Q&A Employee Spotlight: Stefon Simmons

Q: Can you tell us about your role at Datadog?

A: My role as a Web Developer involves crafting websites that help promote Datadog’s products, events, teams, and culture. Some of my responsibilities include writing end-to-end and synthetic tests, ensuring that features smoothly transition from development to production and leading frontend development for our "Datadog on'' series website, where we host episodes of conversations with the engineers behind Datadog's innovations. I’ve also recently been developing a lot more UI features on our Documentation site which hosts documentation for our public product, Datadog. I really enjoy my work and working with people at Datadog. Web Development often feels like another medium of my artistry.

???Q: Can you share a bit about your artistic journey??

A: My roots extend from Baltimore City, Maryland, the lowcountry of South Carolina, and the suburbs of northern Virginia. Over the past decade, I've honed my artistic craft in New York City. Overall, I’ve been developing within the arts for almost 20 years as a singer, recording artist, songwriter, painter, and web developer. I consider myself an adventurous talent with 90s R&B roots, a cappella choral training, and a fascination with connecting us all. I’ve recorded many projects over the years. My two most recent musical works are “A Sound Project: The Covers” released in 2013 and an EP entitled “Appreciated” released in 2017. The former is an experimental 15-track one-man a cappella project where I pay homage to some of my favorite songs by performing the instrumentals with my voice. The latter is a more mature sound and lyrical expression of love and commitment written in my own words. I’ve also showcased at open mics and participated in the annual summer Sunset on the Hudson pier gig, where, as part of an acoustic duo, I take the stage as the lead vocalist in front of a 200-person audience for four nights annually.?

Q: How do you see the connection between art, creativity, and innovation in your role at Datadog, and how has it influenced your approach to problem-solving?

A: Creating comes about in many ways for me. Oftentimes, solving problems at work requires me to spend time in a flow-state. I can get there by listening to music while working. Beats and melodies soothe me and transport me to places where concepts make more sense. Ultimately, combining my technical proficiency and creative flair enables me to hone my skills in versatile problem-solving and helps me maintain an adaptive mindset when navigating dynamic environments.

Q: In what ways do you believe art can be a powerful tool for preserving history and community memory, especially within the context of Black History Month?

A: Art is a captured moment. It’s a spectrum that spans from imagination to reality. The preservation of that moment makes history. In order for that history to be preserved correctly, we need systems in place that support it. Technological advances over the last 20 years have enabled artists to display and store their art online for 24/7 access. My technical dexterity and timing of growing up in the tech boom has lowered my barrier of entry for creating, recording and distributing my art, but it wasn’t that easy for past generations. Now, we have the ability to preserve the artistic abilities of our families through online resources. For example, I was able to store some of the songs my uncle wrote and recorded in the 90s on Soundcloud. Unfortunately, this is not the case for my grandmother’s music. Mis- and undocumented artistic contributions robbed young creative minds in the 60s and 70s, but I’m glad that her legacy lives within me and I’m able to speak on her contributions.

Q: What inspires your work or art, and how do you weave those inspirations into your projects?

A: I have been influenced in the most positive way through the support of my environment, family, friends, and admirers. My specific early artistic influences are my grandmother, uncle, and mom. My grandmother wrote her own songs and inspired me to learn how to harmonize because she did it so well! It’s also said she wrote a famous song in the 60s but was never given proper credit. My uncle also wrote songs and sung as part of a 90s-early 2000s R&B group. My mom sang lead vocals for a gospel group. I remember traveling with her to gigs as a preteen. Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, and Outkast (in no particular order) also influenced my sound.

I love studying adlibs, harmonies, and melodies of the 90s. Sometimes, I’ll search for the a cappella version of a song and be blown away by the vocal stacks. I feel like artists of the 90s did great work in filling space with the right notes.

Q: What creative projects are you currently working on?

A: I primarily record myself and song-write these days. Currently, I’m co-writing my next Long Play with my wife. I love getting her perspective on courtship, love and life. I think the blending of our two styles is a wonderful reflection of our union that I’m excited to display publicly. You can find more about my art on my website.

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