We have been anticipating the album Steven ever since we discovered S. Raekwon’s lauded debut record Where I’m at Now. The NYC-based artist Steven Raekwon Reynolds has a knack for presenting candid cantations through an array of styles that convey varying degrees of the vulnerable, the sacred and sentimental. Steven showcases this trifecta of pathos, ethos and logos like a seasoned tunesmith enjoying a residency in a suave Greenwich Village artist salon. Following up the I Like It When You Smile EP, S. Raekwon takes the creative journey further inward in an exploration of identity like a sophisti-pop therapy session.

"Steven's Smile" dives deep beyond the semiotics, surfaces, faces and forward fronting facades that are projected to placate the general public as a coping mechanism whilst grappling with inner complexities. The intimacy of interpersonal relationships is sung in emotive earnest on the sunrise sparkle of "Old Thing", to meditations on the games of chance and the trivial trials and tribulations that comprise the sporting events of life with "Winners & Losers". Scenes of sparring, conflicts of curiosity, kerfuffles and daily arguments on the F train are examined with humanity and humor on “The Fight”, as “The Camel” delves into the internalized aspects of identity brought on by systemic societal and cultural clashes. Steven gets existential on notions that lie beyond the life and death continuum with “If There's No God..." as the restless sleepy morning song of "Does the Song Still Sound the Same?" grapples with queries of companionship, romantic connections and the things one journals while scribbling notes at a bustling café before 9am.

Reynolds bears his soul on "It's Nothing" that rise up to the rafters from the cathartic lounge set with copious amounts of blazing guitar skronk. The penultimate track "What Love Makes You Do" shines a light on the processes at work behind penning a love song, concluding with questions of the heart that resound and rise skyward like birds on the wing with the spirit baring ballad of "Katherine's Song". Steven is S. Raekwon's privy journey to the most guarded and protected sections of the self, an exploration of needs, wants and a personal investigation into the correlatives of intrinsic human connections. Steven is a portrait of an artist doing a self check-in, chronicling everything from fears, anger, insecurity and opening themselves up to the way love affects and changes us in ways that are almost impossible to articulate in full.

S. Raekwon presents an inner view companion piece for Steven

Boxing

I’ve been boxing for about 3 years. I go to a gym called Overthrow in New York and I’ve found it to be a great, supportive community. Everyone really tries to take care of each other. I enjoy boxing because it’s complex. A major theme of my new album is that we all contain multitudes. Nothing is black and white or good and bad. Boxing is similar. On the one hand, it’s violent, angry, and physical. But it’s also really intellectual, light, and delicate. Sometimes when you're boxing, especially shadow boxing, it resembles a dance rather than a combat sport. I also love boxing because you can’t focus on anything else when you’re doing it. Whether you’re sparring or just hitting the heavy bag, it requires a high degree of focus and attention. You get into a flow state. I have a hard time slowing my brain, and boxing is one of the best anecdotes to that.

Electric guitar and tube amps

I consider Steven to be a guitar record in many ways. I wrote the entire album on a Fender Stratocastor plugged into 1970’s Silverface Fender Champ. It’s a little 5 watt tube amp, which is perfect for playing at low volumes in a small New York apartment. I recorded the album through that same Fender Champ, as well as through a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue that I got on the last day of my first tour back in 2021. I was a guitar player before I was a singer or songwriter. But in an attempt to reinvent myself, I revolted against the instrument in my early 20s when I started the S. Raekwon project. Where I’m at Now — my debut album — was written largely on the piano. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come back around to the guitar. You can’t outrun where you’re from. I embraced it with this new record.

Going on long walks with no destination

I go on a walk every day. Sometimes it’s just around the block, but often it’s much longer than that. I usually walk for an hour a day. I’ll listen to music or call my mom. Or I’ll listen to demos when I’m working on new music. When I was mixing Steven, I test drove the mixes on my daily walk. It’s my version of the car test. If a mix doesn’t pass the walk test, then I know I have to fix something. Lately, though, I’ve been listening to nothing at all on my daily cruise. Walking with no destination is so important to me and to my creative process. It clears the mind. It’s therapeutic.

Having a personal uniform

I love the simplicity of having a few pieces of clothing that you really care about and invest in, and then wearing those things really hard. I love searching for the perfect brand of white t-shirt, scouring the Internet for a few weeks to find a specific Japanese denim jacket, or digging deep in a bin of crewnecks at a thrift shop. It’s like writing a song — half the fun is in chasing the initial spark. But then there is a joy that comes from closing the loop once you've found the thing that you're looking for and being satisfied with what you have, instead of just immediately jumping to chase the next thing. This idea of simplification also ties into the album. I made a conscious effort not to overproduce it. I wanted to say what I meant as clearly and plainly as possible, down to calling the album, simply, Steven.

Playing live & touring

Steven was directly informed by my experience playing live and touring my debut album. I went on tour for the first time in 2021 and it was a pivotal experience that really shaped my relationship to my music. When you’re on stage in front of a lot of people, you realize how important it is that you believe in everything that you’re saying. I played as a duo with my friend Mario. Because a lot of my earlier music incorporated electronic elements and robust instrumentation, we spent a lot of time reimagining the songs for the live show. Something magical happened in the process of stripping the songs down to the core elements. I was able to play more dynamically. The louder parts sounded giant. The quieter moments became as important as the loud ones.

When I was in the early stages of working on Steven, I knew I wanted the album to better reflect the live experience. So I recorded Steven the same way I intend to play it live. Me and Mario sat opposite each other around a few microphones, me on guitar and him on drums, building songs from single takes. I tried not to fuss with the recordings too much when I was mixing. I set out to capture something human. That was more important than chasing perfection.

S. Raekwon’s Steven is available now via Father Daughter Records.