(March 2010) | Interview By: Jose Ho-Guanipa

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Interview was conducted in March 2010
 

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Stat Quo // Video Interview // Dubcnn

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Dubcnn: What’s up Dubcnn its Jose and I’m here with Stat Quo. What up man how you doin’?

Stat Quo: What’s goin’ on brotha?

Dubcnn: We’re in Los Angeles.

Stat Quo: L.A. Yeah.

Dubcnn: You just got out of the studio with somebody, I don’t know if you can tell us.

Stat Quo: Yeah of course man. Workin with Jerry Rice, nah I’m just playin’.

Dubcnn: So yeah man, what have you been up to lately?

Stat Quo: Statlanta comes out May 4th, just finished that. Workin with my idol Dr. Dre, I get to go to work with my idol every day, I’m blessed.

Dubcnn: So tell us about Statlanta and your whole situation now.

Stat Quo: The album’s coming out on Dream Big Ventures. It’s crazy man I got 12 songs on it. I’m not really gonna get into the details on who’s on it because I want you guys to go check it out. I want some mystery behind the record, too many artists be like, “Yeah man I got such and such and such and such,” and you already know what coming. I want to bring some mystery behind it, I’ve been working hard on it to give you guys a great product and you know it’s dope. I just put out the “Success” video, the “Me and You”; I got the “Ghetto U.S.A.” video out there. We going hard to promote it man, May 4th go and get it.

Dubcnn: So the album, there was some delays before right? So you as an artist, how did that affect you? What did you decide to do when your album got pushed? Did you change your strategy?

Stat Quo: It was frustrating because the situation kept changing as far as where I was or who I was going to be with, but at the same time, what don’t kill you make you stronger and it wasn’t meant to come out when it was supposed to come out then. It was meant to come out now so that’s what’s happening, me and Sha Money connected and we gonna do this thing and put it out for the people. Just get that whole Statlanta brand you know and just get it out there so I can move on, and let people have that. 'Cause people been waiting on that so long. We gonna do this.

Dubcnn: Yeah for sure, so how did Sha come to you and decide to start the label that he’s doing?

Stat Quo: Well he was starting his label anyway and then me and him just hooked up because I know him from 50 and workin with Fif. Me and him have always been cool and it just seemed like a natural thing for us to do it. Know what I mean?

Dubcnn: Definitely. So the original situation when you were on Aftermath and stuff, that was a minute ago, how have you improved as an artist since that first stuff you did and stuff on the Re-Up. How have you developed to where you are now?

Stat Quo: I had a son too and people don’t realize how much having a child changes an artist. It changes what you discuss, your subject matter, it changes how you look at the world. That’s one way I’ve changed, and then I just gained so much more experience when it comes to recording and making songs. You know when you working with Dr. Dre and Eminem and these types of people, you can’t help but to become a better MC or a better artist, 'cause you working with the best of the best, period. Point blank.

Dubcnn: So have you been doing most of your work here in L.A. or in Atlanta or New York, or have you been kinda splitting your time up in between?

Stat Quo: I do most of my work between Atlanta and L.A., I just like the vibe out here. It’s wintertime back home and I got on short sleeves, it’s cool. But I love home, it’s always gonna be my spot. It is what it is.

Dubcnn: Tell us about coming out here when you first came out here, what was that like? As an artist, you kinda just got picked out.

Stat Quo: It was a dream come true. It’s still a dream come true, I get to live my dream every day. I get to work with the best people in the game, and I’m blessed and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know some people look at me and say, “Oh he never came out with his album and he’s a failure”. You know what? Look at where I’m at and just walk in my shoes. I’m on cloud 9 for real man because, I’m putting my album out, I still get to work with my mentor and friend every day, I still get to work with whoever I wanna work, and I’m not tied down having to do a 9 album deal on a 360 deal. I get to maneuver and move my work, and the guy I’m doing the album with, that’s my homeboy. So it’s just beautiful, and I get to make the kind of music, that I wanna make and I’m not pressured about, "What’s the single and is it a hit record, and is it for radio?" I don’t gotta worry about none of that shit man. I just get to make good music and keep it movin'. That’s beautiful.

