The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
Crown One
Christian Hip Hop Aritst K.P. Music Records Inc.Bio
Steven Stapleton II — known on stage as Crown One — is an Akron-based recording artist, producer, and teaching artist who has spent more than two decades in Christian Hip-Hop. He founded KP Music Records Inc. in 2007 and still runs it as president, releasing eight full-length projects of his own while developing and distributing work for other artists on the roster.
His production credits reach beyond his own catalog. He executive produced a nationally charting single and served as executive producer and producer on the 2025 feature film Bread, which held the number one drama position on Tubi for three months and placed his music in the score.
The work has always pointed back toward Ohio. He gave his 2018 album Pendulums to the City of Akron for community streaming, produced five audiobooks for the Akron Public Schools summer program, and directed a livestreamed benefit concert for the Keystone Blind Association featuring multiple artists and a live band. He is a two-time Ohio Gospel Music Awards nominee.
As Program Director at Citi Reach, a nonprofit in Akron, he leads a weekly studio program training at-risk youth in music production, recording, and audio engineering, pairing hands-on sessions with discussion of creativity, calling, and craft. He also serves as Director of Online Experience at First Apostolic Faith Church of Akron, overseeing broadcast and streaming ministry.
He performs regularly across Northeast Ohio at festivals, community events, and church gatherings, and speaks on independent artist development, label operations, and faith in the creative industries. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Recording Arts and Engineering from Full Sail University.
Artist Statement
have made Christian Hip-Hop since 2004, and I have never made anything else. I have had chances to change lanes and turned them down. That decision is the center of the work.
I write about life as it actually arrives — the circumstance you did not ask for, the season that does not lift on schedule, the weight you carry without an audience. I do not write to explain those things away. I write toward the resolution I have found real: hope that holds when the situation has not changed yet, peace that is not the same as quiet, and the determination to keep moving because Christ is the reason there is somewhere to move toward. A song that only names the problem stops halfway. So does one that skips the problem entirely.
I run my own label because owning the work means I can give it away when giving it away is the right call. I have handed an album to my city, put proceeds toward families in crisis, and taken a stage for free when the room mattered more than the fee.
The studio is also a classroom. Teaching a young person to run a session says the same thing a verse says: your voice is worth recording, and someone will help you get it right.