STANK

Music:

Member Since: 10/10/2007
Band Members:

Stank is not supposed to be alive. “My mother’s tubes were tied when she had me,” the East St. Louis rapper says. “I’m blessed and happy to be here. I’m my mother’s blessing.”

But that blessing was soon tainted, as Stank grew up idolizing his father, who ran the streets. Stank’s father didn’t want him to follow in his footsteps, but the message didn’t get through. “I was attracted to the streets, although my father was trying to push me away from it,” Stank says today. “But, he never got a chance because I was addicted to the example he set for me.”

Stank went down the same path, but just as his father changed his life by becoming a respected minister and a successful businessman with a construction company, Stank redirected his life’s trajectory by turning his life over to music after seeing a string of his friends fall victim to violence and incarceration.

Growing up in East St. Louis, Illinois (just East of St. Louis, Missouri and on the other side of the Mississippi river), Stank gravitated to the soulful yet gangster music of 8 Ball & MJG, UGK, Bone thugs-n-harmony and Scarface. Their songs provided a respite from the rugged streets of his hometown.

“That was medicine for me, my therapy,” Stank says. “It got me through my troubles, situations that I was in. It was more than just a dance, a feel-good thing. You could learn lessons in life. People actually showed you how to get away from some of the nonsense you’d run into.”

With his explosive debut album, Welcome To East Stank Louis, Stank plans to emerge as rap’s next therapeutic storyteller as he puts his city on the map. The album title turns both tricks. “It was catchy to me because my name is Stank and the Stank Louis part just goes so well with it,” Stank reveals. “I’m a big factor in my hood and everything I stand for and speak about is East St. Louis. I’m bringing East Stank and East St. Louis to the world.”

“Weight Up” has a decidedly catchy, club-ready beat courtesy of up-and-coming beatsmiths The Breakfast Club, but Stank’s raps are meant to instill confidence, to urge listeners to improve their own reality. “This goes to anybody, no matter what your grind and your hustle is,” he explains. “It could be school. Your hustle could be anything, not just the streets. It’s all about getting your weight up and taking yourself to that next level. It’s all about succeeding and elevating in life. Where you’re at now in life is cool, but sooner or later you’re going to have to get your weight up.”

Stank plans to get his city’s weight up with the charged, celebratory “East Stank Louis,” a super-charged anthem for his hometown. Elsewhere, the laid-back “Fuck All Ya’ll” confronts those who would rather see you fail than succeed, while “Coogie” details the harrowing realities of life in the trap.

Stank wants his music to matter to his listeners, be something they spend time with. He’s not into making disposable party music. “I’ve got a lot of that up-tempo, club music, but what I’m trying to bring back is that stuff that you pop in your deck and that you ride to,” he says. “You want to hear somebody talking about something. You don’t just want to hear Versace this and diamond chain that. You actually want to feel where a person is coming from, that’s relevant to people’s lives.”

Just as his life changed, Stank hopes to inspire his listeners to aspire to greatness. “I’m bringing back that feeling, that music is something bigger than some chains and some cars,” he says. “I speak about that too, but a lot of my music is bigger than that. It’s life lessons learned.”

And some of the most important lessons Stank has learned come from a very important source: his father. “He never followed nobody and it never took a whole movement to make him,” Stank says. “That’s why I looked up to him and respect him. He taught me how to be an independent man and stand out on your own.”

With Welcome To East Stank Louis, Stank follows in his footsteps.