Stephen Thomas

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- "It's like it's written," holy hip-hop artist and syndicated radio host Stephen "Steve-O" Thomas said. "What good is it to gain the world if you lose your soul?"

Like a lot of young, urban artists, Thomas is very much interested in fame, acclaim and wealth. It's not just part of the hip-hop culture, it's part of the American culture, and Thomas wants it all -- the expensive cars, the money, the flashy clothes.

"I want a life of abundance," he said. "Like the kind only God can provide. I want to be proof that you can be young, fly and saved at the same time."

Thomas is doing the best he can to live that way. The 17-year-old performer is most often heard locally from 6 to 7 a.m. Sundays on 98.7 "The Beat," but he also plays occasional shows around the area and is heard on "Crunk 4 Christ," a nationally syndicated Contemporary Christian radio broadcast based out of Georgia.

"I'm on from 4 to 6 p.m. On my show, we talk about everything," he said of the national broadcast.

Thomas e-mails the show from home to the Crunk 4 Christ offices in Georgia. He describes the syndicated radio broadcast as a growing enterprise, still looking for sponsors, but says, "It's not about the money.

My thing is ministry," he said. "A lot of stuff people do impact lives. I try to stay positive."

Thomas grew up on Charleston's West Side and got started playing music before he started school. In his early teens, he got involved in musical theater through the Contemporary Youth Arts Company. He listened to all the usual music and did all the normal things that young teens do.

"I used to do some cuss words," he said.

But he put that away when he turned 15 and got involved with gospel music. Holy hip-hop became his path to bridging the message he heard in church and the music he heard everywhere.

"I didn't come up with it," Thomas said. "But nobody was doing it here. I just wanted to create a movement."

Thomas got into radio after a class field trip to West Virginia Radio Corp. Thomas, ever eager and not at all shy, had more questions for the staff and wanted to know how he could promote his own musical career. He worked his way up the chain of command, spoke with the radio group's vice president and marketing director, Mike Buxser.

"But it was Woody Woods who brought me in," Thomas said. Woods is the drive-time DJ on 98.7 "The Beat."

Not long after Thomas started his early-Sunday-morning radio shift, he contacted Pastor Calvin "P-Crunk" McCoy. McCoy runs Crunk 4 Christ in Atlanta.

"Well, you can't hear us in Charleston on the air," McCoy said. "Steve-O found us on the Internet and reached out."

McCoy said Thomas impressed them right off, both with his eagerness and devotion.

"And he already had a radio show in Charleston."

Thomas made several guest appearances on Crunk 4 Christ programs and was offered the afternoon slot.

"We just loved his determination to do the right thing," McCoy said. "He provides a good example for young people his own age."

And he makes McCoy laugh.

All that Thomas does keeps him busy. Because of his music and radio careers, it became impossible to attend classes regularly.

"It got too hard to travel during the week."

Thomas says to follow his dreams, with his parents' blessing, he withdrew from Capital High School and now takes high school classes online through Ashworth College's high school program.

"Education is important," he said. - Charleston Gazette

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Monday November 12, 2012
Charleston singer to appear on national TV
by Charlotte Ferrell Smith
Daily Mail staff

Christian singer and rapper Stephen Thomas, whose stage name is Steve-O, is working on his third album and preparing for an upcoming performance on national television.

"I do this 24/7," the 19-year-old Charleston resident said of his musical career. "The grind doesn't stop. If I'm not doing anything, I'm thinking about how I can be a better minister and a better part of entertainment."

He said he loves what he does because music is his passion and he hopes to have a positive impact on youth.

Thomas will perform at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on Total Christian Television Network. To view the show on demand, go to www.tct.tv/demand.php, scroll down and click the "I'm Just Sayin' " icon. On DirecTV, it's channel 377. The show was taped in Chicago in October.

Thomas has spent the last four months on tour performing at venues in North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Georgia and West Virginia. He has performed everywhere from churches and theaters to fashion shows and youth conferences.

"I'm hoping to hit arenas next year," he said. "I'd like to go big. I'm a dreamer."

