From a young age he was exposed to many styles of music as his mother would play songs from Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Bay Area spawned icons Santana and Sly and the Family Stone in which his father, Freddie Stewart was a founding member. Even though he never acted on his musical expressions until late in high school, they were always in his head. After deciding that enough was enough he started his first musical project along with best friend Shawn Hollingsworth. The two banded together to start their own R&B group “ENTITYâ€. While mixing the soul and drum driven inspirations of Stewart and the Italian opera inspired mind of Hollingsworth his early productions were dark and experimental. After a short run of trying to find producers, complicated with a lack of money, Stewart had to rely on being a self taught producer armed with only his instinct, his ear, and his soul. The group then added Flint, Michigan native and R&B crooner, James Gibson to the group and quickly began recording their 1st promotional CD entitled “LOCKED DOORSâ€. Since then the group has received good local radio support with their first two singles: “Fever†feat. Mistah F.A.B and S.E.X. They have also performed in numerous venues opening for artists such as: Ciara, Ne-Yo, Raphael Saadiq, 112, EnVogue, Letoya Luckett, Dwayne Wiggins, Petey Pablo, Lil Scrappy, Bell Biv Devoe, Trina, Nina Sky, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Kid Capri, and Frankie Beverly. Their title track “Locked Doors†was also picked up by VH1’s “Love Monkeyâ€. Entity also co-wrote and is featured on the debut single from 15 year old Hip-Hop artist “YS†entitled “High School Wifey†(Sony / BMG) as well as the 2nd single featuring “Grand†on Da Sak Is Still Fatt Vol.2 (Bungalo / Universal). Si’m Styles has also been busy on the production side while producing tracks featuring artists such as: Nelly, Too Short, Mistah F.A.B, Freeway, Bushwick Bill, and most recently Linda Kiraly (Universal / Republic). As the next level producer/singer/song writer, Si’m Styles and his Spitfire Music team are fully equipped to handle production projects from Hip-Hop, to R&B, to Pop.
Even with music in his blood, Stewart’s first form of self expression came from the graphic design field. Fresh out of High School he attended San Francisco’s prestigious Academy of Art College and within one year he found himself employed by a local design firm. While designing for local recording artist favorites such as E-40, Master P, Too Short, Keak Da Sneak, JT The Bigga Figga, San Quinn, and Messy Marv to name a few, he quickly inherited the title of art director and was responsible in-part for creating the face of independent music in the Bay Area. With a plan to expand, the firm relocated to southern California while Stewart stayed behind to start his own design company SPITFIRE GRAPHICS. With a design team that prides itself on producing High-End, Quality Artwork for both Corporate and Urban companies alike, Spitfire Graphics specializes in all aspects of design including:
• Album Cover Design & Layout
• WebSite / MySpace Designs
• Custom Illustrations
• Vehicle Wraps
• Logo / Brand Designs
• Custom Collages
• High End Photo Retouching / Manipulation
Companies personally designed for include:
NIKE, OAKLAND RAIDERS ASSOCIATION, APOLLO THEATER
JIVE, INTERSCOPE, and UNIVERSAL RECORDS.
Works published in/on:
VIBE, THE SOURCE, and XXL MAGAZINES
B.E.T, MTV, and VH1.
spitfire designers: Jeremy Oaks, David Okani, Shae Taylor
spitfire illustrators: Robert Muhammad, Justin Orr
spitfire photographers: Joel Clifton, Pulitzer Prize Recipient Reginald Pearman
for design inquiries:
online: www.spitfireofficial.com
email: [email protected]