Stanza

So…I had the opportunity to travel down to Atlanta this past summer to check out a damn-near Macy’s Day Parade of up-and-coming artists at the Apache Café (including little-known talents such as Playboy Tre, B.o.B, and Yelawolf. You might have heard of them). Among this smorgasbord of great emcees was Stanza, and from the second he hit the stage, he made sure that everyone knew his name (and his capabilities) by the time he had exited. Further proving his musical capacity, the Atlanta Entertainer has given the Booth another track to talk about with his new street single D.U.I. With an addictive beat (via Big Rus) that’s two parts schizophrenia and three parts unique, the track sounds as drunkenly fun as the night being relived. Stanza manages to make his bars equally distinguishable, bouncing between vocal highs and lows throughout the course of his flow, letting everyone know that “a car, some clothes, some liquor, and money” is all he needs for a good time on a Saturday night. D.U.I. is not currently part of a set project, but keep it locked in to the Booth for more from Stanza and friends. - DJBooth.net

Contrary to those whose only sources of music information are radio and music television, modern-day Atlanta hip-hop is not all crunk, trap, and snap music. Below the chart hits lies a thriving underground scene fueled by lyrically-focused emcees like Booth newcomer Stanza. On the newly-released ATL (A Town Love), the emcee takes the opportunity to show us around his hometown. If you can get past his vocal similarities to the wealthiest man in hip-hop, Stanza’s guided tour is sure to please; covering everything from the Buckhead neighborhood’s ESPN Zone and Hole in the Wall to memories of the ‘96 Olympics, he explains that, though he’s proud of his hometown’s climb to world-class status, he can’t help but miss the more “street” atmosphere that defined Atlanta’s past. Complete with an orchestral beat by DJ Teknology, ATL (A Town Love) has already picked up considerable positive feedback from industry heads; there’s no reason to think this acclaim can’t continue in the Booth. - DJBooth.net

There was a time when Atlanta stood as the voice of reason within Southern hip-hop. Sandwiched between Miami’s booty-shake and Memphis’ penchant for pimping and pandering, our city found a way to reconcile carnality and the quest for higher consciousness. Like Dungeon Family stalwart Goodie Mob did before him, Stanza seems poised to bring up the rear. As his 2006 debut Name This Album proved, he represents the side of the streets seldom heard from nowadays — the street smart side.
— Rodney Carmichael

You know, I heard L.L. Cool J and Run-D.M.C. ’cause it was there. But I was young then, I was trying to go outside and play. But my first introduction to hip-hop was when my cousin had 8Ball & MJG’s Comin’ Out Hard — when they still had the [Jheri] curls on the cover. That’s back when cats were dubbing tapes. A cat had a white dub tape. I think my cousin Monica stole it from my other cousin Ooh Wee. She stole it from him, and I stole it from both of them. But I used to play it once I got a hold of the tape. And I remember sitting in front of the stereo, just looking at the stereo, listening to it. And something about it caught me, I can’t explain to this day what about it actually caught me but that was my introduction to hip-hop.

After that, I started writing poetry. Literature class, English class — you know how you have that little poetry section. It intrigued me. Iambic pentameter is the best thing ever. Cats don’t use it to this day. That’s a jewel; I drop it. As far as poetry, that was a way of getting things across that were going on in my life. As a young cat, I just wrote poetry. I was writing haikus and I didn’t even know what they were. You know, you write a quick sentence, boom, that says everything and you’re done. That’s a haiku.

I was still playing football and I got into selling drugs. It wasn’t a big thing. I wasn’t the big dude on the block, just under the radar doing something I saw. But that was an outlet. Selling dope, it was an outlet. But then I started getting into the music more and I started studying.

I met DJ Teknology in college. He was 16 — a genius. He came to Clayton State and I used to be president of SLAC, a student organization on campus. I saw him outside making beats and said, “Hey, come be a part of SLAC.” Then I saw him in the office making beats. One day he let me listen to this beat. Oh my God! So we got together and Name This Album was born. - Creative Loafing

I've had a special affinity for Buicks for most of my life. For years, moms drove a white ’76 Regal with crimson interior until I crashed it into the back of a school bus my senior year in high school. (Thought she would've been proud of me for bending over to pick up my cigarette butt before it burned a hole in the carpeted floormat.) And to this day, I proudly push my own 2000 Regal. White exterior. Leather interior. Terminally squeaky brakes. Plastic floormats. #BAOW

Buicks have long gotten a bad rep as old-people-mobiles. But what could be more pimpin' than a poor man's Cadillac? Especially in this economy.

Stanza feels me. On his latest, "Buick LeSabre Music," the Collipark MC keeps it trill — no frills — over the beat to Mr. Maybach, himself, Rick Ross' "Super HIgh." - Creative Loafing

We've championed Stanza before (in last year's music issue) for embodying Atlanta's authentic sound, but his latest collabo takes the cake. The producer behind his new track, "One Way Ticket" is none other than DJ Toomp — the same man who put old-school Atlanta's MC Shy D in the trunk (Comin' Correct in ’88), T.I. on the charts ("What You Know") and Kanye in the clouds ("Can't Tell Me Nothing").

Always one to reach back, Toomp's co-sign of Stanza comes as no surprise. And with Stanza flowing on top of Toomp's top-flight production, you get a sense of the kind of hip-hop this city could be known for again if the insular industry walls that keep mainstream Atlanta separated from the underground were to ever come tumbling down. Hopefully this is the beginning of fruitful partnership between two A-town originals.

(And if that's Stanza singing the bridge on this one, dude's vocals are as sick as his flow.) - Creative Loafing

Best of Atlanta 2010 | Best local mixtape:
Searching for Bobby Fischer by Stanza
www.djbooth.net - Creative Loafing