Stephen Deon Draie Goldsborough (born December 7, 1988), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Young Steff, is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. Steff was born in

Vineland ''Vineland'' is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's reelection.Knabb 2002 Through flashbacks by its characters, who have lived the sixties in their youth, th ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. His father was a member of the gospel group Spirit, and his aunt,

Gina Thompson Gina Thompson (born Lugenia Thompson in Vineland, New Jersey, on November 10, 1976) is an American R&B singer. Born to Edward L. Thompson, Sr. and Eugenia Thompson, Gina Thompson began singing at an early age and was signed to her first recordi ...

has worked with producer

Rodney Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

. By 8, Steff toured with and sang alongside his father's group, Spirit. Steff won talent shows, including the McDonald's Apollo kid's competition in Philadelphia, his path to success seemed relatively straightforward, especially at age 12 when his demo landed in the hands of then

Roc-A-Fella Records Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. History 1994–2000: Formation ...

executives

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

and

Damon Dash Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke. Early life Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...

, and they signed him to their music label. In 2002, while with the Roc, Steff had success and scored a hit with the song "Can I Holla" that featured Bow Wow. In 2005, Dash and Carter parted ways: Steff chose to become a free agent. After the controversial Roc-A-Fella departure, Steff was led to music producer

Rich Harrison Richard Christopher Harrison (born 1979) is an American record producer and songwriter from Washington, D.C., specializing in R&B and hip hop music. The winner of a Grammy Award, Harrison is well known for producing songs such as "Get Right" ...

(who produced hits such as

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

"1 Thing ",

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

"Get Right", and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

"Crazy In Love") who offered to sign the young performer to his growing Richcraft label through Atlantic Records after an impromptu audition, with dancers in tow. Now since the controversial Roc-A-Fella Records departure in 2005, Young Steff is back on track with a solo-record debut rumored to be titled "Jump It Off", which was due out September 18, 2008. Steff has described this album to be a young man's journey to adulthood with the wide-eyed wonderment of a boy still in awe of his sudden rise to R&B-icon status. Steff collaborated with

Trick Daddy Maurice Samuel Young (born September 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from Miami's Liberty City (Miami), Liberty City. Early life Trick Daddy was born on September 27, 1974, at Jackson Memorial Hospita ...

on the song "

Chevy Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and oust ...

Forthcoming debut album

The album is called "Jump It Off". Tracks on the album include the

Bryan Michael Cox Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter who is notable for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. Among his most notable productions are "Be Wit ...

produced, "If You Let Me," an up-tempo classic ballad, "Feeling Myself," a sexy tune with a heavy-hitting bass produced by Rich Harrison, "Take It or Leave It," sung in a confident

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

, "Hallway," where Steff pours his heart out with colorful verse written by him, and "Dat Gurl Right Der," and "Put That on Everything". His first single was "Professional" which is produced by up and coming producer Chase N. Cashe of Zone 4 Inc. His second single is "Slow Jukin" Produced by Chris 'TEK' O'Ryan and Durrell 'Bishop' Scott for NewFaze Entertainment.

Albums

*2005: ''Here and Now'' (shelved)

Singles

*2004: "R.O.C. Anthem" *2008: "Put That on Everything" *2008: "Professional" (#113

US R&B The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

) *2009: "Slow Jukin'" (#85 US R&B)

References

External links

Official websiteYoung Steff , Listen and Stream Free Music, Albums, New Releases, Photos, Videos
Official Myspace {{DEFAULTSORT:Young Steff 1988 births Living people People from Vineland, New Jersey 20th-century African-American people African-American rappers Atlantic Records artists Roc-A-Fella Records artists 21st-century African-American people