STEVEN THAD

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL - JOHN DOE

I’m sitting down at a small coffee shop, and in walks Steven Thad right on time with the biggest smile on his face, despite the rainy day outside. He comes in, takes his AirPods out of his ear, shakes my hand, and introduces himself….”Hi! I’m Steven!” He then makes a joke about the rain as I chuckle, and we sit down to order something light to eat. While we wait for our food to arrive, I use Steven's smile as my catalyst for this interview.

You came in with such a big smile! What were you listening to?

Well, usually I jump around from artist to artist, but right now, "America Has a Problem (feat. Kendrick Lamar)." That song was already one of my favorites from the Renaissance album, and Kendrick never disappoints!

Are you excited for the Renaissance tour coming to DC? 

Of course!! I’ve been planning my outfit and everything! This will be my first time seeing Beyoncé solo, so I’m excited! I already missed one tour [Formation] and I don’t plan on missing any more! 

You talk about Beyoncé a lot on your socials! Has she always been your favorite artist? 

Most people would be surprised that the answer to that is actually no! I didn’t listen to a lot of R&B growing up as a church kid. I knew “Crazy in Love” and a few others like “De Ja Vu” and “Party,” but growing up I was a huge fan of Richard Smallwood and I still am today! And obviously, Tye [Tribbett], Soundcheck, & G.A. We could do a whole interview on just their influence alone! That’s family!! 

So you grew up in church! What was the music scene like there? 

Oh my goodness the music scene was truly an experience! I owe everything that I am as a singer to the music that I was around as a child. In fact, my mom would take my two sisters and I to choir rehearsals all the time. The three of us would pick up on the 3-part harmonies that we were hearing, and then we’d go home and recreate the harmonies together in our rooms upstairs (unbeknownst to our parents originally)! We’ve been singing ever since! 

That’s amazing! Would you say that gospel music was the reason why you became a singer? 

I think it was deeper than just the music itself. It was really about a spiritual relationship. That was something very real to me, and singing was just a reflection of that. Even today, I still feel that connection when I sing, and if anything, it’s shown me how much of a gift singing really is. I always interpreted it as a gift from God. That’s really how I was introduced to singing, but even with that said, there wasn’t a specific day where I woke up and said, “I’m a singer!” I was just around music so much, singing came naturally almost without me even thinking about it!

So that environment seems like it was your musical training ground. 

Exactly! And we adjusted to a lot on the fly too! Sometimes the song selections would change, the audience needed to be pumped up, you know, church stuff! Haha
“[Singing] was really about a spiritual relationship. That was something very real to me.”

I see! Well, who/what inspired you the most to become Steven Thad? 

Steven Thad was always a part of me too in some way. I think I was always meant to be a singer, but it just so happened that my gift was able to blossom from a gospel foundation. Now, Steven Thad didn’t really emerge on the scene until after my college years. Before I got to college I only sung gospel music, but while in college I learned that other genres had the ability to help me along the way too, especially when it came down to navigating relationships, romantic and platonic. The artists that I heard in college gave me a deeper understanding of different life perspectives. You do hear this in gospel for sure, but hearing it unfiltered in these other genres gave me so much more insight into how other people lived their lives. Over the years, it made me less judgmental and more empathetic. You learn a lot about the world through music! 

Tell me more about the music you heard in your college years and how that influenced your art today. 

College was where I developed love for all the music that my friends grew up listening to and were inspired by. I learned a lot about pop music and score arranging from the a capella group I was in (s/o to Two Past Midnight!). I got to sing with some amazingly talented people here, and being around them really sharpened my musical ability. 

And on the flip side, I learned a lot of rap/R&B from my scholarship community on campus. I was able to attend Bucknell University on a full-tuition scholarship from the Posse Foundation who's mission focuses on opening the door of opportunity to marginalized groups historically never given the chance to attend prestigious universities. This community is the reason that my musical library so expansive now, and I’m incredibly grateful to them for that. I remember when “A Seat at the Table” by Solange dropped, “Culture” by Migos and “Lemonade” too! I remember my friend Angel putting me on to “To Pimp a Butterfly” by Kendrick for the first time, and then I went back to listen to “Good Kid, m.A.A.d City” and my mind was blown even more! Shout out to Posse and the extended Posse family at Bucknell, and shout out to my 7th Street family!! I love all of y’all so so much!  

That’s incredible. It really shows how music and socialization kind of go hand in hand. Would you say that this newfound musical library served as your inspiration for writing music? 

I would say it definitely influenced my non-gospel songwriting. But life in general really inspires me to write music. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve begun to realize how interconnected we all are not only to each other, but to the earth as well. I give myself time and space to live so that I can write music. Life is beautiful, and the universe is beautiful too.

Let’s talk about your writing process for “Love, R&B.” The songs in that original album tell a story of going through a break up and eventually being “free.” What were the steps you took to heal and find that freedom? 

