New Stat Quo interview (he's gonna get dropped)

[Meho]

At the height of the Shady/Aftermath takeover of the rap industry, no one signed to the label could do wrong. D12, Lloyd Banks, 50 Cent, Young Buck and Obie Trice all collected platinum plaques, some more than one, while the rest of the industry tried their hardest to keep up.

In 2003, a young rapper from Atlanta by the name of Stat Quo was brought into the fold and was said to be the second coming of Southern hip-hop. His lyrical abilities and wide range of subject matter was highly praised and it seemed as if Stat Quo was the next in line to take the reigns as Shady royalty.

With appearances on other artists’ records as well as video games his buzz only grew. He was also a large part of the success of Eminem’s triple platinum The Re-Up, a compilation album that showcased the Shady roster.

Now, it is 2008, and the highly anticipated debut album, Statlanta is still nowhere in sight. There are no release dates set and it remains to be seen if it will come out at all.

Sixshot.com caught up with Stat Quo to discuss Eminem and Dr. Dre, the hold up on his album, and if he thinks he’ll be a part of the Shady team for much longer.

The first question I wanna ask you and I know you must get this every five minutes but when can we expect the album?

Hey man, I don’t even wanna say no more. I don’t even know, you know what I mean? (Laughs) I’m just doing my thing over here man, just making music and to be honest with you, I really don’t know. That’s out of my control and I don’t make that decision.

The thing that has me curious is when people in the Shady/Aftermath fold don’t release an album they usually seem to get dropped pretty quick.

That’s what I thought too. That’s what I thought. I mean, a lot of people think getting dropped is a bad thing but sometimes if an artist gets dropped it could be like a relief for them. Some people they let go but some people they hold captive.

At this point, do you feel like you’re being held captive?

I’m not saying I feel like that, I’m just stating the facts, you know.

You’re definitely not a typical “Down South” rapper, how is it that you manage to keep your sound so diverse?

I just do my thing man. I don’t wanna be categorized and put into a box. I’ll put out a record like “We Get Higher” and all the underground heads and them will love it then I’ll turn around and do a “My Ride” which is some straight A-Town type shit. Then I’ll hop on a Dre beat and do my thing. I just don’t wanna be boxed in so I do what I’m feeling; it’s all based on my personality.

What’s it like for you working with Dre and Eminem?

It’s definitely a good look man. I learned a lot from those guys as far as how to conduct myself as an artist, as a man, and as a parent. They’re both great dudes. I take a lot of their knowledge and apply it to my life and myself. It’s really a good look. You’re working with the best.

Do you have a personal relationship with Dre and Em too or is it strictly business?

Yeah, you know, it’s a family atmosphere. If I need advice on certain issues I can go them. At the same time, its business too so the relationship is back and forth.

What’s the general feeling about your album in the building, not only from you but also from others? Do they want it to come out?

Yeah, everybody wants it to come out but the people that want it to come out aren’t in the position to make those decisions. The company has priorities and those priorities have to be met. Until my situation is a priority I guess it’s whatever. If I made the decision about when an album comes out the public would have been had an album from me. I’ll tell you this, I got all the records and if it keeps up like this I’m just gonna let the people hear it, I’ll put it out myself. I want people to hear this album and if the situation doesn’t come up then, let’s just put it this way, the people are going to hear it regardless.

At the end of the day, in your heart and in your mind, do you feel like it’s gonna come out on Shady?

I don’t know man. Who knows? At this point my patience is definitely wearing thin. It’s Shady and Aftermath, it’s both. I guess certain people don’t want it to come out. Sometimes it’s a bad thing when there’s too many cooks in the kitchen. It happens.

It’s strange because everything you drop gets an excellent response. Why do you feel the fans are riding with you so hard?

I think I try and I think a lot of other artists don’t. They don’t care what they put out. They’re doing it just to do it. They don’t put any heart into it. As human being we have natural instincts so the fans can tell if a dude is really trying. If he is trying, obviously they’re gonna feel that and they’re gonna appreciate that. I think when people hear my music they can tell that I really care and it’s not just about a dollar for me and how much money I’m gonna make on it.

