Album Notes

CDbaby Editor's Pick for Hip-Hop/Rap: Southern Style!

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ABOUT STANZA:

Growing up listening to music ranging from Soul, Gospel, and R&B, it wasn't until hearing Eightball & MJG's "Coming Out Hard" that Stanza would fall in love with hip-hop. While this influence led him to initially try his hand at production, he quickly discovered his talent for writing. Some of his first recordings were as a member of a group, but it wasn't until after going solo and then a chance meeting years later with his future partners that Stanza's music would be fully realized.

After releasing his first project The Mixtape at the beginning of 2004, Stanza gained some noteriety with his song "Find A Way", which earned him independent radio spins and press coverage. The positive reception prompted he and his partners to form Marquee Rhythms, immediately beginning work on his next project, No. 2, which was released in late 2004. This second project focused more on original compositions, subsequently silencing any prior criticisms, and further solidifying Stanza's reputation as an artist to watch.

After nearly two years of recording, 2006 saw the release of his official debut "Name This Album" which featured no guest appearances and was the subject of praise from artists and fans alike. Now, after having gained even more listeners (and fans) with this latest LP, Stanza continues to perform at shows, promote on the street, and do whatever else is necessary to attract new listeners. All the work is worth it to Stanza because he knows that keeping them listening will be the easy part.

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ABOUT THE ALBUM:

The recording for 'Name This Album', or as we like to call it, 'NTA', began even before the 'No. 2' sessions and continued for over a year and a half. After two classic mixtapes released in 2004, Stanza spent all of 2005 crafting his debut.

The name itself came by chance, and was originally meant to serve as a placeholder in the artwork for the eventual album title. Ironically, this "title" described the album perfectly. In a way, it represented the work ethic of how everyone went into the studio and just made music. There were never any deadlines, ideal number of songs, or formats to adhere to. It was all summed up with those three simple words, and what we ultimately ended up with was 50 minutes of funk: NTA.