That’s an excellent question. Writing songs has always been therapeutic for me, and as I was writing this album, I began to process my feelings by analyzing them for what they were. I would finish a song and then ask myself why I wrote what I wrote or why I was feeling a certain way. Then, I would try to understand the situation from other perspectives and look at myself from the lens of someone else. This is really what allowed me to heal because I realized that I wasn’t perfect, and neither was my perspective nor my emotions. Once I understood this, I was able to start doing the work to see where I was wrong so that I could become a better person for whenever the next relationship rolls around. That was the real freedom for me. It took me a really long time to get there, but I feel a little lighter now. Like I can finally start moving on from what was. 

Speaking of being “Free,” what made you decide to cover that Destiny’s Child song and include it as the last track on your album? 

OMG first off, I love Destiny’s Child, and I absolutely LOVE their last album “Destiny Fulfilled.” I discovered that album in college and remember feeling the warmth in every song that they sung. But “Free” specifically is a song about healing and finally letting someone go for the betterment of yourself. If you’ve ever seen Destiny’s Child perform that song live, you understand exactly what I’m talking about. Watch it on YouTube! It’s almost like they’re ministering to the audience. When I saw the video of them performing that song, I could feel healing in every chord, every lyric, every harmony. It made me cry, and that’s when I knew I needed to cover it. 

Wow that’s incredible I’ve got to check that video out! 

Yeah, it’s really amazing!
“As I was writing this album [Love, R&B], I was able to process my feelings by analyzing them for what they were...I realized that I wasn’t perfect, and neither was my perspective nor my emotions.”

Now, fast forward to today, and you’ve got a deluxe album out, more specifically, “Love, R&B (Deluxe)”! What made you decide to release this? 

Well, I had actually never intended on making a deluxe album if you can believe it! This whole idea actually started out as just a couple of music videos being performed live, and I didn’t even come up with that! It was actually my Dad who pitched the idea of me performing some of my original songs live, and it wasn’t until after we shot the videos that he pitched the deluxe album idea to me. Great job Dad! Love ya!

Wow that’s awesome! What was it like performing your songs with a live band? 

Oh it was incredible seeing and hearing my tunes come to life in a whole new way. I got to work with some really incredible musicians under the direction of Dana Soréy, or Uncle Dana as I like to call him, and this was really a full circle moment. I’ve been shadowing Dana for some time now, helping him out with administrative duties for his own production business, so to be able to work with him 1-on-1 in a musical capacity was effortless! Not to mention, I’ve learned so much about being an artist just from him alone. And when you put professional musicians like the ones I worked with in the mix, you’re bound to churn out some greatness. Shout out to Morgan, Gabe, Zach, Haein and Drummaboy!! Y’all really helped make my dreams come true! I love y’all forevahhh!! You too, Uncle Dana!

And the videos look really nice too! What was it like seeing that footage back for the first time? 

Listen, I knew it was gonna be nothing but the best! B Kyle [the director] and his team knew exactly how to capture not only me but the musicians vibing out and communicating with each other too. This gave the music so much life, and that kind of goes back to what you were saying about socialization! Seeing the band engage with myself and the music truly made the experience so much more immersive. Not to mention we had my sister there making sure we looked wonderful on camera, and also the incredible Xiana capturing breathtaking stills. It was the real deal all the way around! 

Yeah and it really shows!

Thank you that means so much to me!

Now with all of that being said, do you think R&B is dead? 

Definitely not. It’s just evolving and that’s ok. I think I would be more upset if R&B actually stayed locked in a particular era of time. I don’t mind R&B evolving because the soul of it is still present in my opinion…whether you’re listening to Brent Faiyaz or Earth, Wind, and Fire. And to be honest, there are probably a lot of artists out there making the R&B music that people like! They just have to find these artists, and it’s way easier for the consumer to do this now than it was 20 years ago...maybe even 10 years ago!

Okay…now time for a few rapid fire questions. 

Oh boy, here we go! 

Favorite Beyoncé album. 

Oh man, today? B-Day. 

Favorite movie soundtrack.

Disney’s Tarzan. Phil Collins is incredible. 

Favorite gospel artist.

Dang!! Ughhh…can I say two? 

Okay, just for this one though.

Richard Smallwood and Tye Tribbett & G.A. w/ Soundcheck. That’s all one conglomerate!

Introvert or Extrovert?

I’d say selected extrovert…or what Kendrick said. Anti-social extrovert.

Three things you can’t live without.

Food, Water, and Music.

Your biggest inspiration ever.

My parents (don’t tell them I said that lol)!

Favorite song from your deluxe album.

Today, “Find My Way"...the live version.

Thank you so much Steven, I hope you had a great time! 

I did. Can’t wait to do this again! 

Same!