" Dick Rowland, a 17-year-old boy scapegoated for instigating the 1921
Massacre after an incident with a white girl in an elevator.
"I feel a connection to Rowland I can't explain," writes Simon, "almost like I'm carrying his spirit with me. It wasn't right that his name was used as a catalyst for a lot of pain and destruction. I use the name Dicky Ro as a catalyst for transformation and hope."
"Born on
Black Wall Street" by Steph
Simon on the Skyline Star Records label is available from over 600 quality digital music stores online worldwide now. Get in early, hip hop fans. Very early.
