In 2008, Stalley made his mixtape debut, titled Goin Ape, with fellow Ohio-native rapper Terry Urban. In 2009, he followed with the release of the new mixtape, titled MadStalley: The Autobiography, and a newfound reputation as a force on stage. Stalley attended the 2010 Iron Mic Competition in Beijing as the featured MC.
After Stalley signed a deal to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group (MMG) label. Stalley has worked with producers Ski Beatz on the tracks, including "Address", "S.T.A.L.L.E.Y.", "Do It Big", and "Harsh Ave". Artist, named Rashad Thomas, was featured on album Lincoln Way Nights and a recording artist, named J. Rawls would be featured on the track "Babblin".
Stalley was featured on Curren$y's Universal/Def Jam album Pilot Talk on the track "Address" (released in June 2010), as well as he featured on Ski Beatz's Universal/Def Jam projects– including 24 Hour Karate School and 24 Hour Karate School, Pt. 2. In February 2011, Stalley completed a sports-themed music project, commissioned by ESPN, for future use in television and online programming. Stalley's Lincoln Way Nights (released in February 2011) has received 130K+ downloads and reigned at number 2 for Bandcamp hip hop releases. Lincoln Way Nights (released in November 2011) debuted at number 18 on the iTunes hip hop charts and has sold 4K+ copies.
Stalley also was featured on the Maybach Music Group albums, including Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, along with Rick Ross's mixtape Rich Forever. He also appeared on Ross' fifth studio album God Forgives, I Don't.
His most recent mixtape Savage Journey To The American Dream (released in March 2012), which reached 100K downloads in the first week, and was featured as the Stereogum Mixtape of the Week and the Spin Rap Release of the Week (7 out of 10). It was graded an XL by XXL, and HipHopDX awarded it 3.5 out of 5. The mixtape almost entirely produced by Huntsville, AL underground veterans Block Beattaz. Stalley's debut retail single "Swangin" featuring Scarface, from his Honest Cowboy, released on March 26, 2013 reuses a beat from G-Side's namesake track "Swangin" off their 2008 album "Starshipz & Rocketz", also produced by Block Beattaz. The music video was released on July 9, 2013 and featured a cameo from Paul Wall. On August 8, 2013, following of his mixtape's release, it was met with generally positive reviews from critics such as PopMatters. After it was revealed, it received a nomination at the 2013's BET Hip Hop Awards for the "Best Mixtape Category". After receiving a great response from his label, he released Honest Cowboy: EP to iTunes on September 17, 2013, which is on the same day as the release of the label's third compilation album Self Made Vol. 3.
On August 22, 2014, Stalley announced his debut album, Ohio, and four days later, he announced October 27 as the release date.
On August 21, 2015, almost one year since announcing his debut album, Stalley released a seven track mixtape, titled The Laughing Introvert. On January 25, 2016, Stalley released his 7th mixtape titled Saving Yusuf.
In 2017, Stalley released his second and third albums through Real Talk Entertainment, New Wave[/ablum] and Another Level. In an August 4 interview with Respect. magazine, he confirmed he was now independent.
Lincoln Way Nights
Stalley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Picking 50's of the floor, trying to collect the sevens
Cause it′s the streets that I eat from
Doc and Donny and them is who I learn from
So each one teach one that's the cigarillos burn from
The seats of my 68 camaro with the skiny front
Ride with me through my city once
And be inspired how we give it up
Hustler spirit sound anything you give to us, trust
We ain′t come from much, so it's in us to double up,
2 pairs and new heads when we rush
For the love of mink coats and rings with the sharpest cuts
Militant minds all the time though
Trying to balance that thin line of freedom and dough
Keep a clean song let the dice roll with the good times
Cause if you gonna gamble might as well on this life
So shake ′em up, shake 'em up with me
Grab your red cups fill ′em up with me
And come through this south east side and get this milk money
See I make my money with the dice, shake 'em up, double up, triple up, twice
I made enough
Round here, that′s what we call life
Live it up, drink sip it up, get a cup, fill it up
Move my way down the block, so player make a hater want job
See rhyme saves get the paper you can shop
Bags fill 'em up, credit card bill 'em up
A roll of weed loose communicate with every few
After what′s the use overlooking the project view
Penthouse dreams, large tips for my bellman
Reality is fiends [?] drops in my shelter
You decide what stay alive that be crucified
40 dollar for my crucifix jeweler do or die
Real niggers wanna shout, live it up
Dice game here, crack a six, triple up
Any question and I′m with it, time to go and get it
Looking at the Rolle, mother proud made a visit
It's a cold world, mama made me frigid
Niggers getting′ money, I'm living interest
My team running screen, Derek Rose at the point
[?] blow never know, time to blow the joint
See I make my money with the dice, shake ′em up, double up, triple up, twice
I made enough
Round here, that's what we call life
Live it up, drink sip it up, get a cup, fill it up
Move my way down the block, so player make a hater want job
See rhyme saves get the paper you can shop
Bags fill ′em up, credit card bill it up
I perfected the come up, hustle harder than most
Stack papers til it wrinkled and mold
They said you ain't getting it until them dollars don't fall
So I ain′t ever relax, head crack after head crack
My approach is leave with it all, go spend that and bend back and do it again
Such a rush when it′s all or nothing, dice flicking in your hand,
Everything is hittin' got you feeling you the man
Such an awesome zone to be in
I recline when the pressure′s on the [?] more for the starters, I took the first stone
My cost home had me nurturing my first poem, then I decided throwing everything I worked for
Cause I was racing but it all felt dirt slow
Miles away from millionaires felt closer with each throw
If you're not willing to put it all in, then what you came fo′
Scared money don't make money, a broke mouth can′t speak for me
Talk is cheap, I've been all in, let's get money
Talk is cheap, I′ve been all in, let′s get money
A broke mouth can't speak for me
See I make my money with the dice, shake ′em up, double up, triple up, twice
I made enough
Round here, that's what we call life
Live it up, drink sip it up, get a cup, fill it up
Move my way down the block, so player make a hater want job
See rhyme saves get the paper you can shop
Bags fill ′em up, Credit card bill it up
The lyrics to Stalley's song “Lincoln Way Nights” depicts the hustle and grind of living in the streets of Ohio. Stalley talks about his struggle to make a living, which involves rolling dice and doubling up to get ahead in life. He reminisces about the times when he had to scrape the pavement to make some money and how he learned everything he knows from the streets. He also touches on some of the harsher realities of living in poverty, such as drug addiction and the constant struggle to balance freedom and finances. Despite all of this, Stalley chooses to focus on the good times and encourages his listeners to enjoy life by shaking the dice and living in the moment.
