Sali@m.

Sali@m is Stephen Forrest: a songwriter, beat-maker and CSWP co-owner from Belfield, St. Mary, Jamaica. His approach brings the words, rhythm and performance into one creative process.

Music began with homemade rhythms and deejaying alongside a childhood friend. School concerts and DJ competitions gave Stephen an early stage, and by his teens he was recording his own voice. Wanting to shape the music beneath his lyrics, he turned to beat-making, learning with Cakewalk and later Fruity Loops.

He went on to form FutureYouths, the group in which he and his brother Shaune developed their writing, production and recording. As Sali@m, he sees music as a way to express his thoughts and connect feeling with sound. That hands-on approach continues through his own songs and his place in CSWP.

Featured release: Don't Give Up ↗