Birthed in Jamaica, reggae music has served as a common voice across the world, in particular among ethnic groups and races that have been historically oppressed, such as Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Australian Aborigines. So for Hawaiian born and raised, Star Alaniz, reggae music struck an added chord to his soul.
Growing up amid a musical family, and with Jawaiian music, an Hawaiian style of reggae prevalent throughout the island, it isn’t until he first heard the music of Jacob Miller, that Star’s musical path was patterned “I loved everything about him, his voice, his writing, his music style and his stage presence.” Thereafter immersing himself into the roots rock reggae sounds of such legendaries as Bob Marley, Steel Pulse, Aswad and Inner Circle, Star found his voice and in 2010 in a little rainy Hawaiian island town called Hilo, The Steppas was born!
Honing their craft writing, composing and performing throughout the island, The Steppas delivered their first professional release in 2012 with their GOOD ROOTS EP. The latter received to great reviews, fueled The Steppas to build an impactful discography and in 2013 they followed up with the release of THE LOVE SHACK EP, which featured the hit songs ‘ Lost At Sea’ and ‘ Empress Love.’ Following the modest success of their EPs, The Steppas embarked on their journey to deliver musical offerings.
Playing alongside their counterparts and with different sounds and influences, the following gave Steppas new ammunition which conveyed in 2014 with the release of their first LP TO YOU FROM WE hitting #1 on the iTunes reggae charts and #2 on the billboard reggae rankings. Building music to stand the test of time, 2016 saw the release of the inspiring single “WE ALL”, – a song that encourages people to stand as one and to fight for their beliefs. In 2019, The Steppas released yet another musical project titled JOURNEY OF ROADS, a body of work that has embodied the band’s roots-like-style while fusing lovers rock and pop-like reggae influences.
On October 9th the band will be releasing a new single, “Stay,” via Easy Star Records, and today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere. The song marks a return to recording for the band, who dealt with a number of close tragedies in 2019 and 2020, which almost stopped the band from continuing entirely. In 2019, the band’s friend and longtime manager, Kaliko Keawe’ehu, died suddenly and unexpectedly. The Steppas’ leader, Star Alaniz, took months off from writing music, recording, or playing shows. This was followed by more unexpected deaths in their scene. Touching on dark themes and the power to make it through tough times, the song finds the band rolling classic Jamaican reggae with a modern R&B sound into one joint that feels blissfully warm and tropical. Smooth and easygoing vocals are complemented by a mellow, feel-good groove and background singers that lend a touch of glowing spirituality to the music. Perhaps most importantly, the song’s smile-inducing energy and its message of love and hope is one that resonates with everyone during these dark days on our planet.
Star Alaniz describes the inspiration behind the song:
“The inspiration behind ‘Stay’ is what I see from the outside and inside of a relationship standpoint. When we fall in love, there will always be disagreements but it’s how we deal with it is what matters. There will always be Thunderstorms and dark clouds but the sunshine will always follow. So never give up on something you believe in, STAY.”
LISTEN:
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