Emerging Philly-born, Atlanta-based artist Steve caught our attention with his new project, Unchained (Short Audio Film), a 15-track body of work that centers on trials and tribulations and the pathway to true freedom. The project is structured conceptually in the form of spoken word, music, and skits underpinned by cinematic themes that are progressively arranged on a timeline.  Over the course of 33 minutes, Steve leads audiences on an adventure of epic proportion with thought-provoking, reflective and introspective themes that everyone can relate to.

“What Do I See (Skit)” sees Steve in a therapy session as he momentarily drifts away before being brought back to reality by his handler. He then proceeds to hand her a written note that explains his thoughts and how he views his current life situation and the crappy 9 to 5 that he is stuck with. The intro sets the stage for the next track, “F That Job”, an anthemic tribute to everyone trying to break free of their stressful work life. The horn-driven jam has the classic Southern bounce and is punctuated by a call-and-response-type hook, and Steve’s rebellious onslaught on jobs that keep underpaying employees and mistreating them. This continues with the “I See Red (Skit)” which talks about the mental stress of modern work life and its parallels to slavery, and flows into “Gen Z” where the rapper pours his frustrations on the poor pay rates, high stress and demand from jobs with lines like“I be trying to do the right thing, stay on my lane and make that change/Everytime I work, you niggaz be playing, get off my nerves for what they saying/When I get my cheque/the cheque ain’t shit/Gotta test my heart, I didn’t get paid/The American dream been dead for a minute/ain’t no resurrection this shit from the grave.” He surely doesn’t mince his words and sets the record straight. “I See Sin (Skit)” deals with coping mechanisms as the pain continues to grow. Here, Steve explains how he stays resilient through the craziness. On “Choshek,” Steve shows vulnerability and shares his pain on wax using an expressive melodic style laced with heartfelt, candid lyrics. The track “2FO 7VN” is another anthemic jam that is a celebratory cut that looks at the small wins and uses them as a motivating factor.

The project continues to unveil who Steve really is underneath it all. The skits serve as short breakdowns of the tracks that follow suit, and it’s something that helps string the project into a cohesive body of work. “I See Chains (Skit)” digs into the rapper’s persona, his dreams and fears all at once, which is then fully explored on “Tell It Straight.” The track employs a soulful vocal-driven sample flipped in a perfect loop. Here, Steve delivers a solid performance and showcases his storytelling skill with detailed bars like “My greatest fear is being stuck in this job washing these cars/commission payment, I’m scraping to make it off the lots/applications I’m placing, I’m down filling job to job/Waiting patient but pacing around I’m trying to get this guap”.  As the title says, he tells it as it is and gives audiences an unfiltered perspective of his never-ending struggles. It is not all gloom and doom for the artist as he also tries to keep a positive outlook at certain junctions. Despite all his pain and anger as witnessed on “I See Higher (Skit)” he proceeds to use his shortcomings to “Take Em High” in literal fashion. He embraces himself without question and delivers an uplifting piece filled with aspiration and positivity. This then leads into “I See it Different (Skit)” where we see him becoming who he was destined to be all along.  The final track, “Bloom,” lives up to its title and showcases Steve’s growth and fully fleshed character development as a young man finding his footing in this thing called life.  The project closes out with “I See Myself (Skit),” where Steve’s final form comes to fruition.

Overall, Unchained (Short Audio Film) is a brilliant exploration into the concept of growth. At the start, we see Steve as unsure but as the project progresses, we witness his development in stages and finally get to see him in all his glory at the end.