(AllHipHop News) After years of delay as an artist on Aftermath/Interscope Records, Atlanta rapper Stat Quo is finally on the verge of releasing his highly anticipated album Statlanta.
The album, which is slated for May 4th, will be released on Sha Money XL’s Dream Big Ventures, through digital distributor, The Orchard.
Stat Quo remained tight lipped on the details about the album, but he did disclose the release will feature 12 tracks.
“For this album I’m not telling anyone anything or anything about who is on it because I feel a lot of artists always tell who is going to be on a record and then it takes some of the mystery away,” Stat Quo told AllHipHop.com. “So I would rather just wait and have you get the album and then you can see what’s going on with it.“
Stat has released the first single off the album titled “Success (Back To You),” which also has an accompanying video. “Yea it is the first single off the album. A lot of people would say that it is not a traditional single, because its not targeted towards radio,” Stat Quo told AllHipHop.com. “I just want to make good music and not worry about BDS [radio spin tracking service].”
The video “Success (Back To You)” features Stat going through various situations that he has been through, in an attempt to become successful.
“When I heard the beat and chorus, when you hear it, you may think that I am talking about a woman, but it really I am talking about my relationship with success,” he told AllHipHop.com. “The video takes three aspects of my life, like working a corporate job. You got another situation, me selling CDs, what I believe in. And another situation is me graduating from school and being successful.”
While many people may not know, Stat is one of many rappers that has earned his college degree.
In the early 2000’s Stat finished received his degree from the University of Florida with a double major in business and economics.
“Graduating in business and economics, it allows me to step outside of me just being an artist. I had to look at the business side of things. Hundreds thousands of people at those companies depend on Dr. Dre and Eminem’s album sales, so I can understand why it was so pertinent to get those albums out when they did. I didn’t understand at the time, but now I understand”
Finally Stat Quo gave an update on working with Dr. Dre on Detox and his relationship with Eminem.
With respect to working with Eminem and Dre, Stat said, “I enjoyed working with them, and I enjoy working with them. I learned so much from both of them on how to be a better MC and person, and I continue to learn from them. I’m not going to say me and Em talk on the phone, or that we have had contact, it’s been a while, but at the end of the day I still got love for him and that’s never going to change. When it comes down to Dre, what can I say? Dude is the end all and be all as my mentor, he held me down and continues to.”
Stat confirmed that he will be a part of Detox, although the album has no set release date as of press time.
“On his record I feel so important, his album is just so important to Hip-Hop. I am blessed to have an opportunity to be in the situation to work on it. S**t is going to be a classic from beginning to end,” Stat Quo told AllHipHop.com.
Stat Quo will next be performing at SXSW in Austin, Texas later this month.