Stalley - Somebody Up There Loves Me '2022

Tracks list

       It’s a quintessential Sunday afternoon. The calendar is open. The
weather is pleasant and crisp. The whip is freshly waxed. All you need to do is
find the proper soundtrack and the right co-pilot. In these days of digital
abundance, there are millions of options but only a few perfect selections. The
latest from Ohio’s blue collar beacon, Stalley, trunk-rattlingly fills
that void.

Released on Mello Music Group, Somebody Up There Loves Me does everything but
spark the blunt. It’s a laidback, soulful cruise full of hard-earned
wisdom and street gospel. A testament to meticulous craftsmanship that balances
tradition with a sense of timelessness. As the bearded and wavy one describes
himself: “I’m somewhere between Gilbert Arenas and
Gil-Scott.” A poet with a penchant for revolution, a fearless pacifist
always ready for war, but hopeful the conscription will never come.

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.

It would be a misnomer to call this era a renaissance. In truth, Stalley has
consistently released poignant (but still swangin’) rap tunes that never
fail to hit you in your marrow. But upon the release of last year’s
full-length collaboration with Apollo Brown, Blacklight, the Ohio lyricist
kicked it into high gear. Pitchfork raved about its “sharp
perspective” and declared it a “natural progression for both
artists…Stalley understands the value of sticking to your guns. He
embodies the kind of clever but restrained lifestyle raps that have fueled work
by Curren$y and Dom Kennedy since the blog era.”

With his latest, Somebody Up There Loves Me, Stalley preaches the word without
coming off preachy. He balls out without being bombastic. It’s a
masterclass in rapping from the first bars of “Red Light.” He
artfully shifts from a technical double-time to a conversational spill that
makes you feel like you’re riding shotgun. With the passage of time, his
voice has descended into a resounding gravelly boom that lends itself to his
immutable parables of game. While riding solo in the wide body, he reminds you
not to talk business over the phone, and then rhymes “Mick Jagger
moves” with “jacking you dudes.”

With impeccable beat section from producers BAM, KFisha, Black Diamond, MadKeys,
and MMG visionary Namir Blade, Stalley summons a sumptuous soul that feels warm
and nostalgic without resorting to retromania. It offers a life-affirming
gravity to his declaration that “God, family and morals” are
everything that he stands on. Over the “Dilla Bap” orchestration
that channels the late great Motown producer, Stalley drops lightning bolts of
wisdom and dazzling rhyme schemes that concisely summarize the perils of the rap
game:

“Hard times when you trying to be a rhymer/being a rapper puts you in the
line of fire/Everything evil is what you most desire/being tough is what they
must honor, until you’re fighting for your life in front of your
honor/Then all that street shit and beef shit turn into karma,. All from trying
to add on additional commas/I wish we listened to momma’s who tried to
calm us.”

Somebody Up There Loves Me is a spiritual journey but never self-righteous. The
result of blood, sweat, tears, and introspection that have allowed for Stalley
to become a fully realized artist. At one point on “Bear Trap,”
Stalley evokes a car ride bumping the Gorillaz and the Bobby Womack, and his
latest feels like a perfect hip-hop middle ground between the two. He has
refined a natural musical fluidity and developed a sense of comfort in who he
is, where he’s traveled, and where he wants his passport to be stamped
next. This an opus that crackles with love, warmth, and unremitting humanity.
Over these past years, he’s been working on himself, and now, the droptop
is open, the windows are rolled down, and the golden light is shining through.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Stalley - RED LIGHT (2:55)
1.02 - Stalley - BAKERY (4:01)
1.03 - Stalley - DILLA BAP (3:08)
1.04 - Stalley - ESSENTIALS (3:20)
1.05 - Stalley - KING OF THE OCEAN (4:14)
1.06 - Stalley, Ania Hoo - STAL WHERE YOU BEEN (4:28)
1.07 - Stalley - REPOSADO STORIES (2:31)
1.08 - Stalley - BEAR TRAP (THEY FEAR ME) (1:56)
1.09 - Stalley - THE SPOILS (2:28)
1.10 - Stalley - ESCAPE FROM HERE (3:13)
1.11 - Stalley - FRESH LINEN (2:42) 

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