Stephanie Smith “Not Afraid” from Gotee Records on Vimeo.

By: Samantha Zavala

There are many times in life where it seems that you are going backwards or even standing still, instead of going forward.  There is an uncertainty to your own abilities and whether you will be a success or a failure. In spite of those realities, there are also the things that make you happy and excited once they have happened or have been achieved.  Stephanie Smith is familiar with all of these things.

Stephanie and her brother were raised in Pennsylvania by her mother.  Her father was in the Midwest, keeping his distance from the family. Regardless, Stephanie and her family were active in their community and their church family.  She attended a non-denominational church growing up.  She was shy, but there was someone who noticed that she had an impeccable gift.  It was her youth leader, Jonathan.  He became a father figure to her and was able to help her realize her gifting and helped her to break out of her shell.

But it hasn’t always been easy.

“It’s weird on your psyche,” she says as she describes what it feels like to go from singing in a packed-out auditorium at night, to waking up at the crack of dawn to serve coffee.

Switching gears like that would definitely be hard to do.  And even though there may be a struggle, Stephanie focuses on the big picture.

“God has been specific in making my dreams come true,” she explains.

As a little girl, she dreamt of singing in front of crowds. She also wanted to perform with Tobymac and be with Gotee Records.  And so far, all those dreams have been checked off the list.  She performed at Creation Festival in Pennsylvania and has done many performances at churches in the aftermath of her successes. 

But there is still a challenge.

“It is hard to keep dreaming when things are not going as planned,” she says.

What a true statement!

What Stephanie means by this is that there is always that smidge of uncertainty that can prevent you from dreaming big because there is always a chance that what you dream for will not play out as expected.  Everyone has this feeling.  However, she remembers that God has given her a gift and as long as she has a dream, He will make it happen for her.

“The burden is on the Promise-Maker,” she tells me convincingly.

God has always reminded her of that.  He is the Promise-Maker. That keeps Stephanie going.  And that also forces her to extend and challenge her dreams while taking a humongous leap of faith.  God is always there for her.

Another one who is always there for her is her road manager Emily. She is Stephanie’s best friend/roomie/travelling companion.  She helps Stephanie with whatever she needs and is always supportive of what Stephanie does.  Stephanie is really grateful to have a friend like Emily because being an artist in the music industry sometimes can be grueling and unsettling.

Even though her main ministry is her music, Stephanie is also active in three other ministries, Soles4Souls, Compassion International, and Pure Freedom.  Soles4Souls is an organization that gets donations of shoes and in turn, donates them to people who are in need of shoes worldwide.  Compassion International helps in sponsoring children who live in poverty-stricken environments. Stephanie was given the opportunity to meet her child, which is something that cannot be done on a regular basis.  The other ministry that she is a part of is Pure Freedom.  Pure Freedom is an organization that teaches about purity and modesty and what the Bible says about it.

It is apparent that Stephanie has a heart for helping people. 

“I love my girlies,” she says excitedly.

Although it is her goal to touch all lives, Stephanie has a heart to reach young girls and teenagers.  It is apparent in her music, especially in her song Superstar.  Her lyrics are full of emotion and honesty.  They are also filled with words that encourage you to keep on fighting through what may be trying to hold you back.

She will also have more opportunities to spread her message this fall because she will be a featured artist in the Winter Wonder Slam Tour.  She will be accompanied by part of her Gotee family, Tobymac and B. Reith, as well as Relient K.  She also plans on releasing an EP prior to the tour.

I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed when I was listening to Stephanie speak.  She spoke with honesty as she described what she goes through in the pursuit of carrying out her dream. Some people think that by doing so it would make you vulnerable. But in my opinion, I see her as a fighter and a heroine.  Even in the face of uncertainty, she plows through with formidable, God-given strength and ability.  She is trailblazing as a solo, female, Christian rock artist. 

You can learn more about Stephanie by going to her website http://www.stephanieisagirl.com. And of course she has a Facebook, MySpace, and a Twitter account.  Go there to learn more about Stephanie and to keep up with tour dates and album info, etc.

By Josh Gloer

Poems is at a barbecue in Portland, Oregon when his phone rings. He steps away from friends to answer some questions – children’s laughter audible over his powerful drowning voice. It’s July 5th, the day after Americans everywhere celebrate their independence. The emcee spent his holiday weekend at a park with friends, watching fireworks, avoiding crowds.

Next week will be a different story.

Under the moniker Sareem Poems, the artist has announced his latest album, Black and Read All Over. The album doesn’t drop July 26th, but a promotional frenzy starts next week – kicking off with a new MySpace page for the album on Tuesday www.myspace.com/iampoems.

According to Poems, the title, Black and Read All Over, plays off stereotypes.

“It goes across the board with everyone,” Poems said. “It could be Black and Read all over, Brown and read all over. It’s just that people, at first glance, think they know who you are before they even get a chance to hear a word that comes out of your mouth.”

The album is also turning people’s perceptions of the former LA Symphony member’s on their heads. For this endeavor, Poems has united forces with producers Oddisee and Theory Hazit, and stylistically, the album isn’t run-of-the-mill Sharlok Poems.

