His vocals ignite the passion to listen, his lyrics dissects issues with simplicity and his message flies beyond the scope of his 24 year-old slim built frame. Peter Wright whose stage name is Five Steez is Jamaica’s ace hip hop artiste who is intent on raising the bar of musical excellence with creativity and diversity.
When most persons living outside of Jamaica think of the island, they think reggae, dancehall but certainly not hip hop. However, Five Steez has awoken sleeping ears to the kind of music that can in fact come out of Jamaica and he does not plan changing the genre even if others thinks otherwise.
MediaConnec took a Five with ‘Five’ Steez to unveil the man behind the music and the message.
HOW HAS MUSIC HELPED TO SHAPE YOUR CHARACTER?
“Music has been not only a source of entertainment for me but also education and inspiration. I learnt a lot just from listening to music with a message, hearing certain references and researching them later. Rappers like Rakim, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and many others had Afrocentric ideas in their lyrics and that helped to further educate me on my people’s history and plight, in which I already had a strong interest. I must say, I have found myself through music. Self-expression is one of the most profound ways to know one’s self and my music has been very important to me in that regard. Also, my dedication to music has taught me the value of hard work, focus, discipline, persistence and patience. Hip Hop is quite competitive too and even moreso, if you are a battle rapper, as I considered myself when I was much younger. This energy taught me to strive to the best in everything I do.”
EXPLAIN WHY YOU CHOSE RAP/HIP-HOP AS THE GENRE THAT YOUR VOICE IS HEARD?
“Hip Hop appealed to me like no other musical genre. I have an appreciation for most genres, especially Roots Reggae and what people may call Neo-Soul, but with Hip Hop, the sound varied so much. It wasn’t a box. Musically, it could borrow from jazz, funk, soul, rock and roll, Reggae or Dancehall and still maintain its identity once it has that ‘boom bap’ drum pattern. And then on top of that was the level of lyricism I heard in Hip Hop. I always had an interest in writing so when I heard rappers like Rakim, Inspektah Deck, Big Pun and so many more tell the craziest stories and drop the most knowledge while being so witty and complex with the rhyme schemes, it was like heaven to my ears. The lyricism in Hip Hop makes it stand out from ALL musical genres to me. It’s a high art form and that was what lured me into Hip Hop.”
DESCRIBE SOME OF THE ISSUES YOU DISCUSS IN YOUR MUSIC AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR YOU AS A 24 YEAR-OLD TO ADDRESS SUCH ISSUES THROUGH YOUR MUSIC?
“My music deals with reality on a whole and I’m usually relating my own experiences or that of my family and peers or what I see taking place locally or even globally. I tend to address a lot of socio-political issues and there’s always a spiritual aspect as well. I understand the many ills in our society. After all, many of them affect the youth… my peers and I included. From the poor education system to unemployment to police brutality, it is us that suffer the most. I would personally like to see a change in the world come from this generation. The music for me is a mission and I feel if I’m going to be saying something, I should have a message. If not, I’m wasting my breath. So I hope to motivate and inspire the youth to change.”
USE FIVE ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE WHO YOU ARE?
“Honest, Focused, Determined, Intense, Profound”
HOW HAVE PERSONS IN AND OUTSIDE JAMAICA RESPONDED TO YOUR MUSIC?
“Generally, the response is great. Locally, what I’m doing is well-received by the people. They see me in the streets or reach out to me online and show love. I stand out because I rap and on top of that, people love the lyricism and my music connects with them on deep emotional and spiritual levels. Good music is good music and it cannot be denied. Unfortunately, the local radio jocks don’t see it this way and seem to have no interest in playing any local Hip Hop. On the flipside, I get a really overwhelming response outside of Jamaica. I have yet to tour and take the music abroad but with the internet, the world has become so connected. I have numerous DJs, from New York to Toronto to the UK, playing my music. With Hip Hop nowadays, fans get their music from various blogs as soon as it is released and some of these blogs are already supporting me. I’ve found that Jamaicans make up only a fraction of my fan base and support base. My real goal is to fully tap into markets that support Hip Hop, not necessarily just the US, and the response I’m getting so far is very encouraging. I’m very excited about the possibilities.”
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