Thomas grew up on Charleston's West Side and was one of three children born to Freda and Stephen Thomas, two of his biggest fans. In fact, his mother is his "road manager." Another manager, Corretta Allison, is based in California. His publicist, Bonita Bellamy, played a role in his upcoming appearance on national television.

For Thomas, it all began with his Christian upbringing.

"I grew up in a nondenominational church, and my mother raised me to be Bible based," he said.
He now attends All Nations Revival Center in Institute, where Pastor Frederick Hightower is his spiritual mentor along with elder Bruce Purnell.

He is quick to say he did not make it this far alone and rattles off a list of people who have offered advice and encouragement along the way. Among these is Jermaine Robinson, of Shackles Free Entertainment, who is a producer and "like a brother."

"I am grateful to all friends and family who have prayed for me and been there when I needed them," he said.
Thomas began recording music when he was 10 years old and started his first album at 15. By age 17, he had his own radio show. He's on the air at 6 a.m. each Sunday promoting the contemporary Gospel hour on West Virginia Radio Corp.'s WRVZ, 98.7 The Beat.

So, DJ was added to his list of accomplishments. He is also a drummer and pianist.

His latest album, entitled "Changes," was released this year with songs like "True Praiser Hustle Hard," "Gave Me Life," "Changes," and "I Praise Your Name." He writes his own songs and is currently working on a third album.

"I am an independent artist associated with Shackles Free Entertainment," he said. "I recorded 'Changes' with Jermaine Robinson at his studio in Raleigh, N.C. I've been on the Changes tour for the last four months."

While Thomas is happy to invest time in his music, he also has his eye on a college education. He left high school to pursue his musical career but eventually earned his GED. He now hopes to enroll in college and earn a business degree.

He wants young people to be aware of the importance of education and to stay in school.

"We all make mistakes," he said. "At the end of the day, education is the key."

He realizes that any accomplishment comes from faith and trusting God.

"God blesses a humble heart," he said.

Go to www.overcomingsteve.com to hear some music by Steve-O. - Charleston Daily Mail

Tuesday February 23, 2010
Monica Orosz
Stephen Thomas takes to the airwaves at 98.7 FM The Beat every Sunday morning at 6 a.m. to play contemporary Gospel and Christian hip-hop music. The 17-year-old got the gig after making a good impression on station officials during a high school field trip.

CHARLESTON, W.Va.--Beware, friends and acquaintances of Stephen Thomas: You are likely to get early phone calls and text reminders about his Sunday morning radio show.

Thomas, 17, goes on each Sunday at 6 a.m. and he isn't about to do it alone. The Charleston teen will promote his contemporary Gospel hour to everyone and anyone.

"I'm a big Facebook person," he said. "I do Twitter."

He's been doing his radio show on the West Virginia Radio Corp.'s WRVZ, 98.7 The Beat for just a few weeks and Thomas wants it to succeed.

Beat DJ Woody Woods laughingly recalled hearing his cell phone beep early one morning.

"I'm like, 'Who is texting me this early?'" Woods recalled. "Oh, it's Stephen."

The gig arose out of a tour Thomas' sports marketing class at Capital High took to the station's Virginia Street offices last year.

The station's vice president and marketing director, Mike Buxser, recalls that Thomas held back after the group toured the studios.

"He says, 'I've got more questions,' " Buxser recalled. Thomas wanted to know how he could better promote and market his own singing career and learn more about broadcasting.

"I said I wanted to create a movement. My main genre is hip hop - why not do the positive side of it?"

Thomas, a Christian singer and rapper who uses the stage name Steve-O, has been recording music since he was 10. He started working on his first album at 15 and was already comfortable in a studio setting. - Monica Orosz

The singer has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. His previous music was described as unique, fresh and exciting. Stephen Thomas, previously known as Steve-O has decided to return to the music world with a new sound, a sound that has excited the music industry.

Read more at the link above. - In2Town

Stephen Thomas releases first single from sophomore album Changes. Now available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and more. - Bellamy Group