Today we’d like to introduce you to Stevo The Producer
Hi Stevo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m from Chocolate City, aka Washington, D.C. We had such rich black culture growing up. That history It’s often overshadowed by the governmental silhouette, but the reason we were called chocolate city is because we were the first majority black population in the entire country, EVER. This came with a lot of exposure to culture & the arts. I’m a direct product of one of the greatest documented musicians to ever walk planet earth. The late great Aaron Spears (can’t believe I’m honoring him this way RIP). He was family to me, he showed my entire city what was possible globally. We had never seen that kind of success & impact before from a peer. His path completely altered mine in a 180 degree way. I started off playing drums at my father’s church in N.W. D.C. (Pastor David Evans), and that path led me to play other instruments in school, which led me to the local gospel music industry. Trying to climb those ranks fine tuned, & truly shaped me as a musician/producer. I was blessed to be taken under the wing by my cities finest musicians; Warren Jones, Sean Miles, Jamal Moore, & many others. Upon transitioning to Los Angeles, I acquired another special tribe who pushed me to present day positioning. I owe immense credit to people like Kim Burse (known for Beyonce), Darion Javon (Doja Cat), Kevin Teasley (J.Lo), Wow Jones (Tyler Perry), & Adam Blackstone (Rihanna).
I’m privileged & blessed to say that I’m presently a Producer, Musical Director & that I arrange music for the biggest artists & television specials in the world.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Challenges in the mainstream music industry are constant. A very well decorated friend of mine (Larry Reed, Oscars 2012) says that this business is referred to as “Feast or Famine.” Meaning that things will go really well for a season, & work will also be very dry for spell as well (one of the other). The challenge here is creating demand, while also having an action plan in motion (related or unrelated) to keep things afloat when necessary. I like to be transparent about that so that the generation coming behind us has proper career ladder foresight. I’ve been blessed to be in demand so I’m busy pretty constantly with music. But, the smartest thing you can do in this business, is make money outside of this business (additionally). Ultimately, this is freelance work.
Lastly, I’ll add that a healthy challenge in the mainstream entertainment industry, is finding a fitting. There are so many sub tiers, & adjacent disciplines that positioning can be overwhelming. Alternatively, it’s also difficult to discover what’s available to you. Unfortunately, we don’t have a job search engine like other industries, so you have to make lots of friends & ask lots of questions to find leads & opportunities that may not be out in front. There are often jobs in related industry sectors that pull on the skills you already have. I’ve wanted to be a producer for a very long time, but I never knew or intended on being a ‘backing track producer’ or a re-producer of beats that are already published. Although I still make records from inception, I do tend to get a hefty work load in re-working beats for performance especially on television award shows.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Music for Television Specials such as:
NFL National Anthem, Saturday Night Live, HBO’s ‘Lizzo – Live in
Concert’ (Emmy Nominated), Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Disney, BET
Awards, Billboard Awards, American Music Awards, Soul Train Awards, NAACP Image Awards Honors,
iHeart Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, & more.
Produced music & scored in movies &
documentaries for BET, and HBO such as ‘Holiday Heartbreak’ & ‘Legend of the Underground’.
Worked on music arrangements for television performances & shows with artists
such as Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo, Doja Cat Glorilla, Migos, Victoria Monet, Sabrina Carpenter, Muni Long Coi Leray, & more.
How do you define success?
I consider myself successful, widely because I am in a position to help others be successful. That’s really all I care about. That, and making my relatives proud. My grandfather John Henry Evans, came to D.C. with almost no education to raise 9 kids and seize opportunity, so I’m standing on the backs of my blood family.
Success is wonderful but it means nothing without tribe to share with. Think about this…it sucks giving yourself a toast 😉 .
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15028441/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevotheproducer/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stvotheproducer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stevotheproducer
