Stephacide

    

Stephacide
Sherazi during a performance in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Ignatius Navid Sherazi
Born	(1987-12-08) December 8, 1987 Rothenburg, Orange, Sierra
Genres	Techno · Fidget · Trap
Occupation(s)	Musician · DJ
Years active	2005—present
Labels	Step Aside Records · Skid Row Productions
Associated acts	Q-Lo · Skrillex · Boys Noize · Belzebass · Daft Punk · Zedd · Kickback · Bloody Beetroots
Website	stephacide.com

Ignatius Navid "Stephen" Sherazi (born December 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Stephacide, is a Sierran electronic dance music producer. He is the founder of Step Aside Records, which is a play on his stage name.

In 2015, Sherazi collaborated with hip hop artist Q-Lo in the track Younga Brothas ft. Q-Lo. He has also produced several other songs for Q-Lo, and was the primary producer behind Q-Lo's magnum opus album, Saudade, and most recent album, OPEN SEASON. Sherazi has also worked with other artists such as LoWavCee and Lil Coop.

Early life

Ignatius Navid Sherazi was born on December 8, 1987 to Elham and Azad Sherazi. His parents are Iranian nationals who moved to Sierra in 1985, two years before Ignatius was born.

Career

Sherazi was born and raised in Rothenburg, Orange and started producing music during his adolescence. He became a professional DJ at the age of 16 and started creating his own original tracks not long after, initially under the stage name "IN-Here". He then changed his stage name to "Stephacide", a portmanteau of Stephen, his nickname growing up, and the suffix -cide.

Pre–2005: Dazzling and Grizzly

Sherazi broke into the DJ and EDM worlds as a teenager. At the age of 16, he formed a music duo called Dazzling and Grizzly which consisted of himself and friend Jason McFarley. The duo produced music that was played at local nightclubs, which earned them a small living. In a later interview, McFarley noted the irony of creating music for establishments they weren't allowed to enter: "Steph and I, we laughed our asses off every time we got our pay checks in the mail. Here we are, two stupid fuckin' kids from no where, making a killing making tracks for places that would tell us to get lost."

After their success, the duo mutually agreed to split up, wishing to take their careers in different directions. Sherazi and McFarley remain friends today and in 2012, re-united briefly for a benefit tour throughout Sierra.

2005–2007: Initial success and record label

Riding on the popularity of his singles Boom Sha Ka Ka and That's Not Mine (Officer), released under Maynestreem Sounds, he created his own record label named Step Aside Records which every track of his since then has been released under. In 2006, released his album, Wow, Ok which received acclaim within the EDM subculture and to date remains one of his most well-known works. The following year, he released Anna Heil! which was considerably shorter than his previous album.

By then, Sherazi moved to Porciúncula which had a more established music scene than Rothenburg.

2009–2012: Way Higher, Decade, STEPH 2012

Way Higher was Sherazi's first album in two years and was the longest so far, at seven tracks and a run time of 34:21. It received mixed reviews as it contained a variety of genres ranging from trap to hardstyle. Some of his fans felt this album was a departure from his usual style. In 2010, Sherazi responded to the criticism with album entitled Decade, which contained tracks that were a clear call-back to his earlier works. The album also stuck largely to the same genre, fidget house. The consistency was praised and Sherazi was commended for keeping in touch with his fans and responding to their tastes.

In 2012, he released STEPH 2012. This album contained tracks which employed a heavy use of lyrics, previously not done in Sherazi's works. As the title implied, these tracks were meta in nature; Sherazi rapping about his career from 2006 on, and how he entered the EDM scene. Critics were impressed by his ability, and many wondered aloud why he did not venture into rap sooner. Sherazi, however, was dissatisfied with STEPH 2012. "It just wasn't me. Its not really what I'm about. The beats were good, but self-reflection should be left to the serious artists. I make party music, to be honest. I probably won't make another album like 2012 any time soon" Sherazi remarked in a interview with Newsflash. While Sherazi disliked the album, it did catch the attention of fellow artist Q-Lo and led their extensive collaborations.

2015–present: Collaborations with Q-Lo, and upcoming works

Q-Lo first appeared in one of Sherazi's works in the single Younga Brothas, part of the album (Emoji), providing vocals and making an appearance in the official music video. The partnership was extremely successful, the YouTube upload receiving over 200 million views as of August 2016. Following the success of Younga Brothas, Sherazi agreed to produce Q-Lo's album entitled Saudade, incorporating his style of music into Q-Lo's form. In 2016, the two paired again to create OPEN SEASON, this time Sherazi contributing vocals in addition to music, and Sherazi joining Q-Lo's label, Skid Row Productions as a sounds producer.

Later that year, Sherazi released LYAN ROCHTE, a spoonerism of Continental swimmer Ryan Lochte, in honor of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Another album, to be entitled Edge, is slated for a May 2017 release. File:Edge_Cover.png The cover art, which features a woman flashing her breasts which are censored by Sherazi's stage name, has already been released on Sherazi's website.

In December 2017, Sherazi told his fans on Bubbler he was "Working on something big. You will be amazed." This sparked much anticipation for the official announcement of his next major work. In a surprise move, Sherazi uploaded four singles on his YouTube channel on January 4, 2018, all part of an EP to be entitled Reality Season. Initial reviews of the singles were overwhelmingly positive and many considered them to be Sherazi's best yet. On the same day of their release, Sherazi tweeted once more "Full album will come out in March. Don't miss it!!." Sierran Hip Hop Today called Reality Season one of the "Most Anticipated Albums of 2018."

Reality Season would be released on August 22 and would be met with near-universal critical acclaim and was a major financial success becoming one of the best-selling albums of the summer and would become the fourth best-selling album in Sierra in 2018.

Discography

Main article: Stephacide discography

LP

Year	Title	Label
2006	Wow, OK	Step Aside Records
2007	Anna Heil!
2009	Way Higher
2010	Decade
2012	STEPH 2012
2015	😎 (Emoji) Featuring Q-Lo in Younga Brothas
2016	LYAN ROCHTE
2017	Edge
2018	Reality Season

Singles

Year	Title	Label
2005	That's Not Mine (Officer)	Maynestreem Sounds
2006	Boom Sha Ka Ka	Maynestreem Sounds
2007	Mad Lad	Step Aside Records
2007	What The F**k, Richard?
2008	MICHAEL PHELPS
2010	Bailey Life
2011	Her Own In
2012	I Forgot A Title
2014	Fun Times
2014	You're Too Maynestreem
2015	Yee
2015	Newton
2016	Trevor & Steph in K.E.B.A.B.
2016	True Lie
2020	Edge of Reality	Skid Row Productions

See also

• Music of Sierra