Real Steele seeking breakthrough

Upcoming female dancehall artiste Real Steele is confident that she will get the breakthrough she deserves in the music space, but admits that a lack of investment in her talent has caused delays.

"My challenge as a new artiste is that every person I meet says that 'Yow you bad enuh, how you nuh buss yet?' But yet still no one is willing to work with me and I don't get it. But I still push myself the best way I can," she said.

She added, "I would say that I haven't found that person who shares the same vision and who is as serious as I am, who is looking at my talent and not my looks and has the same fire I have and belief in me as well."

NO STRANGER

The Yallahs, St Thomas native, whose given name is Stephannie Smith Ayre, is no stranger to the stage, as she has participated in popular competitions such as the Tastee Talent Trail and was twice a contestant in the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall, in 2013 and 2017 respectively.

She shared that her development as an artiste is also evident in the type of music she now puts out, having moved away from more raunchy material to content that is more purposeful.

"When I hit the scene, I was being compared to Lady Saw because of my lewd lyrical content. Because of that comparison, my first moniker was 'Lady Steele'. Wanting desperately to escape that type of label, 'Real Steele' was born, and I have never looked back. I desire to spread empowering music, using the same powerful, catchy, sharp, and cleverly descriptive delivery," she said.

Real Steele has collaborated with Captain Korias from France on the tracks So Wonderful and Some A Yuh. She has also collaborated with Lewicious, a Zimbabwean artiste, on Do You Remember Me. One of her crowd favourites is Finger, in which she bashes child molesters.