Rock and R&B collide with the sultry, silky and vocal grit of Stephonne, an artist who conjures up the spirits of Prince and Billie Holiday but that delivers something inimitable, visceral, strange and beautiful.
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Kansas City-based singer-songwriter Stephonne Singleton just released a brand new track entitled "Want Me" today, and the dark, slick bop oozes all things sex, bewilderment, and tension.

"Those things describe my coming of age as a Black gay man in Kansas City," Stephonne said in a statement. "I've put my heart and peace of mind through a whole fucking lot."

With help from his co-producer Justin Mantooth, Stephonne also wrote and produced the track, and the time he spent working on "Want Me" really shows.

"I've never felt this confident in myself or my music before," he said. "NYC changed me in a way I can't explain. My first album is my baby but I haven't felt anything as visceral, connected and urgent as this music feels. I'm ready to truly show who I am."

- Pride.Com
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At its start Caged Bird Sings Songs About Red Beard simmers and swells with layered strings that ascend and coil like sea winds. It as if the overture is the start of a classic and storied voyage... and it is. Stephonne Singleton’s debut album isn’t just a collection of 9 meticulously and lushly produced tracks. It is the voyage of a red state born gay black man that turned the bitter cold and pain of love lost, love mistaken and love unreturned into a body of work that demands to be heard and never forgotten.

From the slick and silky grit and gospel of “Hide & Seek” to the honesty and vulnerability of “Unworthy,” Singleton recalls the great r&b voices of bygone eras. It is through “Fine Feelin Blue,” though, that the wisdom and restraint of Jazz legends like Billie Holiday can be heard. In “1994 (Interlude)” and “Dangerous” the pulse of 90s grunge and alternative throbs so loudly that it’s impossible not to be transported. Stephonne and producer Jamie Searle have created a sound that puts Stephonne’s inimitable vocals, intuitive melodies and vulnerable lyricism on full display. More than that, however, is a melting of genre and arena sized sound that we haven’t quite heard before. Searle’s arrangements effortlessly marry rock, jazz, r&b, folk and neo-soul into a pop odyssey all it’s own.

That marriage is perfectly apparent at the album’s heart, with songs “You Are Fire” and “Untitled (The Joke of It All).” Vocals are layered here like honey and provide a sweetness that one needs on this dark but hopeful and introspective journey. “How I Feel” marches the listener to a place of hope, pride and fearless love. It isn’t really an end as much as it seems like a new beginning for Stephonne. There is a strength and roar here that sounds unwilling to let hate win and that seeks to own the scars received on his journey.

Caged Bird Sings Songs About Red Beard was released on July 27, 2018 by Glory Blue Music (GBM) and is available for purchase and stream on all digital platforms, worldwide!