Stephon Foster – “Therapy”

Stephon Foster – “Therapy” – Single Review

“Because I feel nobody is listening.”  #Heard

Somewhere back in 2018, we were introduced to the music of Stephon Foster for the first time.  Over the years to follow, we’d follow along with her career as she released a bunch of different singles along the way, and listened to her try out many different things when it came to how she went about handling her business.  Depending on what era of her career that you’re familiar with, in retrospect now you can fully understand that each year along the way brought some kind of uniqueness to the experience – and not always necessarily the good kind.  Often we’d see her being steered in this direction or that direction based on the advice of ‘professionals’ guiding her, and generally found Foster doing her level best to find her way by making music with different production on her songs as a result of working with a rotating cast of characters all trying to put their own spin into Stephon’s sound.  It can be extremely comforting and rewarding to hear an artist go in a massively different direction than they have in the past to find a new version of success they might never have known otherwise…especially when they’re responsible for everything you hear, or find that artist taking control over their destiny like they should have been from day one.  Foster’s found her way to the best version of herself – and she did it on her very own this time.

So…here we are.  And even though her new single “Therapy” is somewhat the results of a personal breakdown, it’s become an artistic breakthrough at the same time.  Like you would have learned on our latest episode of the SBS Podcast when we played her latest cut, Stephon had this to say:  “I still have not been to any treatment or therapy so I just had a moment and broke down in my room and cried and went to my little microphone and recorded this IN MY ROOM.”  And whether she realizes it or not yet – it’s also “because I feel nobody is listening” that she’s likely reached new heights in terms of what she can achieve…as in, the more you embrace the never-ending anonymity of this world, the stronger it’ll make you.  Soon enough, you realize just how incredibly RIGHT Stephon actually IS – and don’t let the millions of hits & views on the videos & songs of others fool you for a single damn moment – it’s ALL BS, and she IS completely correct…even if people are clicking stuff, they’re still not paying any actual attention and they never actually ever have – “nobody is listening” – she’s truly 100% right about that.

Someone out there has always understood this…that’s where the whole “dance like no one is watching” phrase we all know came from…and it’s the same reason that I write like no one is reading – because no one is.  The key is to not drown in it all…the key is to understand that’s the way it is, that’s the way it’s been, and that’s the way it’ll always be – it’s only the advent of the internet that magnifies all this times about a million…other than that, nothing’s really changed.  Our specialness, as a species & as individuals, has been overlooked and underappreciated for about as long as this whole floating rock we’re on has been spinning…and in that respect, it really is up to each of us to find our way around it to what’s important.  For me, I try to be that change I want to see in the world, cheesy as that may sound, that’s what’s real.  As a result, you’ll find articles like this one here on our site regularly, where I dig into the philosophical meaning behind a song long before I’d discuss a single note; because I AM listening, 100%.

So cheers to you Stephon…if you need “Therapy,” then surely I do as well.  As a few of you would have found out on the SBS Podcast the other day, I’ve been there – and I don’t have any faith in it working.  The real “Therapy” we need is the stuff we create ourselves to heal – and that’s exactly what Stephon really did by running up to her room that day and recording this song.  Unfiltered, raw, and real – she let the genuine emotions come out…trusted her own instincts…did things her way…and let whatever guard she had up, come down for a moment – and here we are…she ended up with what’s likely considered to be the best cut in her catalog, universally, by each and every one of her fans that ARE listening.  Not only does she sound good on “Therapy” – most importantly, she sounds sincere…you can tell this is Stephon embracing the moment, unafraid of it – heck, not even thinking about it really…and just going with the flow of what naturally came out at this time in her life.  You’ll learn about all the many things she’s been through that have tried to break her down along the way on route to becoming the artist she is now, and the artist that she’ll be long after the dust settles too.  Because believe me y’all…this is where things REALLY start.  I might have been listening since back in 2018 – you might have been too – but what you’ll hear on “Therapy” is the real sound of a genuine breakthrough that opens the doors of opportunity to the next level she’s been seeking out…and I’d expect that if she really examines all these things I’ve been talkin’ about here…all the things that brought her to the spectacular results she achieved on “Therapy” – she’ll discover everything she needs to surge forward from here like she never has before.  This is the kind of song you write so that others can exist afterwards, you feel me?  If you try to keep a song like “Therapy” trapped on the inside, you’ll never reach those breakthroughs required to make the rest of life even work at all, let alone the art of making music.  For what it’s worth, I’m freakin’ proud of her.

Music and art are the real “Therapy” we need – not some quack on a couch trying to relate to what they could never really understand, despite whatever degrees and certificates you might see hanging on their wall behind where they sit & silently judge you.  Stephon’s got a truly grounded, down-to-earth, and highly relatable vibe goin’ on with “Therapy” – and for a song recorded in her bedroom in the heat of the moment…good lord m’lady…you should be every bit as proud of yourself or more than I am, that’s for sure.  Because no one out there really needs me, or anyone else to reach that real definition of success we’re looking for & seeking out – it’s that same black hole of anonymity that our real creative freedom lies within…and the more we’re unafraid of acknowledging that or letting the unknown define us, the more powerful become and the better our own personal results are.  Because even if “nobody is listening” – WE as the creators are; and ultimately, we’re the only people that really need to be satisfied.

Be someone that IS listening in this world of ours – stay connected to Stephon Foster at Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/0mP01dHp8FdYVR5xcnmWSt

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