Stacy Barthe is the epitome of a real artist.The R&B newcomer got her start in the music industry as a songwriter. She has written for artists like Britney Spears (“Blur”), Katy Perry (“Hummingbird Heartbeat”), Rihanna (“Cheers”) and most recently Miley Cyrus (“Adore You”), to name a few.
While Barthe is a prolific songwriter and has had some nice placements, not everyone seemed to be interested in her songs. Instead of letting her good music go to waste, Barthe recorded the songs as her own. Subsequently, she packaged them into two EP’s — Sincerely Yours, Stacy Barthe (2011) and In The Inbetween (2012). It didn’t take long for her to attract labels. She ended up signing a deal with Motown Records in 2012 and released an EP titled P.S. I Love You.
Barthe’s music eventually caught R&B sensation John Legend’s attention, which gave her the opportunity to develop a working relationship with him. “This man named Eddie Blackmon found me online,” Barthe says. “I had just put out Sincerely Yours and he shared it with John. John thought it was dope so he wanted me to come in and write for the album and so we did that. I was actually in the process of doing my deal with Motown and they both wanted to be involved. John didn’t know I was an artist. He just thought I was songwriting. And so, that’s how that whole thing came about.”
On July 10, 2015, Barthe released her debut album, BEcoming. It’s one of the most revealing, raw and emotional R&B albums released so far this year. The album is Barthe’s open diary that explores some of her personal struggles with suicide, alcoholism and self-acceptance.
It wasn’t hard for Barthe to be so transparent on her debut effort. “I didn’t really think about it,” she explains. “I didn’t have a choice in this case because I’m always going to write what I feel. I didn’t really think or care. I just said what I felt.” The hardest part about creating BEcoming for Barthe was actually living through all that she was going through at the time.
Barthe’s intentions for BEcoming are far greater than following today’s trends in music. “I hope my transparency helps everyone else to find themselves,” she says. “Especially in the black community, we don’t like to talk about certain issues as it pertains to addiction, depression or whatever.”
One of the standout tracks on the album is “Sleep To Dream.” “It’s about finding your reason….basically finding the bright-eyed kid that thought anything was possible before I got into the world and saw how terrible it could be….getting back to your essence,” Barthe explains.
BEcoming isn’t the ‘happiest’ album out there. So, when asked what makes her happy, Barthe says, “I think happy is a fleeting emotion because we’re not happy all day, all the time. My goal isn’t to be happy per se, it’s to be content and knowing that whether it’s a good or bad situation that I’m going to be okay.”
So, what’s next for Barthe? “I have to wake up first,” she candidly states. “I don’t have any plans. I just wake up and my day becomes whatever it’s going to be.”
Follow Stacy Barthe on Twitter at @StacyBarthe! Also, go get BEcoming in stores & iTunes now!