Stephen Glover and Steve G. Lover III could be considered two different persona types despite being the same person. More known for co-writing the pioneering series “Atlanta” with his older multi-hyphenated creative brother Donald Glover or penning the remake to this year’s remake of “House Party,” his music career stretches back to 2008 with several projects released since. He even mentions “living a weird, kind of double life” when he spoke with BET.com over Zoom. Glover has focused even more on merging the two separate identities.

“I think they’ve kind of been helping each other. Making music for the show kept me fresh at some points. I think there were times when working on the show kind of took me away from music, but towards the end, working on the show also helped get me together, kind of helped me get back into my rhythm and zone. So it's kind of like a give and take, but my approach to writing music and not writing music and writing scripts and not writing scripts, it's kind of all been flowing together in that way because they're all writing at the end of the day," Glover explained.

When it comes to music, it’s been a long, winding road. During our conversation, Glover mentioned reading the book Mastery. Written by Robert Green, author of The 48 Laws of Power, it explores everything about great people throughout history, from Henry Ford to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. One of the most important ideas he’s taken is that sometimes learned skills that seem arbitrary, not helpful, or won’t be beneficial to the future can sometimes make them someone who can offer a unique skill set.

“I think working on a show like Atlanta; first I was rapping, I went on tour and I went out there and I got to see all of that side,” explained Glover. “Then I work on a show that’s kind of dealing with music in my hometown and I’m working and doing the music on that show too. I've gotten to see a lot of the things that a lot of artists, young artists don't get to see my brother being as big as he is and behind the scenes stuff. It’s ended up making me a better artist overall.”

This is why Glover making the music for Atlanta's Paper Boi (portrayed by Brian Tyree Henry) while co-writing episodes made sense. Interestingly enough, Glover said that season two (titled Robbin’ Season) helped capture his feelings through the tension of an artist transitioning from their regular life to life as a star.

One way Glover has grown musically is through the art of collaboration. This year alone has seen him drop a joint Flyest Living project with producer DJ-Wes in April and, most recently, a single, “Chew,” featuring Lucille Ghatti. According to Glover, he’s always enjoyed collaboration and believes they bring the best out of him.

“I feel like the better they are, the more I want to be that good,” explained Glover. “Collaboration has always kind of been a part of it. So it's unlocked new stuff, which has been the hardest part with music these days. It's like being inspired.”

“Chew” is more than just a one-off as Glover has a project with Ghatti under the group Drugs and Alcohol set for release alongside two other projects that he’s “getting ready, tweaking a little bit and getting features and stuff for.” Last year, Glover dropped his solo SOS2 album featuring buzzworth single “Jansport,” he has more music in the chamber, whether solo or collaborations with individuals like his brother.

As a multi-hyphenated creative, one reason for his large amount of music material ready for release has to come from the WGA and SAG strike this year. By the time things kicked off this year with both strikes, Swarm was just finished, and the Mr. & Mrs. Smith reboot was being wrapped up.

“I couldn’t work on any shows and stuff so it helped me really get into a rhythm which I think I had been missing a lot for the last couple of years,” said Glover. “Being able to get in the studio and work and kind of stay in this rhythm feels really kind of natural to me of being able to write and record and do whichever one I’m in the zone or mode for was really helpful.”

As fast as he is as a writer on everyone’s favorite television series and films, he’s getting music out with the same velocity. However, he wants to ensure that the pillar of his creativity is just as renowned this time.

“Now, I think just to make it have more of an impact, spread a little bit more, making sure that I put it out the right way and everything I need to do to give my music the best chance to cut through all the terrible rap that’s out there.”