Daily Archives: January 27, 2011
Artist Profile: Levi Stephens
****PAUSE THE IPOD****
I learned of Levi Stephens as he was the opening act for the Eric Roberson show at the U street Music Hall. I think I missed about half of his performance as he was on stage when I arrived. But after hearing him perform a few songs, I decided to buy his CD. I got the chance to speak with him at his merchandise table and found him to be very approachable and humble. I also found out he was from DC and as much as I love my city, its always nice to find a local artist that is a talent outside of the gogo & rap circles. I checked out his website and found that the influences referenced on his website definitely contributed to to his sound.
“Outside of the church, young Levi was exposed to artists like Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway. In addition to those soul legends, The Beatles, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix and Prince all made their mark on Levi’s musical style and led him to the guitar which was the final piece needed to create his sound.”
Levi has been has been writing and producing with two other partners as a part of Kollective Music . They have written for artists 702 & Raheem Devaughn. He decided to step from behind the scenes and in 2010 release his first album “This Way”.
When listening to his album you find yourself trying to put a finger on his style. The best way for me to describe it might be a mixture of soul & rock. The 2nd track “I love you” felt like Raphael Saadiq song while the 5th track “Overcast” gave more of a Green Day feel. Another song “Nashville” gives you a taste of country. Somehow he was still able to bring the album together with his unique sound as the common denominator. Overall “This Way” its definitely worth checking out. Please see the clip below as he talks about the album and gives a some snippets. Also check out his website, www.levistephens.com, to find out when he will be in your area. His dates section is very long, this brother is definitely grinding to get his name out there.
Artist Profile: Levi Stephens
****PAUSE THE IPOD****
I learned of Levi Stephens as he was the opening act for the Eric Roberson show at the U street Music Hall. I think I missed about half of his performance as he was on stage when I arrived. But after hearing him perform a few songs, I decided to buy his CD. I got the chance to speak with him at his merchandise table and found him to be very approachable and humble. I also found out he was from DC and as much as I love my city, its always nice to find a local artist that is a talent outside of the gogo & rap circles. I checked out his website and found that the influences referenced on his website definitely contributed to to his sound.
“Outside of the church, young Levi was exposed to artists like Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Donny Hathaway. In addition to those soul legends, The Beatles, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Jimi Hendrix and Prince all made their mark on Levi’s musical style and led him to the guitar which was the final piece needed to create his sound.”
Levi has been has been writing and producing with two other partners as a part of Kollective Music . They have written for artists 702 & Raheem Devaughn. He decided to step from behind the scenes and in 2010 release his first album “This Way”.
When listening to his album you find yourself trying to put a finger on his style. The best way for me to describe it might be a mixture of soul & rock. The 2nd track “I love you” felt like Raphael Saadiq song while the 5th track “Overcast” gave more of a Green Day feel. Another song “Nashville” gives you a taste of country. Somehow he was still able to bring the album together with his unique sound as the common denominator. Overall “This Way” its definitely worth checking out. Please see the clip below as he talks about the album and gives a some snippets. Also check out his website, www.levistephens.com, to find out when he will be in your area. His dates section is very long, this brother is definitely grinding to get his name out there.