Steph Simon is all about his hometown of Tulsa, Okla.
Also known as “The Tulsa King,” the Midwest MC doesn’t want to move to Atlanta or any large hip-hop market to burst through to the mainstream, and there are reasons why.
Moments after blazing the stage with his band, Steph Simon & The Rowlands, at the opening night dinner at the Black Venture Summit, Simon spoke to rolling out about the dynamics and power of uplifting home.
Where did your band name come from?
We named that band after Dick Rowland, most known as the 1921 Race Massacre shoeshine kid on Black Wall Street. He was a Greenwood, North Tulsa, kid they placed the blame on for the Tulsa race riots.
So it’s a homage thing, being a Rowland; it’s just paying homage to Dick Rowland.
Where did the inspiration of being a cover band with rap verses come from?
Honestly, those are all original songs that we do, but we give it that cover feel because I like to pay homage.
I sample a lot in my music, so if we sample a song, I like my band to play the song so people can be more familiar and pull them into the original, whether they’ve heard it or not. It’s very engaging, so it has a cover feel to it, like a cheat code, to get people to listen to your originals …
How long have you been doing this?
I’ve been doing this professionally full-time for four years, but [performing] is what I’ve been doing since high school. I’m 36 years old, so I’ve been doing this art form for about 15 years.
Even though I’m a rapper, I keep myself moving like a growing business. I have the Dreamland Festival, the biggest Black entertainment, art, and hip-hop festival in Tulsa. That and my music keep me a full-time entrepreneur.
Who were some of the rappers you listened to growing up?
Killer Mike is one. OutKast. OutKast introduced me to Killer Mike, and they are my favorite group. That’s where my inspiration comes from to paint my city in the way they painted their city.
When I went out to Atlanta, I would see places and spaces they were talking about, and I want people to do that when they visit Tulsa. I want to give them a road map you can use to get around Tulsa when you listen to my music.
What do Zias and B Lou mean to the city of Tulsa?
Zias and B Lou are big deals when it comes to YouTube, streaming, and anything on the internet. They are the biggest I’ve seen come out of here and are nationally known … B Lou was born and raised in Tulsa; he’s from McClain, and he’s from the ‘hood, so it’s cool to see somebody come up from where we’re from and grow to become so big.
Why didn’t you move somewhere like Atlanta to expedite the progress of your music career?
I know we’re not the ecosystem that Atlanta is, but I stayed here so I could build that economy here.
If I go to Atlanta, that’s already in place. Dallas Austin has a piece of that, Rico Wade had a piece of that, Jermaine Dupri is like the face of that. So when you come to Tulsa, yes, I’m a rapper, but I also want to be one of those executives, too. I want to help find a way to make Tulsa stand out.
