Does Ohio have an export to New York City policy for it’s best and brightest hip hop talent? Sure, everyone

knows that Cleveland kid name Cudi. But how about the jazzy emcee from small and gritty Massillon, Ohio with the charcoal filtered voice named Stalley? Let’s talk about him for a spell.

Stalley’s voice creeps over beats with a crisp and understated rhythm. His lyrics though are brazen, tuned

and confident like when he spits, ”My melo my man/ my ace my friend/ you are now rockin’ with/ a non complacent man/ so I guess we’re not settlin’ then/ this beats so comfortable/ with out peddlin’/ G5 or fixed gear/ no ride is better than/ the one you on right now” He’s at ease with his sound and it’s one that you can knock full blast. But it sounds better beating in headphones or as a side dish to play along with good company.

Speaking further volumes about Stalley is his close affiliation and upcoming projects with online video

content producers Creative Control and their connected organizations. All of which have the involvement or fall under the umbrella of hip hop’s hypest entrepreneur Dame Dash. Dame who is now back into the indi hip hop game full force sees something in Stalley and for that fact alone Stalley is someone to keep a search light upon. Between his schedule of video shoots in Jamaica, collaborative projects with niche hip hop artists and working on a remix-tape to his last project “Mad Stalley” he’s punching in double shifts daily. This ex-basketball champ is off to a break out start in hip hop and he’s not giving up an inch. Not bad for a guy straight up out the Milq. So sit back and take a few minutes as 24KMilkCrate.Com helps you to GET UP ON MAGIC!

So you just came back from a vacation in Jamaica?

• Stalley: It wasn’t a vacation. There was a Jazz Festival. But I went out there to work with all my partners like Dame Dash, Curren$y, and Creative Control. We were recording. Shooting some music videos. It’s going through editing. But there’s some ILL stuff about to be released from this trip here.

People always bring up your beard in interviews.

• Stalley: Yeah it is it’s own character. (laughs)

Does the beard have a specific significance for you?

• Stalley: Well the beard has a lot of significance. I started to grow it as I started to grow and develop as a person. I let it grow with me. Also it’s part of my religion. I’m a Sunni Muslim so that plays a significant part in it too. To everybody else, it looks good on me so. I kept it.

Is there any other prominent celebrity beards that you have respect for? Because it’s tough to grow out a good beard.

• Stalley: Not to sound any type of way but I don’t think any body else got a beard like me. Rick Ross got a baby beard. Freeway has one too. But they ain’t really messin’ with mine.

Baron Davis was rockin’ a pretty good one for a minute.

• Stalley: Oh yeah, B Diddy had a good one. Drew Gooden used to have a nice one too. I respect both of their beards. (laughs) But mine is just (different). No disrespect to nobody.

Yeah they’re just beirdos.

• (laughs)

Being in the music business what’s one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned.

• Stalley: To be real to yourself. Don’t worry about the things around you because those things will hamper your life. Have the courage to say anything and don’t be afraid to be yourself.

I read that you’ve got a show coming up that will be produced by Creative Control called “The Milq” can you talk about that a little bit?

• Stalley: The show with Creative Control is coming soon. The Milq is actually a nick name for where I’m from, Massillon Ohio. And it’s a small blue collar, steel city where people work hard. So it’s like we’re milking the cow or people for what we can get. And the show is going to reflect that. We’re Showing you where I come from the best way I can. Going back home and getting some visuals, because a lot of people haven’t seen a place like I grew up in. And a lot of people from my area haven’t made it to where I’m at. I don’t think I’ve made it. But to them it is like I made it because that’s how real it is out there. So it’s going to be shot there and here in New York.

Recently the video for “We Can Do It Big” with the Cool Kids came out and it has a movie theater inspired theme  to it. What movie out there can you watch a 1,000 times and never get tired of it?

• Stalley: That’s a good question…can I name a few?

Sure

• Stalley: I would have to say Snatch. City of God, Do The Right Thing, and Troy.

“Mad Stalley: The Auto-biography” Your last project is doing well. What do you have planned next?

• Stalley: I’m all over the place. The next project coming I think is “24Hour Karate School” I’m all over that joint. I’m working on a project with Sa-Ra also. We’re about 5 songs in to that. And I’m also working on a project with Ski-Beats just me and him. Both the Ski Beats and the Sa-Ra projects will be about 10 tracks. And you’re the first person to know this now but I’m working on a remix project for “Mad Stalley” because I feel it hasen’t reached a lot of people it should of. So instead of re-releasing it, we’re doing a remix joint. I’ve got Shafiq of Sa-Ra, Nu-Mark of Jurassic 5…I’m still reaching out but those are some of the producers that have already started working on it.

Download: Stalley’s mixtape “Mad Stalley: The Autobiography”

Ok last question and it’s a survival question. What are the first 3 things you do if you were snow boarding and you found out you we’re lost completely in the woods.

• Stalley: #1 I’d disconnect myself from the snowboard so I could start walking.
• #2 Make sure I’m warm because it’s going to be awhile.
• #3 Try and re-trace my steps. See if I could recognize a hill I went down or a turn. Probably try to find tracks left by my snowboard.

So no slaying of a moose to stay alive?

• Stalley: (laughs) hopefully I don’t run into one. If I had a cellphone I’d just call someone but since I’m snowboarding I’m going to be falling all the time. So I probably wouldn’t have one. I’d probably be out there for a minute.

FIN