Your senior year of undergrad has the potential to be filled with as many parties as assignments. On one hand, thereâs the incessant need to have as much fun as humanly possible; on the other, there are those pesky classes standing in the way between you and the real world. If that doesnât seem like enough, letâs add making your debut album to your list of things to do. That was life for 23-year-old Bri Steves, a Philly native with the tenacity to do it all. Last year, she was wrapping up her public relations course load at Temple University, and now sheâs putting the finishing on the debut she hasnât gotten around to naming. Much like her journey to the mainstream, Steves is trying to do it all again, this time coloring her world with the R&B cadences that fill her breakthrough single âJealousyâ with the 90s flare of Jon Bâs âThey Donât Know.âThe last time you saw Bri, she might have been rattling the police in an interrogation room for her last video âLate Night.â The track is grimy and high-powered as she does Joker-style donuts with a fast-paced flow to match. Today, sheâs sharing the backstory to the world with the premiere of her new video âMiami.â Directed by Christopher Scholar, âMiamiâ is any bank robberâs dream and as cinematic as some of your favorite heist films. Think Set it Off, Takers, and Dead Presidents. âMiamiâ suggests that Bri Steves is ready to take whatâs hers.Noisey: Youâve said Temple University was where you grew musically, what was it about the school that you think helped your process?
Bri Steves: It was the right time. I happened to be in school when I started my music internship down in South Philly. This is around my junior year of college so this was the time I decided to spend for the three grand I saved for my car on musical equipment. I had my stereos coming in. My microphone coming in. It was the first time I had a real laptop and I was able to record myself all night while I was going to school at the same time. Thatâs where I started to develop how I wanted to sound. Should I sing on a track or rap on a track? I had been writing music for years but it wasnât until my junior year of college that I made it my career path.Thereâs a line in âMiami" that says, âIn school full time, working on an album.â What was that workload like for you?
It wasnât the easiest. I had six classes at the time I was recording my album. I was recording at Mean Street in Atlanta and I had to take an hour out of my schedule to turn in my homework that was due on Blackboard. It was about finding time to submit assignment while still finding time to go to sessions. I had absences I needed to finesse with my teachers so they wouldnât fail me. Figuring out my last semester was really hard, but I made it work. My teachers were always very supportive of me pursuing music.You graduated from Temple a year ago. Howâs life different for you?
It feels kind of crazy. A year ago, I was still in school and now Iâm on tour. Itâs a little overwhelming at times. Iâll be on tour for the rest of the year. Iâm on the Access Granted Tour with Atlantic right now and then Iâll be on the H.E.R tour from November 10 through the rest of the year. The major difference is Iâm not home as much. Iâm traveling so much more than I anticipated, on top of other opportunities Iâve been afforded like doing the cypher at the BET Hip Hop Awards or coming out with Kendrick Lamar at Made in America.How did you get the connection with Kendrick?
I met Kendrick back in 2016 and heâs been a big supporter in my career since then. We got a call the day before his Made in America performance and he was like, âYo, I think I want to bring Bri out.â I was in L.A. recording at the time and I almost dropped my phone when I heard it. I got on a flight that night and came to Philly. It was an amazing experience, I shouldâve been nervous, but I wasnât. It just felt right. I was looking at people in the crowd, people who I went to school with, people Iâve made music with before⊠It was just amazing. So to be on the stage with one of the biggest artists of our time, and one of my inspirations, was crazy.That mustâve been a similar feeling when you were in the BET cypher Erykah Badu hosted. How did you prepare for that?
All that was going on in my mind was, âDo not mess up, this is real TV.â We were told what the beat was going to be a day or two before we were shooting. I didnât know any of the other girls, I didnât know Erykah Badu was going to be spinning for us until we showed up that day. I showed up and thought, âItâs an opportunity, Iâm going to just jump at it.âIn âMiamiâ you say, âI ainât lying, I ainât lying / Three songs a day, I ainât even trying.â Whatâs your recording process like? On a good day are you really churning out three songs?
When Iâm in the studio, sure. But now that Iâm touring Iâm not in the booth as much. But when I am near a booth, thatâs my process. I like to listen to a bunch of reference tracks. Iâll listen to a bunch of tracks and if I vibe to Iâll load it up in a session and lay down some melodies or Iâll write on the spot. Itâs all about the track first. Funny, thatâs actually what happened with âMiamiâ too. I was in Miami and I was recording with Supadup. I had a flight at 6 in the morning and I was in the studio at 2 am. The session was ending and they played the track by accident. When I heard the track I was like, âDonât turn this off.â I went in the booth and âMiamiâ ended up being all a freestyle.The concept for âMiamiâ is that itâs the prelude to bank robbery we saw in âLate Night.â How did you go about creating the concept for both of those videos?
