Black creativity isn’t just some trendy buzzphrase, gaining momentum on social media over the last few years — it’s much more than that. It’s a powerful machine powered by the brilliant minds of Black creatives to express themselves in a world that has never loved us. The beauty in Black creativity lies in the top-tier class of creatives who are the face of this movement and advocate for better opportunities while smashing barriers in the process for future generations to come. Each generation has a particular set of creatives that changes with the times and for Millennials, we have Steelo Brim leading the pack.
Known as the co-host and producer of MTV’s Ridiculousness, Brim has made a name for himself as a creative who is ushering in a new era of inventiveness through content creation, including his debut single and music video “Uncle Elroy” featuring Fabolous and Arin Ray. The Chicago native stopped by Blavity News to discuss “Uncle Elroy,” upcoming projects and his musical and creative journey.
On his latest single
Brim, who recently embarked on his musical journey, enlisted his euphonious peers Fabolous and Arin Ray to bring his latest single, “Uncle Elroy” to life. The song and visual pays homage to the character uncle Elroy from Friday and were inspired by Brim’s relatability to the character.
“My name has been uncle Elroy on my podcast Wine and Weed for the past three or four seasons, and I go by that name jokingly just because uncle Elroy was always funny to me. He smoked a lot of weed, he wore a lot of silks and gold chains and he was fashionable, but he was still ghetto. And I feel like that’s me in a lot of ways,” Brim said. “It's the two extremes of being hood rich but still being true to yourself, so I thought Uncle Elroy was cool for that.”
Why he enlisted Fabolous and Arin Ray
For Brim, it was important to recruit hip-hop heavyweight Fabolous and R&B newcomer Arin Ray because not only is he a fan of their work, but their individual sounds blend perfectly with the sound that he’s working to create.
“Anybody I worked with on this project was somebody that I'm a fan of,” Brim said. “I feel like for the tone of the music that I'm trying to create, which I call ‘happy Black,’ is just letting Black people be the purest versions of themselves and not really having to subscribe to the DNA of the music industry.”
On his musical journey
As a creative, Brim has built a solid brand over the years as a consummate professional who advocates for his fellow creatives through and through. Brim’s trek into music, however, is a new journey inspired by the advice of his therapist, who encouraged him to do something that he’s always wanted to do. For Brim, that something is rap.
“It's been therapeutic to say the least and t's been super fun. Coming into it, I didn't really know what to expect from the music, and I didn't know what to expect from myself,” Brim said. “I wrote everything on this project. I put a lot into this project, so it’s been a lot of fun. I was always looking for a way to dive back into music. I used to manage songwriters and producers, so that was always a thought of mine, like, ‘do I wanna get back here on that side?’ I was like, ‘you know what, let me try my hand at actually being an artist.’”
On takeaways from his musical journey
For Brim, some of the major takeaways of this journey have been the support of those around him and learning more about himself in the process.
“I think number one is having a strong support system. There’s a sense of comfort that my support system has made me feel, that’s super encouraging,” Brim said. “I'm somebody that's conceptually speaking or creatively speaking. I'm creating at all times and thinking of different things. So really just making myself take a seat and really follow something through and complete it was, I don't want to say challenging, but it allowed me to learn a lot of myself.”
On his upcoming projects
As Brim finishes up his debut project, he assures viewers that they can expect a lot from him this year, including his new film.
“I’m just putting different things together, different plays and trying to continue to just move around,” Brim said. “I have a movie coming out this year, it’s going to be on a major streaming platform. I also just signed my production deal at Paramount, so we’re working on a couple of shows right now. I have another podcast coming out as well called Sunday School.”
Check out Brim’s visual for “Uncle Elroy” here.
