Stephen Hero releases single “Jeez” with Uncle Fester
Saint John, NB-based rapper Stephen Hero drops smooth flows and punchlines over Halifax-based producer Uncle Fester‘s head nod-inducing beat on their debut single, “Jeez,” along with a music video to accompany the release.
Watch the video for “Jeez” below and learn more about Stephen Hero via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m Stephen Hero, from Saint John, NB, and I make alternative hip hop largely focused on class disparity. I do a lot of storytelling in my music using my own experience and writing about the city around me. I love expressing the regionality of this place and finding new ways to make interesting hip-hop with a unique voice. I’ve been making rap music since I was 11 years old, I work with a lot of different producers, but I also produce myself and play some instruments. I’m an independent artist, so on any given day, I could be writing a song, recording, mixing or mastering a song, designing artwork, editing music videos, performing, or especially managing my social media.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
This new track is my first collab with Uncle Fester, a legendary east coast producer. We had been talking for some time, and the last time I was in Halifax, I went by his studio in Dartmouth, and we started by going through some beat options he had for me. That beat jumped out at me, so I started writing, and in an hour or so, we had this track mixed and mastered by Uncle Fester. It was a super fun session, just doing some classic hip-hop. Fester and I got along great right away, so I think you can expect more from us in the future.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
A lot of my material focuses on the theme of class disparity, although I like to keep it fun as much as possible. So it can get dark, but in a way that I think is pretty palatable. I pull mainly from my own experiences growing up in poverty, and I try to keep it unique and authentic to who I am and my experiences. I consider myself a lifelong student of hip-hop, and I always stay rooted in that mindset as I try to explore it in my own way.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
I have some exciting show announcements coming up, hopefully soon, but nothing I can talk about just yet, but keep an eye on my socials for announcements soon!
What’s your goal for 2023?
My goal, as always, is to grow my career and work towards finding my place in the Canadian hip-hop canon. Essentially I want to find my audience and make some dope rap songs for them, so we’ll be focused a lot on audience growth this year as we continue to release the material that we can’t seem to stop making! Lots more from me in 2023, more than ever, I’d say!
Connect with Stephen Hero:
Bandcamp
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok