Stalley Previews New Album ‘Ohio’ In An Old-School

After several push backs since last year, patience and time to master his craft, MMG's Stalley is finally gearing up to release his debut album via Maybach Music Group and Atlantic Records on Oct. 28. Stalley will be showing love to his home state by not only naming the album Ohio, but also theming the project's sound after his signature "intelligent trunk music."

The Massillon-native stopped by last Thursday at our offices in NYC to play some records off his debut LP, and gave us that true Ohio listening experience. However, Stalley did not want to do the typical listening session, so he asked for us to meet him outside of our building. From the moment we met up with Stalley, we entered an Ohio State of Mind. Within the first few minutes of our conversation, we spoke about the newly reformed Cleveland Cavaliers with the acquisitions of LeBron James and Kevin Love, Cleveland Browns and their upcoming NFL season, and of course, his forthcoming LP. Walking two blocks from the XXL HQ, Stalley points out our designated listening location, a royal blue candy-painted Cadillac Brougham. The old school luxury car stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of NYC as we approached it. Stalley opened the doors for us, and welcomed us to his one-of-a-kind Ohio listening experience.

Stalley opened up by giving us a quick synopsis on Ohio and playing us the first lead single off the album, "Jackin' Chevys," a perfect song to set the tone for the rest of the upcoming tracks and built perfectly for the boxed-Cadillac. The MMG rapper pays homage to the '64 Chevy Impala muscle car on this track that's produced by his longtime partner and producer Rashad, who incorporates a sample from Eazy-E's "Crusin in My 6-4." Later on, he followed up by playing us his Ty Dolla $ign-assisted track "Always Into Something," another bass-heavy track by Rashad with a melodic hook provided by the 2014 XXL Freshman.

The bearded rapper went into his third track "One More Shot," a record produced by Noel and features August Alsina and Rick Ross. According to Stalley, the record is one of his "most commercial" records ever, but he had a lot of fun doing it. The track definitely is a new territory for Stalley, which finds him spitting some laid-back player verses to the satisfaction of any women. Rozay and Alsina are the perfect mesh for the record, which could potentially be the radio friendly hit Stalley is looking for.

Next up, producer D.A. laces up the perfect vibe for "What It Be Like" featuring Nipsey Hu$$le. Stalley shines bright lyrically on the track, and Nipsey surprises fans with tight rhymes over a more Midwest beat. To close out pounding preview in the whip, Stalley introduced "Problems," which talks about his struggles as someone coming up from the hardships of Ohio. In the same vein, he's speaking on stories that his friends have experienced.

Overall, Stalley made sure to give us a clear representation of his home state, his upbringing, and his love for American muscle cars on Ohio. After 2013's Honest Cowboy, Stalley continues to show his progression and maturity behind the mic, even going back to his roots on Ohio. Stay tuned for more on the way.—Roger Krastz

Previously: Rick Ross Featuring Stalley, Gunplay And Killer Mike “Black & White (Remix)”
“Know More” (The Best of Stalley) Mixtape