Aight, let’s be honest, Statlanta is done, is it a classic?

Ah man, that’s like when people say are you the greatest rapper? Of course I wanna say that about myself but I like when the people deem something to be a classic. Biggie didn’t deem his albums to be classics. When Scarface was putting The Diary out or The Fix he wasn’t thinking himself that it was a classic. It was the people that called it classic. Reasonable Doubt was classic. Illmatic was classic. Blueprint was a classic. The reason why these albums were classics was because the people said they were. That’s how I’m gonna let my stuff be judged.

The Re-Up did real well and you were featured on that a lot. Did that help widen your audience?

It was dope. A lot of that material was for a mixtape we were doing. There was a lot of material for that in there. Em and Paul just figured we should make it an album. It was a good platform for the artists to showcase our skills and shine. Anytime you sell three million records worldwide you’re audience is gonna get bigger.

Your flow and subject matter are real different. Who are some people that influenced you musically?

Scarface, Bun B, Pimp C, 8 Ball & MJG, Biggie, Pac, Jay-Z, Outkast, N.W.A, and Eminem. They all had a great deal to do with how I’m doing my thing.

Coming from the South, were the East Coast artists big down there?

Yeah, I mean we got to hear all the different music that came in from Cali, New York, and Miami. If you lived in New York you probably didn’t get to hear what we were doing in the South because you had your own movement but in the South we got to hear everything.

Besides the album, what are you working on that we can look out for?

To be real with you, I’m working on another album. Statlanta is done so I’m working on my second album to come out after that. I don’t have a title yet; I’m still trying to figure it out. With Statlanta, it just kinda came along as I was making music and this one is the same way. I’m tryna do it like Prince where he recorded albums back to back to back and he just chilled and he didn’t really have to do anything. He made timeless music so it doesn’t matter when you put it out, it’s gonna be great regardless. All I do is record; I got a studio in my basement. I write for other artists too, that’s how I keep the lights on.

You write for other artists a lot?

Yeah, I write for some of ya'll favorite MC’s and R&B singers. I would never say names; they probably don’t want that to be known.

You said your patience is wearing thin as far as the album coming out. Are there ever any tense moments between you, Em, and Dre about the release?

Nah, we don’t get down like that. We don’t have no tense moments because that’s not the nature of the relationship.

So they just tell you to be patient?

Some things are just out of the control of what they got goin’ on. You see what’s going on with rap man. Flo-Rida had one of the biggest records ever and he came out and did what? Rap sales are different. Kanye West would have sold ten million copies. If that same album would have come out in like 1998 with the same momentum, Kanye would have sold ten million records. Everybody is just trying to figure out what’s going on and regroup and I happen to be caught right in the middle of that.

I promise you this and I promise all my fans that have supported me that you will hear Statlanta; it’s coming and let’s say the curtain will unveil itself soon. And the performance will be something you wanna see. The truth will be brought to the light so everybody can see what the fuck is going on.

http://www.sixshot.com/interviews/10777/

[Lunatic]

props, I completed a Stat Quo interview yesterday myself! look out for that

[LyRiCaL_G]

i feel sorry for the nigga, 5 years on aftermath and shady and he aint even got an album out...5 YEARS! i remember when he about to sign and cats on the east coast wanted to sign him up to, and he chose shady/aftermath because it made sense after 50's success on the label and being from the east that stat could be next to blow and come from the south....dang was that nigga wrong!

I hope it does drop one day but to me he sounds like someone who knows his shit aint coming out anytime soon and that he aint gon be on the label much longer

[Invincible]

You gotta feel sorry for the guy. the album has been ready ages hasn't it?

Nice to know that we will hear it. Hope he leaks it.

