Find Light At The End Of The Tunnel With ‘FAITH OVER FEAR’ by Stefan Rossi

From a young age, Adelaide based Hip-Hop Artist Stefan Rossi has always been a charismatic, loving and entertaining person. Growing up, Stefan captivated his family, friends and peers’ attention by singing, acting and impersonating characters at birthdays, school and even in his lounge room at home. However, from a very young age Stefan has suffered with Anxiety, especially when he was alone Stefan struggled to slow down his mind. 

He found his love for music and his attention to lyricism grew and that’s when his obsession with Hip Hop began. He started writing his own songs, putting all his money from his casual job into his music

Creating a local following in Adelaide he then performed support shows for acts Fat Joe, Tyga, Omarion and more. With music, Stefan had found a way to cope with his anxiety. By being vulnerable and speaking his truth with songwriting he realised he could connect with people who were just like him, facing internal and external challenges of self-doubt, negative narratives & pessimistic perspectives. Stefan was going to lead them into a ‘new beginning’.

One night out for dinner with his fiance, Stefan felt a lump on his body, knowing he had to have a series of medical tests he spiralled out of control and saw his anxiety create a person that was inconsolable in these situations. Stefan knew he had to make a change.

Some years later aftermaking some life changes, Stefan was able to secure a connection with esteemed producer Danny Duke, a Sydney powerhouse who has worked with artists such as (Lizzo, Sampa the Great and Baker Boy). Little did he know this one trip to Sydney on his lonesome would change his life forever. Accepted by warm welcomes from Danny Duke, Chunky Luv, Maxine, Saint Lane, Melkior & more, Stefan felt like he had a voice.

As Stefan was slowly working to overcome his own battles, he was using the pain as fuel to light up the studio with deep intricate bars, catchy hooks. Praised by Danny for his versatile talents Stefan was thriving in this environment and as always linked with his relatable message. The blueprint to this EP had started, he was focused on approaching his challenges without a fearful doubt in mind. He had found Faith! Faith in himself, faith in his future, faith in the love from those around him. This EP was no longer about him and his own struggles, but it was about his music becoming a vessel to show others that they are more than their illness. 

Faith Over Fear is also an ode to your choice, a choice in optimism, a choice in belief beyond cynicism, understanding it is natural to have fears but not to live under their shadow. His journey through his self-development process is perfectly documented across multiple different sounds created by Danny Duke. From detailed storytelling, trap beats with gospel chorus’ to hard hitting pop melodies and potent vocal hooks, 

Faith Over Fear is something everyone can enjoy not only as a musical body of work but as a message they will carry in their lives for a long time. 

I was lucky enough to have a chat with Stefan on the release of his FAITH OVER FEAR EP for Underground Hip Hop Blog, here’s how it went!

 Hello Stefan! Congratulations on the release of your EP ‘FAITH OVER FEAR’ tell us, what inspired the title of the EP?

For so long I was scared of the future, my health, my family, my goals. Each fearful thought affected the other and became something I couldn’t control anymore. Then I found faith again, faith in the source, faith in me, faith in my future.

How did the creative process for the EP go? Did you face any sort of challenges while creating the project? 

Flying to and from sydney to work with Danny Duke (Sampa The Great, Lizzo, Baker Boy) was obviously a big challenge for me, I hadn’t worked with anyone on a writing camp before, this here was 4 days intensive writing on the daily. I then flew Danny in to Adelaide for the next writing camp to show him around my city and get a feel for how I’ve grown up and the community I spend time with. The travel was definitely hard leaving my wife behind and working with someone I had never met. 

Where do you garner your major musical influences from? If given an opportunity, who would you like to collaborate with in the future?

JAY Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar. I’d love to work with Kanye as I love his beats. I think he finds the best way to make hip hop appeal to the masses without losing the soulful essence of the genre.

You are celebrating the FAITH OVER FEAR EP Launch with a performance at Adelaide UniBar on the 7th of May, can you tell us a little bit about what the audience can expect?

This event will be so versatile, that was the idea to give the fans all different vibes on the night with the amazing artists we have lined up. Not to give too much away but my set is going to be a journey, theatrical, poetic and much more! 

Do you have a favourite track from FAITH OVER FEAR? If so, which track is that and what is your favourite lyric?

I can’t give a favourite unfortunately haha! It’s like choosing your favourite child, however I can break down my favourite parts. The intro track faith over fear is my favourite lyrically, new beginnings is my favourite emotionally, baptist remix i have the most fun performing and all of the songs have parts of them I just adore!

Lastly, is there any message that you wish to convey to your fans?

Thank you so much, I’ve been on this journey for a few years and without people’s amazing words, support and love I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in.