Stat Quo | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stanley Bernard Benton[1] |
| Born | (1979-07-24)July 24, 1979 (age 45) Atlanta,Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | University of Florida (BS) |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | www |
Stanley Bernard Benton (born July 24, 1978), better known by his stage nameStat Quo, is an Americanrapper andrecord producer.[2] Benton worked his way to college and attendedUniversity of Florida, where he majored in economics and international business in 2000.[2] He was contemplating law school, until veteran Southern rapperScarface encouraged him to rap professionally. In February 2003, Stat Quo released his first installment of theUnderground Atlanta Mixtapes and caught the attention ofAftermath Entertainment associateMel-Man. When Stat Quo was in L.A. performing at Encore, Mel-Man invited him toRecord One Studios where he metDr. Dre. That night at Record One, Stat Quo recorded the song "The Future" with Dr. Dre and released it on the second volume of hisUnderground Atlanta mixtape in 2004. The tape made its way by a different route toEminem and led to Stat Quo's record deal withShady Records andAftermath Entertainment. Stat Quo is currently managing Young Aspect, and formerly managedLil Xan.
After50 Cent, Stat Quo was the second and only other artist, untilEz Mil in 2023, signed to both Shady Records and Aftermath Entertainment; he became Dr. Dre and Eminem's newest protégé.[3] Stat Quo was supposed to release his debut album,Statlanta, with Shady/Aftermath but, despite being made three different times, the album was never released by the labels.[4]Statlanta was finally released in 2010 bySha Money XL's label Dream Big Ventures. Stat Quo has continued his career in the entertainment industry by earning production and writing credits as well as release more studio albums and launching a record label called Blood Money Entertainment, with West Coast-based rapperThe Game.
Stanley Benton was born inThomasville Heights, a neighborhood ofAtlanta, atGrady Memorial Hospital. In his early life, he lived with his mother and grandmother. Benton started freestyle rapping at around the age of 12 with his cousin D. Later, his mother bought him a radio, and he would record himself rapping. In 1997, Benton started taking rap seriously, but continued with his education.[5]
Stat Quo was discovered towards the end of 2003. Dr. Dre and Eminem individually learned of theAtlanta-based rapper via hisUnderground Atlanta mixtapes. After Eminem heard his music, he gained interest and passed it on to Dr. Dre, and a joint deal was reached, resulting in Stat Quo becoming signed to bothAftermath Entertainment andShady Records.[6]
His debut albumStatlanta was originally slated to be released in 2003, underInterscope Records, but was repeatedly pushed back until finally being released independently in 2010, although heavily reworked and not the original Statlanta recorded under Shady/Aftermath, althoughDr. Dre was involved during the production as a supervisor.[7][8] Stat Quo is also featured onYoung Buck'sStraight Outta Cashville, Eminem's compilation albumEminem Presents the Re-Up (on tracks "By My Side", Tryin' Ta Win", "Get Low", and on the bonus track "Billion Bucks"), and on the track "Spend Some Time" on Eminem'sEncore. Stat has also appeared on tracks with artists such asJermaine Dupri,The Alchemist,The Game,Disturbing tha Peace, andChamillionaire. Stat Quo has said that his "number one goal is to bring a respect, and bring a voice to this whole southern movement around the world."[9]
In 2005, Stat Quo shot a video for his single "Like Dat". The song was made to be abuzz single, in order to help the artist become more exposed. The video was shot in Atlanta's Zone 3 near the Thomasville Heights projects where Stat Quo was raised and explained his reason for choosing the location in an interview, stating "It's the beginning of my career, so I wanted to start where I began life, […] Plus, [the city of Atlanta] is supposed to be tearing the projects down, so I wanted to showcase the area I grew up in and capture it before it was gone forever", it featured a cameo appearance by fellowAtlanta rapperLudacris.[10]
He was featured on the summer 2005Anger Management Tour, which also included Eminem,50 Cent,G-Unit,Obie Trice,D12, and others.[11] On July 13, 2005, a tour bus carryingEminem's entourage for the summer's Anger Management tour swerved off the road and turned over. Stat Quo was taken to Independence Regional Health Center inIndependence, Missouri, where he was treated and released.[12]
In October 2008, he leftShady Records andAftermath Entertainment, unhappy with the release status ofStatlanta. On April 21, 2009, Stat Quo independently releasedSmokin Mirrors, a street album, throughEMI. Stat Quo hoped to release the album in 2009, and promoted the album by releasing multiple mixtapes for free download in 2009, includingQuo City,Checks & Balance,[13] andThe Invisible Man.[14] It ended up being released on July 13, 2010.[15]
In 2009, with distribution fromThe Orchard, producerSha Money XL founded a new record label, Dream Big Ventures. Quickly upon its creation, Stat Quo was signed to the label.Statlanta was released on the label.[16][17][18]
In March 2010, Stat Quo appeared in aHP commercial alongsideDr. Dre promoting HP Beats Audio Laptops, featuring a song taken from Dr. Dre's anticipated upcoming third studio albumDetox, in which Stat Quo has worked and provided songwriting.
In 2011, Stat Quo was cited atDr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment website as a signed songwriter toAftermath Entertainment. On July 23, 2012Wiz Khalifa released a song titled "Far from Coach" as a promotional single from his second studio albumO.N.I.F.C., the track features former Aftermath Entertainment artists Stat Quo andGame, although the song didn't make the cut in the album. The reunion formed a business partnership from both Stat Quo and Game. In late 2012, both rappers founded Rolex Records, which was later renamed to The Firm. Both artists will use the label to release new music and sign other artists.[19] He also executive produced and appeared on a hidden skit inJesus Piece, The Game's fifth studio album and last underInterscope Records.
On September 9, 2013, Stat Quo released the first single "Michael" (a tribute toMichael Jordan,Mike Tyson, &Michael Jackson) from his upcoming second studio album titledATLA, an acronym for "All This Life Allows", confirmed to appear as a bonus track. It was produced byTone Mason, who is the album's lead producer.[20] On October 8, 2013, rapperGame released a mixtape titledOKE: Operation Kill Everything to promote his upcoming studio album, the mixtape was released under The Firm, making it the first release of the label. The mixtape is executive produced by and features Stat Quo on the track "Compton".
On December 16, 2013, the second single fromATLA was released. The track is titled "Trillion" featuringDre from production duoCool & Dre and produced by Tone Mason, who also produced "Michael", the album's lead single. On December 17, 2013, Stat Quo released the long-awaitedFUPM Is the Future withBobby Creekwater under the acronymFUPM meaning "Fuck U Pay Me". The album was initially announced in December 2011 but it was shelved while both artists pursued other ventures. Bobby Creekwater finally announced the official release date on December 4, 2013. The first two singles for the album "Alright Alright" & "Blast Off" were released late 2011 and the final single was dropped on December 10, 2013, called "Old School New School".
On December 20, 2013, Stat Quo released the third single offATLA entitled "OutKast". The single was produced by DeUno, and it is a tribute song to Atlanta rap groupOutKast.ATLA is set to be released in 2014. On January 6, 2014, Stat Quo released the fourth single offATLA entitled "That's Life, Part 1". The single was produced byBink. With the release of this single, Stat Quo announced the official release date ofATLA as February 15, 2014, which was his son's birthday.
