Stalley

To understand Stalley’s achievements is to recognize his creative evolution. A singular voice raised in the rust belt town of Massillon, midway between Canton and Akron, he quickly developed a reputation as a ferocious spitter, releasing regionally renowned mixtapes and even traveling to Beijing as a featured MC in the Iron Mic competition. At the beginning of the last decade, Stalley signed to the other MMG, Rick Ross’ Maybach Music Group, where he dropped countless star-making verses and revered mixtapes that cemented him as the working-class hero amongst a lavishly opulent crew. There were million-streaming collaborations with Scarface, Schoolboy Q, Ty Dolla Sign, Kendrick Lamar and Migos, but ultimately, Stalley opted to take the independent route, which led to this third and most impressive phase of his career.