Every artist consider themselves their biggest fan, and critic so it’s always refreshing to hear what they think of their own projects. We recently got Jamaican rapper Five Steez to rank his own discography. Out of the seven projects he has released so far, Steez ranked his most recent project, Quietude, as his best followed by 2012’s War For Peace, Love N Art in third and Pantone as his least favorite.
“Ranking my releases wasn’t easy and this list might be disputed by those who follow my music so I will say a bit about why each is in its position,” said Steez.
See his full ranking below.
Quietude (2021)
This is the latest release and it feels like my best work thus far. I’m getting great feedback, some of which supports that belief. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in hearing some music from me.
War for Peace (2012)
This is my debut album from 2012 and played a major part in me making a name for myself when I began my musical journey. I still hear great responses from new listeners and core fans really treasure this body of work.
Love N Art (2019)
Up until Quietude was released in November of this year, Love N Art was my most recent ‘magnum opus’. A lot of important moves were made with this album and it had my most extensive campaign with content, merch and even a private show for core fans.
HeatRockz 2.0 (2020)
The sequel to HeatRockz happened during the first lockdown at the start of the pandemic and was the quickest I’ve ever written and recorded an EP, doing most of it over the Easter weekend. It’s another strong project and it’s recent, but it’s just an EP and lacks the depth of an album like Love N Art which came before it and that is why it is ranked #4.
This EP was my second release and my aim was to paint a picture of Kingston in a way I had never heard before. For that reason, I think it’s an important body of work, not just for me, but for Jamaican Hip Hop, and, of course, Hip Hop globally. It being #5 may be understating it.
The HeatRockz campaign was pivotal as I released each of the five songs every two weeks during the summer of 2016. Very important songs like Dirty Couch (which celebrated Gambling House Recording Studio) and True School were on this EP. Just like HeatRockz 2.0 though, it is pretty much just bangers where I’m spitting, so I can’t rank it as highly as the albums.
Pantone (2019)
Pantone was my second release in 2019, dropping in October, after I put out Love N Art in February. It was a good year and this EP cemented it. I think it’s my most slept on project and it might be because it is because it was sort of a surprise release without any campaign or content. I do think people need to hear it and add it to their rotation, so don’t let the ranking at last deter you from bumping it.