It was while I was watching a performance of my friend’s band at World Café Live in Philadelphia when a girl in a cherry and white Temple jersey flashed by my table. She had big hair, a big smile, and as I would soon find out, a big voice.
Twenty minutes later, that girl walked on stage and introduced herself as Bri Steves, a young woman who is breaking into the hip hop and R&B scene at an unbelievable rate. She was chosen as one of very few artists to compete for the Philly Uprising monthly showcase competition at World Café Live. Oh, and she won.
Bri is a sophomore public relations major hoping to pursue entertainment PR. She wants to do brand management and representation to benefit clients or herself.
Bri credits her mother for encouraging her to pursue anything she took an interest in, but says that her friends were the ones that ultimately encouraged her to rap when they would hang out in the studio. Not only does she rap, but Bri also sings. Before she figured out she had a knockout voice, she spent the majority of her time rapping and writing, not believing she could do anything else.
She began performing at age 17; her first show was at a warehouse venue in Delaware.
“I was super nervous and terrified out of my mind,” she says, “I pushed through it and all of my friends came [to see me perform]. It was eye-opening that despite being a great public speaker, I had a deep fear of performing.”
Now, Bri walks onto the stage with confidence and grace. She credits Temple for honing her craft to become the artist she is today.
“Temple helped me stretch my legs to develop into whatever I wanted to be,” she said.
In comparison to high school, where everyone had to hide away part of their authentic selves to fit in, Bri came to college and realized that Temple was “an environment where it was okay to be extremely different and independent.” That freedom to embrace eccentricities was what gave her the energy to take off running.
Bri is heavily influenced by the rap flow of Camp Lo, the layering of Marvin Gaye’s voice, and J. Cole’s method of storytelling through his raps.
“I love the way he paints relatable, vivid pictures for his listeners. He inspires me to expose all of myself in my music,” says Bri on J. Cole.
On the subject matter of her songs: “I talk about my process and where I’m currently at in life—a college kid, still figuring herself out. My views on love and relationships aren’t too heavy and I mention my absentee father and single-parent mother a lot.”
Her role model “numero uno” is her mother, who singlehandedly raised her to become the brilliant woman she is today. She is also inspired by her mentor, Dyshon Penn. But it’s Bri’s close friends who help her set her standards.
“I am a reflection of the people I hang around most: my mentor, my mentor’s council, and my close friends,” she said.
When she isn’t in the studio, you can find Bri binge-watching The Boondocks on Netflix. She also has an affinity for reading; she takes a lot of time to study musicians preceding her or reading about the music business.
Her ultimate dream?
“What every artist dreams of: reaching a mass of people with my music and making a difference in their lives by speaking to them musically.”
Watch out world, though small in frame, Bri Steves is mighty.
For business inquiries you can reach Bri at info@bristeves.com. All of her music can be found on SoundCloud at www.soundcloud.com/bristeves and on her website, www.bristeves.com.