It is impossible to have a credible discussion about Hip Hop in Jamaica without mentioning Five Steez. Although the country isn't a hot spot for Hip Hop talent, the underground Kingston MC has graced international festivals and has been acknowledged by Earmilk, Okayplayer and The FADER.
Reminiscent of the golden era, with a new twist, a common man’s perspective and an unheard Jamaican narrative, Five Steez’ music has been described by critics as ‘poignant’ and ‘soulful’, with lyricism full of imagery, storytelling and wit.
Over the past decade, Five Steez has unprecedentedly carved a lane for himself as an independent Hip Hop artist through thrilling performances and a critically acclaimed discography. Starting with a trilogy of mixtapes, the first being The Momentum: Volume One in 2010, with New York underground radio icon DJ Ready Cee, Five Steez moved on to his 2012 debut album War for Peace, which received great reviews, even in the iTunes Editors' Notes. The year 2012 also saw the creation of Pay Attention, Kingston's premier Hip Hop event which ran until 2015 under the management of The Council, a supergroup of which Steez is one-fourth with Nomad Carlos, The Sickest Drama and Inztinkz.
Groundbreaking releases continued with the EPs These Kingston Times (2014), which told the story of the Jamaican capital, and HeatRockz (2016), on which Five Steez collaborated with producer Mordecai. The Council then added the Nothing Else Matters (2017) album to this list, delving deeper into Jamaican reality and underbelly.
Five Steez was at his busiest in 2019 with the release of the Love N Art album alongside Mordecai in February, and the Pantone EP produced by French beatmaker J-Zen in October.
During the summer of 2020, Five Steez fired off HeatRockz 2.0, the sequel to his 2016 EP, and in 2021, he released the album titled Quietude, in partnership with Brazilian producer SonoTWS. For 2023, he will embark upon a new journey with the album Re:DEFined, fully produced by the Montreal-based beatmaker Son Raw.