Be Steadwell

Be Steadwell (sometimes stylized as be steadwell) is a singer-songwriter and filmmaker from Washington, D.C. She is best known for producing a genre of music she calls "queer pop".

Be Steadwell
Background information
OriginWashington D.C., U.S.
Genres
Years active2010-present
Websitewww.besteadwell.com

Steadwell produced the film Vow of Silence (2014), which received Best Experimental Short at the Black Star Film Festival.

She released the EP Succulent in April 2020.

Early life and education

Be Steadwell was born and raised in Washington, D.C.[1] She is the youngest of four children.[1]

Steadwell attended The Field School.[1] She began singing at age 14 when she joined the jazz band.[2][2]

She received her BA from Oberlin College and a MFA in film from Howard University.[3]

Career

Music

Steadwell released weekly music videos on YouTube while at Howard.[4] She released her first album, Queer Pop Mixtape in 2013, for which she gained wider prominence.[5]

Steadwell sang at the 2017 Women's March on the National Mall behind Maxwell and Janelle Monae in Toshi Reagon's Big Lovely Band.[6]

Steadwell released an album called Queer Love Songs in June 2018. She described the album as “a collection of love songs I’ve written in the past ten years from my perspective as a super queer black woman who loves love.”[7]

In April 2020 she released the EP Succulent. Steadwell stated that the album focuses on her enjoyment of sex.[8] The sound was described as R&B, hip-hop, pop, and electronica.[8]

Other work

She produced the 2014 film, Vow of Silence, during her MFA program. It received the Howard University Paul Robeson Award (2015), Best Experimental Short at The Black Star Film Festival (2015), Audience Choice Award at the QWOCMAP Film Festival (2015), and was featured at the NYC Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

In 2016 she was selected to be a Strathmore Artist in Residence and the DC Commission on the Arts awarded Be an artist fellowship.

Artistry

Musical style

Steadwell self-produces her music, which is known for its lyrics and LGBTQIA+ content. She makes music that she refers to as "queer pop", and has stated the importance of that specificity.[3]

AfterEllen described her sound as "multi-layered but lofi"[7] Her songs also frequently have political themes.[7] She wrote a song called "Gay Sex" in response to the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.[7]

Stage

Steadwell uses loop pedals to layer vocals and beatboxing live onstage, and sometimes plays guitar.[3]

Music videos

Steadwell releases music videos on YouTube under the moniker "B Steady."[9] The channel had around 15,000 subscribers as of October, 2018.

Personal

Steadwell identifies as queer.[3]

Discography

Albums
  • Queer Pop Mixtape (2013)
  • RainWater EP (2013)
  • Songaday (2014)
  • Notes. Acoustic Love Songs (2015)
  • SongaDay (2015)
  • Jaded (2016)
  • Breakup Songs (2017)
  • Queer Love Songs (2018)
  • Succulent (2020)
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gollark: No.
gollark: Oh, LyricLy has enfirecubezed.
gollark: Once I had 568Ts latency both ways.
gollark: I'm playing Factorio over osmarksnetnet™ right now.

References
  1. "Be Steadwell: 'Music Is The Spark Of Any Resistance'". OutSmart Magazine. 2017-12-05. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  2. Voorhees, Kristen; Magazine, Tagg (2017-04-28). "Musiq Scene: Be Steadwell". Tagg Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  3. Folliard, Patrick (2020-06-11). "Out singer/songwriter Steadwell passionate about queer music". Washington Blade: Gay News, Politics, LGBT Rights. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  4. "Artist Spotlight & Playlist: B.Steady". Autostraddle. 2012-05-24. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  5. Marie, J. (2019-02-09). "Be Steadwell Is Your New Musical Crush". www.kitschmix.com. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
  6. "Be Steadwell - Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice". Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  7. Macdonald, Jocelyn (2018-06-21). "Be Steadwell's "Queer Love Songs" are Pop Music for the Whole Rainbow". AfterEllen. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  8. Berlatsky, Noah (2020-04-06). "Be Steadwell's queer slow jams are sexy, weird, and relatable". Document Journal. Retrieved 2020-07-19.
  9. "Be Steadwell's New Music Video Will Put A Spell On You". Autostraddle. 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2018-10-27.


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