“The emphasis on this record, for me personally, is giving people a little more up tempo stuff,” Poems said. “The last project was mid tempo, lot of poetry style writing which people know me for. Part of the reason I call this Black and Read All Over is because its not as typical. There’s a lot more guest spots on it. It’s a lot more forward as far as aggressive beats.”

Guest spots include LMNO, Pigeon John, Akil from Jurassic 5, Ragen Fykes and Georgia Anne Muldrow to name a few. According to Poems, the album strays from his typical story-telling depth and focuses on rhymes.

“I focus on being more of an emcee than being just a rapper or a poet. I want to make sure that there’s some substance and there’s some direction to everything that I give. I don’t want to give someone just some aimless music.”

The need to give direction is understandable. The fiery emcee has only met his father once, and his mother recently passed away due to a drug overdose. Avoiding the foster care system he was taken in by his grandmother, and Poems claims as a young man, he himself was searching for something – something he found through religion. Now, a strong Christian, the performer tries to incorporate good messages into his work.

“For a lot of people it’s a weird approach to life because they feel that its very judgmental,” Poems said. “[But] my message is love. I’m not trying to beat anybody over the head with my beliefs. I do my music and if you get something out of it, cool. And if it doesn’t touch you in that way, then cool.”

According to Poems, everyone is searching for something. While he’s found what he’s looking for, he knows not everyone else has.

“For me, at the end of the day, you’re going to hear who I am. That’s my heart. That’s the main thing for me, I’m not trying to water down who I am for anyone, but at the same time, I’m not trying to force feed what I believe or how I live my life down anyone’s throat.”

His music covers issues that he holds personal, from what he calls a sad but “common tale” of parentless children, drugs and even branching out into human trafficking. Poems now tries to help with benefits and events to bring these subjects to light.

“I talk about life issues,” Poems said, later adding that “I think as a Christian and just as a human being… you want to see people happy and enjoy the life that they have, because this is the only thing that we have that we can say is ours. Everything else that we have right now, when we’re gone, it doesn’t matter. This life is the only thing we have that we can say is ours.”

For Poems aficionados, Black and Read All Over, isn’t the only offering this year. Poems has teamed up with Atlanta based producer, Dust to form PND or Poems and Dust. The duo’s first offering Dirty Words (www.myspace.com/panddmusic) will be released sometime late 2009.

For now, Black and Read All Over hits shelves at the end of July.

“Do what you love. Period.” Poems said. “I’m doing what I love. This is what I’m putting all my energy into and everything you hear from me is inspired by life itself in general. You’re not going to hear any false tales from me. What you’re hearing is me.”

———–
Josh Gloer is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. Currently he’s a writer on his sixth season of MSNBC’s Lockup: Extended stay. He has also written for MTV, TLC, TruTV, HGTV and Oxygen. Josh has been a journalist for about 12 years, doing celebrity interviews with actors such as Djimoun Hounsou, Dennis Farina and James Marsden; and bands like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Orgy and sax guru, Carl Grubbs. Josh’s work has appeared in Filter, Car Audio & Electronics, Zink!, Item and many other publications and websites. This fall, his fiction is scheduled to appear in an anthology of LA writers, including Charles Bukowski. www.joshgloer.com

By Esther Rathnam

Last time, we discussed about Our God being a jealous God, as one of the reasons behind this recession. Indeed, this recession is helping bring back many a wondering souls to its rightful place, at the feet of God.

Today, we are going to see that another finding from this recession is that Our God is Sovereign. Yes, I’d like to scream it from the hill tops that our God is indeed Sovereign at all times. He was Sovereign when the economy was doing well and HE is still Sovereign when our economy is rapidly failing. The Bible tells us in many places that apart from HIM we can do nothing. Matthew Chapter 6:25-34 is definitely worth the read. We are told not to worry for none of us have the power to change our current, past or present situation, only God can do that.

How does knowing HE is Sovereign help us? Romans 8:28 tells us And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose. Yes my friends, this horrible, worrisome recession will also be worked for your good. Our God has the ability to turn something ugly into something beautiful. This recession is yet another means of His doing something good in you.

So stop worrying about the recession and seek ye first your God, turn to Him and look to Him to see you through this recession. Not convinced yet? Turn your thoughts back to the Israelites! What did God do for them? He rescued them from Pharaoh, parted the red sea, provided manna and quail, water from rocks etc. When the Israelites were convinced that there was nothing that could save them, God intervened and did the impossible but first He brought them to a state of nothing, a state of pleading, much like the recession.

How do you survive the recession? Trusting in His Sovereignty. God brings you to nothing to recognize that you have everything you need for survival. Like the Israelites, we are often tempted to put our trust in everything but the Lord. We depend on our own strength and steal God of his Sovereignty and Glory.

How is God glorified through a recession? The same way He was glorified when Gideon’s army won by just blowing the horn and hitting pots and pans against a strong Midianite army! The same way He was glorified when a young David with a sling conquered a mighty Goliath, the same way He was glorified when Pharaoh’s army was swept by the waters of the Red Sea. God is glorified when man is brought to nothing, when man is stripped of all confidence in self and relies only on the Grace of God which ultimately proves that HE is always Sovereign.

This recession God is calling us to acknowledge His power and authority. We are not to doubt God’s Sovereignty nor are we to steal His Glory.