Dubcnn: Alright so music wise you can’t tell us too much, but tell us what’s gonna be coming up? What are you gonna be bringing to the table?

Stat Quo: You know incredible music man. My album I’ll tell you like this, it’s the kinda record that you put on when you go on a road trip with your boys, or when you go on a road trip with your girl, let’s say you driving from Atlanta to Miami. Or we in L.A., so L.A. to mother fuckin' Seattle, Or L.A. to Vegas. This the album you put on. This the album you out on after you leave the club, not when you going, when you leaving you know what I’m sayin'? When you drunk as fuck and wanna hear some real shit. Or you high as shit and wanna hear some introspective shit that make you think. This the album to put on right here.

Dubcnn: So tell us about ATL. You’re from ATL you do have southern influence but at the same time I feel that you’re not a typical Southern artist and you’re doing a lot of shit out here, how are you different from all the other Southern artists?

Stat Quo: Well to be honest with you, I am a typical southern artist, it’s just hasn’t been put on that platform it’s a lot of MC’s out of the south. You got Gnarls Barkley. You don’t even think of them as being Southern artists but they are. Jay Electronica is from New Orleans. So you got a bunch of cats that are outside of the box that are what you might call typical to the South, but it’s just not being showcased. I just had the opportunity to be signed to Dr. Dre and Eminem and it’s like “Whoa.” But it’s a lot of artists that can spit coming out of the South but they just don’t get that platform. Then you got the ones that have that platform, they spit, it just has a accent with it but they spittin. T.I. He’s incredible. Lil’ Wayne incredible, Ludacris incredible, Killa Mike incredible, me incredible, Andre 3000 incredible, it goes on and on. The South been killin’ it and they gonna keep killin’ it. All day.

Dubcnn: Yeah definitely. I was at a Goodie Mob show the other night it was off the chain. So I don’t know if this is correct, but I read on your twitter but I read that you’re a vegetarian now right?

Stat Quo: Yeah yeah.

Dubcnn: What’s up with that?

Stat Quo: My blood pressure was high and everybody in my family got high blood pressure. We from the South, we eat fuckin’, we eat all the pig from the rooter to the tooter. And it was just like you know what? I gotta make a change because I wanna be around. I wanna see my son go to prom, I wanna here him, “Hey Dad I fucked the shit out of that bitch.” I wanna have them conversation with him you know? He’s 4 right now, I wanna be there. They do too much shit to the meat, steroids and shit in it.

Dubcnn: Alright so what brought you back into the fold workin with Dre, when you’re about to put your album out again?

Stat Quo: He just called me up one day. I was in Atlanta, he just hit me up like, “Yo, what you doin’, you wanna come fuck around? I’m in Hawaii.” I was like, “Hell yeah let’s go.” Went to Hawaii it was like we picked up right where we left off. Dude, that’s my friend. A lot of people in this music industry, you see these people together, and they just in a click. Dude is my friend, if I need some advice about my life? That’s my friend, this ain’t fake, that’s my homeboy that’s my mentor, that’s like my big brother. You see people, they in a crew, most of the time they don’t even fuckin’ like each other, they don’t even communicate with each other, they don’t even talk. That my friend. If I need advice about what I’m going through with girls, or my baby momma? That’s somebody I go and, “Yo what you think I should do?” He my friend, fuck all that music shit so that’s what that it. First and foremost.

Dubcnn: So as somebody that’s been running the game for a long time. He’s kind of your big bro. What kind of advice does he give you? Give us some examples.

Stat Quo: Just anything man, he’s got experience from all aspects of the world.

Dubcnn: What’s some good advice he’s given you?

Stat Quo: Be patient. Period. That’s one of the best things he ever said to me. Be patient, don’t rush, take your time. Carry yourself, treat people how you wanna be treated. Always approach situations, have integrity about situations. Along with a lot of other shit. Fuck all the music shit. That shit is incredible too, but It’s just a total experience with dude. Dude made me a much better artist than what I could have ever imagined. I’m dope now that I ever been. Y’all see, Statlanta May 4th.

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Stat Quo // Video Interview // Dubcnn