Queer hip-hop artist Roman Ariel teams up with steven montes on new track “SHADOW”
Queer artist Roman Ariel teams up with steven montes for latest track “SHADOW,” a song about reflection, trauma, self acceptance, and more.
Roman Ariel is an independent artist based in Orange County, California. Drawing from hip-hop, R&B, neo-soul, and jazz, with a filmmaker’s eye, Ariel raps, sings, and produces his own records, channeling empowerment and the nerve to face fear into vibrations listeners can feel.
Steven Montes is an independent artist based in Los Angeles, California. Drawing from rap, rock, punk, and folk, Montes blends genre influences into a distinct and evolving sound centered around honest songwriting and strong visual storytelling.
On their collab single SHADOW, they both deliver intense rawness lyrically atop an instrumental where boom-bap meets neo-soul undertones.
A haunting synth hovers over a bassline so evil it could make Darth Vader bob his helmet, and these two take that sonic canvas to paint a perfect illustration of reflection on their trauma.
With cassette fuzz sticking to every sound like gum and percussive elements that snap and crack like gunshots, their brash bars meet poetically and symphonically with the the hypnotic hook.
It’s very clear that the darkness here is deliberate, with authenticity oozing out of this dynamic duo like green slime in a horror movie.
SHADOW is about exposure, with the main premise being about shadow work; the practice of facing the parts of yourself that you’ve learned to hide. Psychologist Carl Jung called this “the shadow”: everything we repress, deny, or refuse to see.
Roman Ariel and Steven Montes lay it all bare on this record, and the catharsis is clear. Consider it “boom-bap therapy,” because they reflect on the hell they walked through to become who they are now on this track.
For Roman, that means faith, OCD, and queer identity, all tangled together. “I’m a walking anomaly,” he says.
“I’ve done shadow work through music,” says Roman. Cocky, brash, sexual lyrics spilled out of him, followed by hesitation: “What would people think of me if I said this? It put into perspective just how repressed I was,” he says.
“Music exposed me to myself. Leave the shutter open and what’s hidden comes up on the picture. It doesn’t go away; it gets developed into a beautiful moment of authenticity.”
The word carries double weight for him: the leading treatment for OCD is a form of exposure therapy, facing the fear instead of running from it. “The judgment dissolves,” Roman says, “and it’s no longer a shadow.”
Roman met rapper Steven Montes through studio sessions in LA and handpicked him for the guest verse after years of searching.
“One look at Steven piqued my interest, but his talent, wordplay, and devious energy were confirmation,” Roman says.
Steven recorded two long verses. The plan was to keep one, until Roman decided, “Let him go off! I love that he gets such a long verse at the end. I’m honored to have him on the track.”
For those that enjoy the likes of MF DOOM, Tyler, the Creator, Isaiah Rashad, Smino, Doechii, and JPEGMAFIA, this track is a perfect addition to your playlist. The two of them bring together West Coast vibes with a modernized twist on a sonic cultural movement that created cult-like fanbases in the early 2010s.
It feels like they assassinated their demons on this record. Between the eclectic vocal deliveries across the track, the differences of their trauma molding together to make something inspiring, and an instrumental that feels nostalgic, the relatability to us as listeners goes beyond just their experiences.
The track drops tomorrow on Friday the 13th of November. Pre-save it now while you can, and give them a follow on social media to keep up with what they’re doing next!
Roman Ariel – Linktree – Instagram – TikTok
steven montes – Website – Instagram – TikTok
