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ON THE RISE
“Steppin,” by Flow $tro (featuring Skooly), is an ode to the quiet confidence of a beautiful woman. With a smooth beat, a bassline that bounces like a basketball, and wavy, synth-infused vocals, the song’s melodic trap vibes hook the listener from the jump. Flow $tro lets his woman know, I like how you steppin’:
You know how good you look but you don’t never brag
She ain’t got no makeup on, baby girl don’t need a man
Virginia-based artist Flow $trow got the idea for “Steppin” in a spontaneous moment in the studio late one night. He explains, “I heard the beat and just came up with the concept.” This is a track exuding confidence, swagger, and a deep admiration for the beauty of a well-put-together woman. The song captured the attention of Atlanta rapper Skooly, who raps a guest verse on the bridge about “Her body sent from heaven / She the devil.”
Flow $tro says has long admired Skooly. "I really looked up to how he was doing music coming up," he says. The collaboration was put together by his manager, Wave Team, a man he considers "like a big brother, family for sure." No doubt having this support system combined with management helps Flow $tro stay grounded and focused on his art.
Flow $tro has evolved as an artist, both in his style and his creative process. Compared to when he started releasing music in 2021, he now favors a much more improvisational approach in the studio. "Back then, I wrote more of my music ahead of time,” he reveals. “Now I kind of punch in and follow the music." Recording line by line, this method allows him to be more responsive to the beat's energy and create a more fluid sound. “I’m more listening to the beat, trying to find the melodies, then coming up with the words based on what I’m hearing.”
To source beats, Flow $tro works with a talented network of producers. “Steppin” was produced by Yayo and Noisy J, both from North Carolina. Other producers he works with include RK and 88. Sometimes the producers send beats to them. Other times he reaches out to them. These producers complete the wide-ranging team responsible for Flow $tro’s impressive creative output.
Flow $tro is carving his own niche in Virginia and the wider hip hop scene, offering a sound that blends seamlessly between hip-hop and R&B. He describes it as a “melodic sound,” drawing on his diverse musical tastes, drawing inspiration from both old-school legends like The Temptations and Smokey Robinson and contemporary stars like Future and Lil Baby.
In the immediate future, Flow $tro's goals are clear: "Release more content, release more videos, continue dropping music, and hopefully get this sh** to pop off!" He embraces the challenges of being an independent artist through resourcefulness and a level of dedication that simply doesn’t quit.
Fans won't have to wait long for more content. The music video for “Steppin” is out on Valentine's Day, 2025. And he's already planning his next single release for later this year, as well as more visuals and videos on the way.
Stay up to date with Flow $tro on Instagram, X, TikTok, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Watch out as Flow $tro continues to "Step" into the spotlight and make his mark on the music world.
ON THE RISE
As they prepare to unveil their fourth album, ‘Joy In Short Moments’, The Snuts have spoken with NME about how stepping away from touring gave them the chance to reflect on some of life’s biggest challenges and bring greater attention to mental health.
Their first album since 2024’s upbeat ‘Millenials’ follows a rare break from the road over the past year. During that time, frontman Jack Cochrane also experienced a major change in his personal life as he welcomed his first child.
Along with getting used to fatherhood, the singer began thinking about deeper questions that the demanding touring lifestyle had previously left little room to consider. His reflections on growing up, dealing with loss and understanding what success really means gradually found their way into his writing, eventually shaping the direction of the band's more personal new album.
Fans were first introduced to the album earlier this year through ‘Summer Rain’, an emotional track exploring postnatal depression and the “fear of the future”. They later returned during the summer with the more hopeful ‘Defibrillator’, encouraging listeners to move beyond negative thoughts about themselves and find comfort in connecting with other people.
Speaking to NME about the creative shift behind their fourth record, Cochrane explained: “By taking a conscious break from life on the road and making records, my world opened up to let so much more of the real world in,” he said. “For the first time I was living then writing, not writing while trying to live.”
He also described how the change helped the band approach recording differently, adding: “It unlocked a new process that the band had been crying out for,” he continued. “The studio sessions were set up to allow us to be friends and not colleagues. Distraction and external pressures were completely eradicated from the recording environment, allowing us to trust our gut and have the conversations we needed to as humans.”
In the remainder of the interview, Cochrane also discusses his new role as an ambassador for mental health charity CALM and talks about starting a podcast designed to encourage more artists to speak honestly about their personal struggles.
NME: Hi Jack, congratulations on the new album. You’ve said that this record was about addressing the topics that you previously tried to hide from. What kinds of questions did you find yourself confronting?
Jack Cochrane: “I would say mainly, ‘What do I need to be happy?’… Eeek! It’s a big one I know, but having set out with the title ‘Joy In Short Moments’, I was able to spend my time searching for them and allow joy to do what joy does: compound and relieve the stresses of the modern world.”
That’s not the easiest question to find yourself confronting. Did you manage to find any answers along the way?
“Ultimately yes. With the completion of this record I was able to find a much happier healthier version of myself I had been so long yearning for.”
The album sees you deal with new themes, but musically we also see you return to the guitar-led sound from your early days. Did revisiting those roots make you notice how much has changed since you were starting out?
“For sure. We were able to remove any snobbery from the process. We’re no longer new kids on the block and with that came a new found ability to be really honest about the kind of noises we wanted to make and the type of artists that had originally inspired us.”
This album goes hand in hand with you becoming an ambassador for CALM and launching your own podcast dedicated to checking in with fellow artists. Why was it important for you to get involved in the conversation about mental health?
“I think conversations and role models are absolutely essential for young people. I wanted to have more and do my best to be one. Every song on this record was born out of unfiltered, open and honest conversation.”
From talking to people on your podcast, including Louis Tomlinson, and using your platform to open up this dialogue, is there anything interesting that you’ve noticed?
“I think that more often than not, young men are finding it difficult to combat the struggles they are facing in this modern world. To me it feels like there are less and less spaces and opportunities to have meaningful, healing conversations…”
Having had those conversations yourself and explored them on the album, it must be somewhat daunting to now put it out into the world. Is there something that you hope people take from it?
“I’d like people to feel less alone after hearing the record and the themes intertwined with it. I think music is more than just heartbreak and I hoped in the writing of this record I would be able to highlight some more universally relevant topics.”
You have your headline tour coming up next month. What can we expect from the shows?
“Big smiles and big sound all round! It will be the most self assured Snuts tour to date.”
‘Life In Short Moments’ is out now Happy Artist Records in partnership with Virgin Music Group. Their UK and Ireland tour kicks off next month with an opening night in Dundee. Visit here for tickets and check out a list of tour dates below.
NOVEMBER 2026
19 – Dundee, Livehouse
20 – Aberdeen, Beach Ballroom
21 – Edinburgh, Corn Exchange
23 – Dunfermline, Alhambra Theatre
24 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall
26 – Sheffield, Octagon Centre
27 – Nottingham, Rock City
29 – Norwich, UEA
30 – Hull, City Hall
DECEMBER 2026
1 – Bristol, Prospect Hall
3 – Leeds, O2 Academy
4 – Manchester, O2 Victoria Warehouse
8 – Birmingham, O2 Academy
9 – Portsmouth, Guildhall
10 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
JANUARY 2027
26 – Belfast, Limelight
27 – Galway, Róisín Dubh
28 – Dublin, Academy