We shot both the videos for âLate Nightâ and âMiamiâ in the same week. I think they were actually a day apart. I came up with the treatment for both videos while I was sitting in my room. I worked in partnership with Chris Scholar, who directed and shot the videos, and he was able to bring those concepts to life. âMiamiâ is technically the first video and âLate Nightâ is the sequel. Coming up with the bank robbery and the Joker scene in âLate Nightâ all came from sitting in my house.âMiamiâ is such a good song because itâs filled with you talking shit, and you make it a point to be just as vocal in your personal life. 2018âs been such a phenomenal year for women in rapâhow important is it to you that you nail your messaging?
Itâs everything for me. Thatâs why I put so much time into the videos like âMiami,â and the videos like âLate Night.â Even just the tracks, I want people to understand what I bring to the table and that I had to work a lot to get to where Iâm at now.Was it intentional to have your crew as mostly women?
We were very selective when it came to the casting. My music is about womenâs empowerment and I wanted to have some dope women around me toting some guns.Catch Bri Steves on tour with H.E.R this fall.Kristin Corry is a staff writer for Noisey. Follow her on Twitter.
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Bri Steves: It was the right time. I happened to be in school when I started my music internship down in South Philly. This is around my junior year of college so this was the time I decided to spend for the three grand I saved for my car on musical equipment. I had my stereos coming in. My microphone coming in. It was the first time I had a real laptop and I was able to record myself all night while I was going to school at the same time. Thatâs where I started to develop how I wanted to sound. Should I sing on a track or rap on a track? I had been writing music for years but it wasnât until my junior year of college that I made it my career path.Thereâs a line in âMiami" that says, âIn school full time, working on an album.â What was that workload like for you?
It wasnât the easiest. I had six classes at the time I was recording my album. I was recording at Mean Street in Atlanta and I had to take an hour out of my schedule to turn in my homework that was due on Blackboard. It was about finding time to submit assignment while still finding time to go to sessions. I had absences I needed to finesse with my teachers so they wouldnât fail me. Figuring out my last semester was really hard, but I made it work. My teachers were always very supportive of me pursuing music.
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It feels kind of crazy. A year ago, I was still in school and now Iâm on tour. Itâs a little overwhelming at times. Iâll be on tour for the rest of the year. Iâm on the Access Granted Tour with Atlantic right now and then Iâll be on the H.E.R tour from November 10 through the rest of the year. The major difference is Iâm not home as much. Iâm traveling so much more than I anticipated, on top of other opportunities Iâve been afforded like doing the cypher at the BET Hip Hop Awards or coming out with Kendrick Lamar at Made in America.How did you get the connection with Kendrick?
I met Kendrick back in 2016 and heâs been a big supporter in my career since then. We got a call the day before his Made in America performance and he was like, âYo, I think I want to bring Bri out.â I was in L.A. recording at the time and I almost dropped my phone when I heard it. I got on a flight that night and came to Philly. It was an amazing experience, I shouldâve been nervous, but I wasnât. It just felt right. I was looking at people in the crowd, people who I went to school with, people Iâve made music with before⊠It was just amazing. So to be on the stage with one of the biggest artists of our time, and one of my inspirations, was crazy.That mustâve been a similar feeling when you were in the BET cypher Erykah Badu hosted. How did you prepare for that?
All that was going on in my mind was, âDo not mess up, this is real TV.â We were told what the beat was going to be a day or two before we were shooting. I didnât know any of the other girls, I didnât know Erykah Badu was going to be spinning for us until we showed up that day. I showed up and thought, âItâs an opportunity, Iâm going to just jump at it.â
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When Iâm in the studio, sure. But now that Iâm touring Iâm not in the booth as much. But when I am near a booth, thatâs my process. I like to listen to a bunch of reference tracks. Iâll listen to a bunch of tracks and if I vibe to Iâll load it up in a session and lay down some melodies or Iâll write on the spot. Itâs all about the track first. Funny, thatâs actually what happened with âMiamiâ too. I was in Miami and I was recording with Supadup. I had a flight at 6 in the morning and I was in the studio at 2 am. The session was ending and they played the track by accident. When I heard the track I was like, âDonât turn this off.â I went in the booth and âMiamiâ ended up being all a freestyle.The concept for âMiamiâ is that itâs the prelude to bank robbery we saw in âLate Night.â How did you go about creating the concept for both of those videos?
We shot both the videos for âLate Nightâ and âMiamiâ in the same week. I think they were actually a day apart. I came up with the treatment for both videos while I was sitting in my room. I worked in partnership with Chris Scholar, who directed and shot the videos, and he was able to bring those concepts to life. âMiamiâ is technically the first video and âLate Nightâ is the sequel. Coming up with the bank robbery and the Joker scene in âLate Nightâ all came from sitting in my house.
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Itâs everything for me. Thatâs why I put so much time into the videos like âMiami,â and the videos like âLate Night.â Even just the tracks, I want people to understand what I bring to the table and that I had to work a lot to get to where Iâm at now.Was it intentional to have your crew as mostly women?
We were very selective when it came to the casting. My music is about womenâs empowerment and I wanted to have some dope women around me toting some guns.Catch Bri Steves on tour with H.E.R this fall.Kristin Corry is a staff writer for Noisey. Follow her on Twitter.