Stefflon Don Opens Up About Not Feeling Like A Woman
In an era of the paraded “soft life,” British-based artist Stefflon Don often feels hardened by her weighty crown.
Stefflon Don delves into this on I Am Woman, one of 20 tracks from her forthcoming album Island 54.
“It’s reflecting on being a woman but not feeling like a woman; having so much responsibilities that you develop this hard exterior because you have to do so much, and you have to just feel like, if I don’t do it, then who will?” the 16 Shots hitmaker said in a video feature on the album.
She continued, “I’ve never decided to be this way; I feel like God just made me this way. One thing I always pray for is just a peace of mind – I can handle the rest… As long as God helps me to just have a peace of mind, I feel like I could do anything.”
Born to Jamaican parents, Stefflon Don is the breadwinner in her household and has often shared aspects of this, like building a mansion to house her extensive family.
The single mother rose to stardom in 2017 with the French Montana collab Hurtin’ Me, which peaked at No. 7 on the UK Singles chart. Interestingly, Island 54 will mark her debut album, the making of which she termed a “rollercoaster of emotions.”
“It’s taken about three years,” she revealed. “I made about 200-300 songs and we narrowed it down to 20 songs. Sometimes I would even think, is 20 too much? So, we will take some off and then add some more. I’ve changed the order of this album a million times. I don’t think people understand what goes into actually making an album, and I didn’t even understand myself.”
The Senseless singer, however, has two mixtapes under her belt: Real Ting (2016) and Secure (2018). Stefflon Don said she was not ready to release an album until now.
“There’s a lot of things that I went through that has made me be able to be vulnerable without feeling like a weak person,” she said. “There’s stuff that I talk about that is very personal to me, and I don’t feel like I’ve ever opened up like that before. For me, it’s all about winning and achieving that goal, being better than you were yesterday, challenging yourself. I’m not in competition with anyone; I’m in competition with myself.
“Before I leave this Earth, I have to know that I did the best I could do, and that’s how I looked at making this album. It was about giving it my all and not settling and not just saying ‘okay’ to stuff and making sure that every song that’s on there, I can 100% back it. This is an amazing piece of work. It’s not mediocre to me; it’s like, great. It’s thoughtful, it’s sincere, it’s honest, it’s real and it’s true to who I am.”
Underscoring that the LDN/BMG project will unveil a more vulnerable side, Stefflon Don isn’t preoccupied with the industry’s rubric for success, and is content with pursuing that which makes her happy. In this case, it’s 20 tracks that pay homage to dancehall and afrobeats, captured in the album title which symbolises her Caribbean roots and Africa’s 54 countries.
“True success is a peace of mind and being able to feel happy; a sense of happiness inside that no matter what is happening, majority of the time, you can find the peace within the chaos,” she said. “You know how to remain calm in situations that would normally make you rip your hair up. To me, that’s power, and sometimes I’ve fallen short of that, but I have to remind myself, you are so powerful.”
“You got to see beyond the crazy, you got to see beyond the evil, you got to see beyond the losers that want to see you fall. You got to keep your eye on the prize and stay on a mission and not get distracted by anyone, because the idea and the vision that you have – that no one can’t see – will always seem crazy to someone until it’s done. So, I always strive, I push myself for greatness.”
When all is said and done, the Can’t Let You Go entertainer just wants to leave an indelible mark on the world.
“You know, one day we’re not going to be here, and I just hope that I can make an impact.”
Experience Stefflon Don’s impact with the release of Island 54 on June 14.