Cover art: Alec Hudson

“Guess I fell on deaf ears— nobody hears me. Y’all see me cryin’
And y’all fear me, cuz when you ever seen a black man cry?
Unless he’s begging for his life, he can’t get teary eyed.”

-STNFXCE, “Solow”

STNFXCE (pronounced Stoneface) is a genre-melding contemporary soul artist from the South Side of Chicago. Despite his name and stoic-by-choice stage presence, his debut EP, STX//stns, is an exercise in vulnerability; one intended to challenge society’s stifling expectations of hypermasculinity among young black men.

The three-track effort — written, performed, produced, and mixed by STNFXCE — features sobering modern R&B soundscapes, which give weight to the cathartic expressions of loneliness and isolation within. STX//stns feels like a much-needed emotional release for the Chicago native; one which invites listeners to acknowledge and feel comfortable expressing the feelings they’ve held inside.

STX//stns was released on May 14, and is being promoted by Southside Sounds Entertainment. You can check it out for yourself below!