In November, Sha Money XL revealed to HipHopDX that he had finalized his Dream Big Ventures imprint, and signed both Stat Quo and DJ Whoo Kid. Thursday of this week, Stat Quo spoke to DX about releasing Dream Big’s first album, Statlanta.
The Atlanta native spoke of working with the former G-Unit Records President, who A&R’d two classic albums in 50 Cent‘s Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and The Game‘s The Documentary. “Not only is he a great producer with a great ear for music, he’s just a great guy all around,” said Stat who worked with Sha during his Interscope/Shady/Aftermath tenure. “He allows me the kind of freedom to be the artist I see myself as being. He falls and lets me do my thing, but at the same time, contributes just enough to make the situation classic.
Planned for May 4th release, Statlanta takes its title from the album promised to fans in the mid-’00s. With several “street releases,” Stat was asked if he views this as a debut. The emcee said that he opts to listen to his fans. “It definitely feels like a third, fourth or fifth album at the end of the day. It’s not all about you, it’s about other people. A lot of people feel like this is a debut, so I’ll treat it as such. But me? I’ve done countless albums, cousin.” Looking at The South Got Somethin’ To Say 
or The Invisible Man , Stat asserts, “[Even] the stuff I’ve put out for free on the Internet that has an album feel.” To get a listen at what Stat’s referring to, check “Success (Back To U)” .
Asked if the bigger album stage made him change his recording practices, Stat waved that off, saying “Hell no.” He went on to say that his present work ethic and songwriting is a culmination of years and mentors. “No, I’m taking what I learned over there with [Dr.] Dre and puttin’ it to use, plus taking what Sha’s given me and trying to make the best product possible.”
Shocking to some after Stat expressed displeasure with Dre and Aftermath’s handling of his career, the Georgia rapper is back to assisting the Doctor. :During this whole process, I’ve still [been working] with Dre. I’m still working with him everyday – not for [Statlanta], but for [Detox] and what he’s got going on.” Stat was not clear as to why his work with Dre for the original Statlanta did not leave with him, but did say that he benefits from the exposure to greatness. “Working with him, it’s like Rap boot-camp. You just learn so much from dude.” Stat Quo also mentioned other mentors, Sha Money, Eminem and Scarface.
While most people easily associate Stat with Dr. Dre and Eminem, Scarface discovered the emcee initially. Asked if he and the Rap-A-Lot titan were still in touch, Stat chuckled. “[Scarface] just hit me up the Twitter, we was just talkin’ about some things. What I’d really want to do, if it was up to me, man, is to go down to Texas and do an album with ‘Face and with Devin [The Dude]. That is my dream. All of us together, and then get features from all the people we respect – have Dre do a beat, have Em be on the project, have 50 [Cent], Game, Andre 3000, [Lil] Wayne, Common, have Polow [Da Don] do a track – just people that I respect and fool with.” As three independent artists – and Scarface already embracing the collaborative spirit by working with Mia X, the project could come to fruition. Stat says that he looks at things differently than the expectations he may have witnessed at Interscope. “It’s not about making a hit record or tryin’ to make a whole bunch of money, it’s just about makin’ a dope-ass album,” he says comparing Rap peers to the 1950s Rat Pack, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Now independent, Stat says that he’s divorced notions of grandeur to drive his career. “For me, as long as I’m able to pay my bills, I’m cool.”
That every-man spirit comes alive in Stat’s recent videos, including “Ghetto U.S.A.” Asked about his successful approach to video-making, Stat refers to the same belief taught in many top film schools. “If you want to do something visually, you want to keep the integrity of the record. You want to take what’s going on in the record and enhance it visually. Because most of my songs have stories behind that, it’s neat to have a visual to go along with them. I just think people in general, we love stories. All of our television shows, all our movies – all of our entertainment is based around stories. So that’s the key for music.”
Statlanta is to be released on May 4th on Dream Big Ventures/EMI Records.
yessir stalanta comin 13 days b4 my bday cant wait to cop it n bump that boy stat quo got hella flow
This is a must listen! I can’t wait to buy it.
thats a great song right there
i wonder if all these rappers really work with dre or just hand in the studio while dre is checking on his production team before heading to his desk chair
SICK WIT IT
what does that mean?
wut the fuck does it sound like it means? that song is dope. listen to the song and quit asking questions, loser
Man when is artists like Bishop Lamont and Stat going to release their original shit from the aftermath vaults? They would have made a fuck load of records and I bet they all sound hot mixed and mastered.
How many times do you see tracks that are hit singles when they were originially meant to be cut from albums and shit.
I want to hear the original Reformation and Statlanta as well as Crooked I’s death row debut Say Hi To the Bad Guy.
Fuck record labels. Get a name for yourself and release 2 or 3 big albums then go indie
record labels be trippin! stat isnt all that but he got hot shit and would of sold a decent amount if not a ton of records!
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Statlanta is gonna be dope. Can’t wait to get a hold of this record. Stat’s gettin my money just cause I respect him. He held his head high when people were hatin and pullin him back. Plus I dowloaded The Bailout, Checks and Balances, QuoCity, Invisible Man, bought Smokin Mirrors, bought Great Depression—now its time for STATLANTA MAY 4TH
“It’s not about making a hit record or tryin’ to make a whole bunch of money, it’s just about makin’ a dope-ass album,”
thats the fuckin truth
if only all artists could look at it like that
When Dre puts his touch on this album its gonna be CRAZY !!!
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you pussies still bump “pony” when you’re rollin’ down the block, and might i mention, suckin dick in an alley way to score some rock isnt a career either, tyrone biggum’s ass mutha fuckas
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I hope all those artists he said make it on the album, that will be big.
man this nigga should of been one of the main newer rappers that rep the south in my opin
what im sayin is i would prefer him to be in the places of gucci and waka
my name is rasheed and i like to rap. i don’t rap bout guns, drugs, ect. but i rap about gattin out of the streets and into school. most people my age is just lookin for fast money so they disside to go in the streets, me i don’t like the street presonly, the streets have nothing for me, but took a whole lot of people i knew. dr.dre can you help me start my own rap group for this cause thank you