Building Beats, Building Brands

Hip Hop Artist and Student El Stephens Blends Rhythm and Strategy to Build His Future in the Music Industry

With a music catalog containing over 60 streaming songs on major platforms such as Spotify, YouTube Music and Apple Music, along with three albums, four EPs and 12 music videos, it’s “Business as Usual” for University of Louisville Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student El Stephens, who balances a rapidly evolving career in the music industry while preparing to graduate in May.

Rapping and Rising

A Louisville native, Stephens was exposed to rap, hip hop and R&B music by his father at an early age and began rapping when he was in the third grade. “I had always been able to rap, and I would write raps occasionally and show my parents…it just came pretty naturally.” As Stephens’ talents grew, so did the ways in which he orchestrated musical elements into his class projects. “I remember in seventh grade, I did a song for a science project, and they put it on the school news,” he shared, noting that the event served as a catalyst for him to develop professional creative projects outside the classroom, eventually leading him to the College of Business (CoB).

With the release of his single “Dream Girl” and subsequent first music video when he was a sophomore at duPont Manual High School, Stephens began to gain traction with listeners. However, at that time he also began questioning his career path, having family members who had followed successful paths in business. Already familiar with UofL, he decided a business education at the university would provide him a variety of potential career paths. “I was looking into audio production [and] audio engineering. But then I realized if I went to UofL, [I could] split my interests, because I had started learning that music is a business.”

Mic and Marketing Mastery

At UofL, Stephens gained valuable educational insights that aided him on and off the mic. Life skills such as time management and professionalism, and business skills such as branding and marketing, particularly with social media, were roadblocks that his business courses and internship at Extell Financial Services as an information technology (IT) intern helped him overcome. “I’ve been learning a lot every day [and have] a bigger handle on how the world operates, especially economics and the flow of money, even…in music. Say you need a music video. Okay, who is paying for that? Who’s paying for the beats [or] the engineering? Everything has a cost.” Taking his education a step further, Stephens’ dual minors in Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Music and New Media through the School of Music have served to enhance his skills, allowing him to approach music through a development mindset. “I learned a whole lot more about the hardware and technology behind music production. I didn’t realize how deep it gets. You hear the term ‘audio engineering’ and you’re thinking, ‘Oh yeah, I’m just gonna make some beats.’ I went to my first music class, and we were doing calculations, and I was [thinking], ‘I thought we were rapping today.’ So, there’s a whole lot to learn and a lot you can do.”

Finding His Frequency

Performing at venues such as Fourth Street Live or meeting well-known Louisville music icon Jack Harlow are not encounters many students can boast, but those experiences have profoundly impacted Stephens as an artist, as have the responses to how his catalog has grown. Proud of his musical evolution, Stephens’ songs were originally about “turning point[s] in my life,” he said. “The ones I did when I graduated high school [were about] newfound freedom – I had a car.” Stephens pointed out that his more recent releases, such as the single “Sour,” reflects his growth not just on a personal level but as an artist. “Some of the stuff I’m talking about is more about growing up.”

Soundtrack to Self

As he approaches graduation, Stephens says his experience at the CoB, along with his experiences as he matures, has helped to shape his views on the world and his place in it. Those insights are not just defining his identity but how he comes across in his music – and he’s noticing how his greater message is evolving to reach wider audiences and send a different message. “As I’ve grown up, I’ve pivoted more towards figuring out who I am as a person outside of the music. Self-discovery is super cool. So now, I’m just exploring who I am without music.”

Follow Stephens’ musical journey on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X.

Are you a musician ready to take center stage in the industry? Our minor in Entrepreneurship in the Music Industry can help you gain skills to own the spotlight.

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About the UofL College of Business:

Founded in 1953, the UofL College of Business fosters intellectual and economic vitality in our city, region and the global business landscape. Our academic programs, research, community outreach initiatives and commitment to student success inspire lives and businesses to flourish through entrepreneurship, innovation, critical thinking, diversity and the power of people.

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