We were lucky to catch up with Winston Lord recently and have shared our conversation below.

Winston, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I created a full-length album entitled BLK about the black plight during the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic. The concept revolved around BLK representing the “ticker symbol” of the black experience. For millenia, people have borrowed our religion, artistic creativity, science and medicine, our people for labor, precious metals and even our entire existence for their personal gain or to be deemed “cool”. They kill us for fun, pimp our music to the masses, dress like us, help us sign over our rights, break up our families and communities, all for one purpose: their profit. If we had a way to publicly trade this black consciousness, we would be the wealthiest people around the globe.

Each artist that I produced a song for was given the task of telling a story about which part of the black experience brought them the most value/life/wisdom. These were my best works of art until that point and solidified for me the mission on my life: to provide the canvas for artists to tell their stories. I’ve been all systems go ever since.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

You can call me STN-_- (think the short form of “Stone” with a laser focused emoji at the end) and I am a life long music producer. I met my good friend and music partner, Stephenxjones, back in 2005 and my love for music has yet to waiver. I went to Clemson University for Audio Technology and learned the ins and outs of sound and the studio.

After a near death experience in 2017, I almost gave up the craft because I felt grossly unfulfilled. It was when my people begged me not to quit that I realized my super power: to help my people tell their story thru music. I started building my sound from 2018 and into the future.

In 2020, I released my favorite full length instrumental project: Flowers. The concept is not only giving your loved ones their flowers but the action of doing so. Loving on them, sharing their impact on your life, growing, teaching, passing that love from generation to generation and being the flowers you would give. The tapestry I wove featured heavy contributions from my family, my mom tells her story of love throughout and my brother did 3 sketches depicting the energy required to spread love. Tap in when you get a chance and let me give you your own bouquet.

I am a big fan of cultivating a unique and rustic sound by using my 17 year set of experiences involved in that boom of Atlanta Hip-Hop in the 2010s. This allows me to create custom canvases based off of what my collaborators styles are and the sonics that bring out their best lyrics. I believe this is my gift and every piece I work on requires that same level of intention. I cherish the idea that a producer is much greater than a beat maker because I can help guide and tell the narrative that best grips the audience. The Lord gives us all a mission and a calling, this is the one She/He has placed on my life.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2017, I was in a head-on collision with a drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction. Needless to say, I nearly died. Plate in my arm after rod in my leg after fractured vertebrae in my neck, I really didn’t see how I would continue to produce let alone even make it back to work. My brother Stephenxjones would come by and help lift my spirits but working as a tandem up until that point, I realized that we had yet to truly market and position ourselves efficiently to succeed.

In those moments, I made the tough choice to take my art and presence very seriously for myself and not the team. This marked a significant change for me: pick my words carefully and pick my collaborators with intention with the focus being creating the best quality content. Next thing I know, I went from feeling unsatisfied to really connecting with my audience. My toned changed from “why can’t anyone hear me?” to “I need to open up ears.” That mindset shift has unlocked boundless drive and creativity towards my art.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a strange beast, one that swallows quality art and spits out viral moments. The ways in which I have been able to better connect with my audience stem from inclusion. I keep my fans engaged by working with content they tend to listen to, viral clips, popular songs/ideas of the day. Oh this song is a hit… let me make a remix to this and share it with my people. When I drop a new song or a project, I’m in inboxes and DMs sharing said content. “Leave a comment,” or “please share on your story”. This seems to ramp up engagement that the platform reads as “this content should be seen by more people!” I went from maybe 500 followers for over 1K using these simple strategies.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Solo.to/thelordmself
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelordmself
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/STNTheRealOne/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@stn-_-1316?si=HzNB8mlfqM3R3D6p
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/aJQXQ