From Baltimore’s West Side to All-American Athlete and Published Author

Stephon A. Fowlkes, born and raised in the historically underserved west side of Baltimore, is a testament to resilience, talent, and determination. From his early days playing trumpet in an elementary school jazz band to earning All-American honors in college football, Stephon has consistently defied the odds. His journey, marked by both creative and athletic achievements, is a powerful narrative of overcoming adversity, relentless pursuit of dreams, and a deep commitment to giving back to his community. Now a published author and dedicated mentor, Stephon continues to inspire others by forging new paths and sharing his story of triumph and service.

Your journey has been marked by significant challenges, from overcoming physical adversity to navigating financial hardship. How have these experiences shaped your perspective on success and resilience?

Stephon: Thats a good question. Success is what you make it. It’s a goal and most importantly who you want to be in that moment when you achieve what you planned to. You can reach and obtain a thing but who were you during that journey? You might have what you want but have sold yourself short as far as your character. My experiences have taught me a lot. I can relate to so many people I see struggling and confused. I can’t look at anyone as less than me as a person. I’ve been the lowest on the totem and one of the highest on it from where I come from. I still feel the anxiety of not getting better and the effects little decisions have on the bigger picture. The success I have experienced so far validates the emphasis I place on those choices. I could have quit so long ago at so many things. I would have nothing without resilience because nothing but poverty came easy. Resilience was featured at every moment of my life.

Music, theater, football, and the military are all distinct yet demanding fields. How have these diverse experiences influenced your approach to creativity and discipline?

Stephon: Football was a game, but featured all the serious elements of life. Football was my conduit for manifesting my dreams. It made sense to me to put my all into it at the time. That’s how everything goes. I struggled with football but worked until I was the best on my team. I took the same mentality to the military, theater and music. The anxiety I felt on stage as a performer is the same fear like the feeling I faced as a soldier, before I fielded a punt as a returner or lined up against a cornerback, or any other challenge I have to face. I know from each of these activities that the feeling of fear/anxiety can be swiftly followed by success. The feeling of “fear” does not indicate failure or not being ready for the moment. This realization is paramount in the pursuit of success.

As someone who returned to Baltimore to mentor youth, what do you believe are the most pressing issues facing young people in underserved communities today? How do you approach these challenges in your work with Lead4Life?

Stephon: I believe time and ultimately focus/patience/experience is paramount in the youths pursuit of overcoming challenges. I notice the youth are obviously inexperienced, and with inexperience comes the inability to value patience, and without experience, you don’t have the reference to understand the value of focus. The youth see everything that took humanity thousands of years to obtain and create. In the short years that lead to adolescence, you are exposed to infrastructure that took man thousands of years to bring to existence, but you aren’t being told that the world around you isn’t a reflection of the actual people you are seeing. You may see millionaires, you may see people in places that you want to be, doing things that you don’t know how to do and all you know is that they have it today. You may have none of those things and feel like all you need to do is one thing, or there is nothing that you can do to get what you want. Without experience, they can't understand that the things that they want may take them and specifically them a specific amount of time to obtain. without experience, you have no reference to understand their own timelines. The youth have phones and Internet and media that no other generation has ever experienced.

This is a new challenge for humanity. To see all the things that exist in this world whenever you want online will create pressure that you do not have the experience to handle. And it’s not just youth. The adults don’t have the experience to give the youth the experience to handle this, because it’s new to everybody. I try to always give them timelines to understand when things might come about for specifically them. I don’t want to pull up in my nice car and have the nice shoes and different things that they might want and not tell them. “Hey this took me x amount of years if you want this the best way to go about it may be to do X”. impatience is the downfall of our youth. To sit there and want something and can’t get it and it burns you up and can cause someone to do things to get it sooner than it may be meant for them. These things are like traps. The faster you want a thing and the less you sit and actually think about how you’re gonna get it, the more likely it is for you to end up in a trap like the prison industrial complex.

Your novel *Project Black Beam* blends elements of science fiction with cultural themes. What inspired you to write this book, and how does it reflect your personal journey and the experiences of the communities you’ve been part of?

Stephon: I value my history. I also understand that there is a medium that is appealing. I saw things that stood out to me about the course of humanity and the experience we have on this planet. It caused me to create something that won’t die. I’ve read many powerful books. I’ve combined many of those teachings into one. I know in two or three generations it’s possible that many of them will not know their true history. I also know that just because it’s not openly talked about, doesn’t mean that there isn’t energy being put into the dismissal of Melanated Peoples existence. I also understand the damage that has been done to our people and the system that we live in does not require any help to further dismantle us. Even if not a single soul wanted to disrupt the progression of Melanated people from this day forward it is already too late, and to reverse the energy of this system requires creative and strategically accurate work like my book Project Black Beam.

In your career as a Hip Hop artist, you’ve shared stages with prominent figures in the industry. How do you balance the demands of your creative pursuits with your commitment to community service and mentoring?

Stephon: I had to give up trying to become famous. I understand the trade/vocational qualities of rap. I indulge in those. Trying to pursue certain results from the rap market can result in character changes that I don’t understand or agree with. I’ll continue to do my best as a human and my music will reflect who I am. This makes it easy to balance life.

Your decision to join the United States Army was a turning point in your life. Thank you for your service! How did your military service influence your creative process and your sense of identity?

Stephon: Thank you for your support. I was saving money for months and doing music videos and recording stuff when I could. I went on leave and went to New York to record a video in Times Square. It was a blast. They required me to have my hair and face shaved and cut a specific way which Didn’t work well with my image, especially in such a diverse market, but at the end of the day, I still have pride in my country and respect the people have volunteered themselves for whatever reason to be the ones to defend their homeland.

As a member of Iota Phi Theta, how has the fraternity’s emphasis on service and leadership influenced your work in workforce development and community mentoring?

Stephon: My executive Director (Anthony Roberts) for my current company in which I play the role as operations manager for (Phase 3) is in fact an Iota. Without being a brother, I never would’ve met that brother and wouldn’t be working at what Is my favorite job of all time.

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to lose sight of one’s purpose. How do you stay grounded and maintain a sense of direction in your life, especially when juggling multiple roles as an artist, mentor, and community leader?

Stephon: I retain my relationship with God. I believe God is in everything and everyone. I believe God sees everything. I believe God has a purpose for everything. I believe without God I have nothing. I take full credit for nothing. I’m just a man. I believe God is in me like everyone else, but everyone is just a piece of the whole.

Looking back at your journey from Baltimore’s west side to becoming an All-American athlete, military intelligence analyst, and published author, what advice would you give to young people who may feel limited by their circumstances?

Stephon: I would say God is unlimited. Believe it and understand it. I will also say there is vested interest in you believing that you are limited. A vested interest of people who do not have your best interest in mind. Do not fall victim to believing that you are limited or you will be playing the role that they need you to play in order for THEM to be successful. If they feel like they are limited, I want them to know that they have God in them, I want them to sit and get quiet, seriously sit and get quiet and think long on how impossible the little things are. How much had to go into having simple things like water running in your house, or like water existing from the sky. Just sit and think about how impossible it is for the Earth to even have formed. For you to even be sitting somewhere in a building that you didn’t have to build with lights and electricity. It’s the little things that none of us are singularly responsible for yet all the great things we do that are possible even in our “limited” forms. You are not limited. You are just taught incorrectly and you need to re-teach yourself the truth. in the army, they gave us a taste of how unlimited we are and we would prove it on a daily basis. Don’t wait for someone else to have to teach you this.

Connect on Instagram @datboylocus