Track from Stephen Redhead, produced by TDeezy

Kickback (Pregame)

Stephen Redhead is an emcee from Northwest Washington, D.C., raised in Capitol Heights, Maryland by parents from Grenada & Jamaica.

When Redhead was born, he was unable to speak a word until he was almost two years old. Despite this fact and quite possibly because of it, his parents and teachers recognized that he had an above-average intellect, and an unorthodox learning style. He skipped a grade, could spell words that were way beyond those which peers of his age could understand – early on everyone knew there was something special about him.

He gorged himself on the music of A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, Cash Money Clique, DMX, Outkast, and many others, learning about melody, cadence, wordplay and the art of storytelling. For years, he rapped to himself in secret in an effort to keep his affair with Hip-Hop strictly casual. That all changed in mid-2002 when a then 17-year-old Redhead had a chance encounter with an A&R representative at an open mic event. That moment turned a casual affair into a full-on committed relationship, when the now-defunct MCA Records expressed substantial interest in signing the 17-year old. His parents didn’t allow him to enter the contract but to put it plainly – the game changed.

Since that point, Redhead has pursued his passion for Hip-Hop relentlessly. He has appeared on BET’s “Campus Invasion Tour,” performed at his alma mater Howard University delivering his brand of witty, buppy, backpacker floetics to the school’s 11,000 plus student population, rocked stages across the D.C., Maryland & Virginia areas. He has been featured in rap battles on two major D.C.-area stations –WKYS and WPGC in their “Friday Night Mic Fight.” Redhead has opened for acts such as the legendary Masta Ace, Wordsworth, Freestyle (of the Arsonists), Capone-N-Noreaga, Tiffany Evans, and Whyte Out (of 106 & Park). He has branched out into acting, appearing in the webisodes of the CBS series Jericho as Past Richard Hawkins, and as an extra in the motion picture Notorious. The Maryland-rapper’s music has been also featured on the URB Magazine, Ebony Magazine and Washington City Paper websites, and in the acclaimed webseries The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.

Redhead continues to stand out through his brilliant, book-smart, braggadocio, creatively self-directed video clips, and critically acclaimed live performances; he believes that his music will reach the top and stay there intact!

Keep looking for this young emcee as the road to success continues to rise up to meet him!

- Written by Niama Sandy