[Matty]

we already knew that his album wasn't gonna be released when that here we go song didn't get pushed. i thought they recorded a video and everything. it was a dope record, everyone that heard it was feeling it, there probably couldn't have been a better single to push and drop the album with. its a shame, but predictable - i'm glad stat is saying we are gonna hear it regardless though, there should be some mad tracks on there - several dr dre productions and that storch one that is supposed to be incredible. leak it asap and get off that label stat!!! if they cant release rakim or joell ortiz then whoever is calling the shots there is not concerned with giving real hip-hop fans anything to enjoy. bishop is the final hope for aftermath now :0

[Okka]

Stat had alot of dope songs, but i think he ain't never gonna release anythin' on Aftermath/Shady.

[Dre-Day]

lol aftermath's roster is becoming very small this way 

not sure if Stat Quo will be able to put Statlanta out for sale though; if he's not able to do that, i think he should just leak it.

[wcsoldier]

Em and Dre are bitches .. don't tell me they haven't the power to stand up for their artists .. they just are jokes and all about business for quite some time now .. Iovine clones , nothing more ..

[eazye]

Em and Dre are bitches .. don't tell me they haven't the power to stand up for their artists .. they just are jokes and all about business for quite some time now .. Iovine clones , nothing more ..

sadly, as much as I don't want to, I have to agree...

[--Vance--]

This is really sad. He's one of the better south rappers man. "G.R.I.T.S". is a classic song. "Here we go" is a monster dre beat. This guy deserves a release for his album.

FUCK the music industry

[Elevz]

The first question I wanna ask you and I know you must get this every five minutes but when can we expect the album?

Hey man, I don’t even wanna say no more. I don’t even know, you know what I mean? (Laughs) I’m just doing my thing over here man, just making music and to be honest with you, I really don’t know. That’s out of my control and I don’t make that decision.

There's the reason. Stat's a dumb motherfucker who sold his guts and thought others were going to make a star out of him if he would just make the right music. Talking about "just doing his thing", not knowing what the fuck is going on and not being in control... Has it occurred to him that perhaps when you get political pressure (as in label politics) opposing your career, it might be time to apply some pressure in the opposite direction, and force them to put out that album? Or did he think 50 would have made it big without being all over the industry, instead of putting all his eggs into one basket? It's pretty much the same with what The Game did before he blew up. Has it occurred to Stat that maybe he should not keep doing "his thing", if that's being a label pawn and a slave for Jimmy Iovine and them?

It's his own problem for being a naive idiot. I don't feel sorry at all for him. If his music is the very best possible, they will put it out there, because if he gets that real buzz going it will sell and he will become priority number one. It's simple as that. Record labels surely aren't going to let any opportunity to earn big time slide.

[Meho]

^^^That's true. I mean, the 2 tracks that leaked were great and all the reviews of the album were very positive, it looked like Dre and Em really put effort into making this another GRODT type of feeling. BUT you do have to ask yourself what has Stat done to put himself out there. And the anwser is nothing. He maybe released 2 or 3 mixtapes without any noize and that was it, it's like he expected that the name Shady/ Aftermath is all the buzz he needs. And let's face it, even if he released an album in 05, 06 which would be normal for Aftermath standards, I doubt he would go more than 1x plat, he just doesn't have that mainstream appeal, sort of like Obie.

So in the end, I think him getting dropped and just releasing the album to the "streets" would be the best scenario 

[wcsoldier]

I agree with both of you .. thing is look at what Bishop is doing .. some street albums, a shiltload of interviews .. still it won't be enough to have an album out ..

[thisoneguy360]

Never been a huge Stat fan but you gotta feel for the guy, prime example of a dude getting fucked big time by the industry

[Larrabee]

I always thought Stat had potential, and it's a shame that 5 years have gone by and still no album. I remember I spoke to a Shady rep. and he told me that Stat's album was finished, and this was October of 2005. All he needs is a couple of sure fire singles. I'm certain that the album is strong, but with no buzz, no hit single, things won't turn around.