Meet Stacy “Reach” Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacy “Reach” Smith.

Hi Stacy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey with Hip Hop began in the fourth grade. I spent mornings in the kitchen, listening to Run DMC on the family’s floor-model stereo. Years of fandom gave way to curiosity about my place within this budding culture. It must’ve been five or six years later that I decided to put pen to paper for a Black History program at my childhood church. The first several years were spent honing my craft. Somewhere around the age of 19, I began to take my writing seriously enough to start recording. At that time, recording meant making stream of consciousness cassettes where a friend and I rapped over whatever instrumentals we could find.

When tensions and life situations arose, I eventually split from my partner-in-rhyme Thomas Cook and found an upstart label through my best friend in high school. The label, Kingdome Records, gave me my first taste of life as an independent artist. I cut my teeth there. I learned the business there. It provided a springboard for where I am today. Every arc has a finale so I eventually struck out on my own and the rest, they say, is history.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life as an independent artist is an ongoing challenge. There’s always a dearth of resources, time and expertise. I’ve learned so much by trial-and-error. Couple that with being a father and holding down a full-time job and you inevitably experience all of the peaks and valleys of being a musician.

I’ve had creative differences with collaborators, falling outs with labels, disputes over musical rights, beefs with print media, turbulent relationships with major companies and even quarrels with local venues. The road, along the way, has been anything but smooth.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
By trade, I’m an emcee. Creatively, that’s how most people know me. I’m also a music producer who’s been creating tracks roughly as long as I’ve been rhyming. In addition to those two hats, I’m a songwriter, vocal producer and arts educator who’s spent years teaching kids about the finer points of Hip Hop writing and performance. I spent about six years working for a community school of the arts called Kansas City Young Audiences.

As an artist, I’m most proud of having been a staple of the local music scene for two decades. I’m still creating/releasing music that people seem to be interested in. That’s a blessing and I’m proud to say that I haven’t reached my creative ceiling yet. At heart, I’m no different from the other artists in this community, but I do have a unique life experience that informs the music I make.

Speaking of music, I have a pair of new projects that recently dropped (both during the month of October). The first, APT L (A Prelude to LOVE), is an instrumental album that dropped on October 1st. It features 18 tracks that I produced. The latter, Life’s One Valid Expression, released on October 29th and comprises 14 original songs. Both projects are currently available on various digital streaming platforms (Amazon, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Deezer, iTunes and Spotify).

What makes you happy?
Music makes me happy.

I grew up in a household filled with music all the time. It sparks my imagination and serves as a form of therapy. There’s a song for virtually every mood. A song that speaks to every human experience. Music arguably imitates life better than any other artform.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: instagram.com/emceereach
• Facebook: facebook.com/emceereachmusic
• Twitter: twitter.com/emceereach
• SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/djawnz