After releasing his first collection of music on a mixtape titled, ‘Just Kids’, producer, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stevan has been on the rise. He grew up with a wealth of musical greats at his disposal via his father’s cassette collection which featured musical greats such as Bob Marley, Al Green and Stevie Wonder as well as underground hip hop mixtapes and bootleg mp3s from the likes of Childish Gambino, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar and Joey Bada$$ that he was exposed to by his older cousin. Stevan, born Stevan Muhayimana, is a self-taught drummer and guitarist who also became more than proficient at making beats and production while growing up. The release of his debut mixtape earlier this year, ‘Just Kids’ garnered critical acclaim, which featured popular tracks like “Timee” and “No More Regrets”. Stevan is back with new material with another mixtape titled, ‘Ontogeny,’ that will be released on November 22nd. Of the material, he stated, “what I go through in my life reflects in my art. The things that happen around the world affect me and when I have something to say, it will come out in my music,” he went on to describe how this year’s events with the calls for social justice influenced him in one of the new songs, “Onyx” indicating, “In light of everything it gave so much context into what I was saying in the song. I feel like it’s a time for people to start finding themselves, in their group, but also their community.”
Stevan spoke with B-Sides host Pete Mar about the new material, how his family helped shaped his outlook on life, approach to music and more.
