Stephon Foster – “Stay In My Dreams” Featuring Steady Creating

Stephon Foster – “Stay In My Dreams” Featuring Steady Creating – Single Review

I’ll say this much, she’s got herself a unique one here.

A polarizing single I’d be willing to bet though…some people will willingly follow Stephon Foster down the rabbit-hole with her latest cut “Stay In My Dreams” while she might be leaving a few behind as well – hard to say, that’s kind of the natural result of doin’ thangs a lil’ bit differently than the rest out there.

If you’ve had a listen to the last episode of the SBS Podcast, you’ve already heard the brand-new jam from Stephon & heard a few more of my thoughts on what’s up with her music-career & this latest song in her catalog, this time in a collaboration with vocal gun-for-hire Steady Creating from out there online.

So on the one hand, you’ve got a song with relentlessly sweet intentions…lyrically, Stephon’s done a great job with the words she’s written into this cut and for the vast majority, sounds like she’s got’em all right in-line with what works for her as a performer.  Generally speaking, I feel the same about Steady Creating’s bars as well…both use a lot of space in this song & run into a split-second or two’s worth of hiccups in the metering, or apply more noticeable focus on keeping the beat verses getting that full tone & energy across…but yeah, for the most part, the vocals from both flow well.  I mean you gotta look at it from their angle…they’ve chosen a really, really challenging & complex cut to work with in the way it’s designed…”Stay In My Dreams” and the way it’s structured would confuse most artists out there…so there’s that.  On the other hand, as far as listeners go…like I mentioned at the beginning, this is definitely one of the more polarizing tunes in her catalog so far, in the sense that, Stephon will likely find out who’s onboard with her sound & style through this single…some listeners get that artist’s desire to create complexity, others look for simplicity & straight-ahead hooks; as to what they’ll be ready to accept & what Foster ultimately wants as an artist…time will tell the story on that over the years to come.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of audible hooks here…just not in the way ears typically expect to find them.  There’s a good chance within a couple spins or so that you’d catch onto the slippery style of sound & be able to sing & slide along with the vocals of this cut…but it might honestly take some work to follow Foster’s words here.  She’s working with a very anti-typical flow that expands the hooks out further than you’d regularly find…which kind of gives “Stay In My Dreams” a consistent flow that is led by the vocals to go from part-to-part; at times its perfectly suited, at others it’s a pretty extreme fit.  My gut tells me that Stephon might be asking listeners to run before they can walk with this single if ya know what I mean…it’s completely arguable that she’s actually working with a Future-music style of sound & design on “Stay In My Dreams” – and by that very nature, it’s gonna be a lil’ confusing to some.  The highly unique edit & mix on Stephon’s voice…I’ve commented on that in the past…it’s probably another aspect that’ll throw some people, but it’s also fast becoming a part of what helps her stand out.

In my opinion, where “Stay In My Dreams” connects & excels is in the sentiment & lyrics.  I think Stephon does an excellent job of detailing this cut with a whole lotta love, hope, dreams, and optimism – and I really like that the bars from Steady Creating relate another side to the story from another perspective…seems to bring this idea together tightly around the concept, in addition to providing a few answers you might have about this storyline that have popped up along the way.  At the end of the day, I mean, that’s kinda ideal & what you want out of a collabo…you want it all to come together & make sense…and between their different verses, perspectives, styles, & sounds…I’d say by the end, it all does.

Word has it that Stephon Foster’s new single “Stay In My Dreams” featuring Steady Creating comes from her upcoming album rumored to be called BEWARE…and with this being the third cut after the earlier releases of “Boy, I Quit” and “SNAKE” – I’d imagine the official release date is probably on its way soon.

Find music & stay up to-date on the latest from Stephon Foster by visiting her channel at YouTube here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTmoIsZM8HiHrR4C6gvVU-w

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