Throughout the lyrics there is a recurring theme of gambling and taking risks, using the dice as a metaphor for the game of life. Stalley speaks about rolling the dice and doubling up, both in terms of making money and taking risks. He encourages listeners to take chances, to live in the moment, and to follow their dreams, even if it means risking everything. The lyrics also contain references to other street activities such as drug addiction, penthouse dreams, large tips for bellmen, and the constant battle between wealth and poverty. These lyrics provide a vivid picture of the ups and downs of living in poverty, and the mentality of those who are struggling to survive.
Line by Line Meaning
Ohio, I've been scraped the pavement throughout natural sevens
I have been hustling hard to make money in Ohio.
Picking 50's of the floor, trying to collect the sevens
I am picking up $50 bills, trying to collect as much money as possible.
Cause it's the streets that I eat from
I make my living from the streets.
Doc and Donny and them is who I learn from
I learned my hustle game from Doc, Donny, and others.
So each one teach one that's the cigarillos burn from
We all learn from each other and that's how we get to the top.
The seats of my 68 camaro with the skiny front
I drive around in my 68 Camaro with skinny front wheels.
Ride with me through my city once
Take a ride with me through my city to see how we hustle.
And be inspired how we give it up
You will be inspired by how hard we hustle.
Fast talkin' pimp walkin' how we live it up
We live the fast life and enjoy every minute of it.
Hustler spirit sound anything you give to us, trust
We have a hustler spirit and we can make money in any situation.
We ain't come from much, so it's in us to double up
We did not start with much, so we have to work extra hard to double our money.
2 pairs and new heads when we rush
We buy new sneakers and hats when we get our money.
For the love of mink coats and rings with the sharpest cuts
We love to buy fancy clothes and jewelry.
Militant minds all the time though
We always have a militant mindset.
Trying to balance that thin line of freedom and dough
We try to balance between freedom and making money.
Keep a clean song let the dice roll with the good times
We try to stay out of trouble and enjoy the good times by gambling.
Cause if you gonna gamble might as well on this life
If we are going to take risks, we might as well do it in our lives.
So shake 'em up, shake 'em up with me
Let's gamble together and take risks.
Grab your red cups fill 'em up with me
Let's drink together and have fun.
And come through this south east side and get this milk money
Come to the South East side and make some money with me.
I perfected the come up, hustle harder than most
I have perfected the art of hustling and work harder than most people.
Stack papers til it wrinkled and mold
I keep stacking money until it's wrinkled and old.
So I ain't ever relax, head crack after head crack
I never relax and keep cracking heads to make money.
My approach is leave with it all, go spend that and bend back and do it again
My approach is to make as much money as possible, spend it all, then start over again.
Such a rush when it's all or nothing, dice flicking in your hand
It's exciting when you take risks and gamble everything you have on the roll of a dice.
Everything is hittin' got you feeling you the man
When everything goes your way, you feel like a success.
Such an awesome zone to be in
It's amazing to be in this situation.
My cost home had me nurturing my first poem, then I decided throwing everything I worked for
My home was expensive, so I had to work harder and harder to afford my lifestyle.
Cause I was racing but it all felt dirt slow
Even though I was moving quickly, it all felt very slow.
Miles away from millionaires felt closer with each throw
I felt like I was getting closer to being a millionaire with every roll of the dice.
If you're not willing to put it all in, then what you came fo'
If you're not willing to take risks and put everything on the line, why bother hustling?
Scared money don't make money, a broke mouth can't speak for me
If you're afraid to take risks, you won't make money. I don't listen to people who don't have any money.
Talk is cheap, I've been all in, let's get money
Don't just talk about making money. I have been taking risks and now it's time to make some real money.
A broke mouth can't speak for me
I don't listen to people who don't have any money. They can't speak for me.
See I make my money with the dice, shake 'em up, double up, triple up, twice
I make my money by gambling and taking risks, doubling and tripling my money.
I made enough
I have made enough money.
Round here, that's what we call life
This is how we live our lives around here.
Live it up, drink sip it up, get a cup, fill it up
We live the high life, drinking and having fun.
Move my way down the block, so player make a hater want job
I strut down the block, making my haters want to work for me.
See rhyme saves get the paper you can shop
By making good music, I can make money and shop.
Bags fill 'em up, credit card bill it up
I fill up shopping bags and pay for everything with my credit card.
Writer(s): Kyle Alfonso Myricks, Rashad Michael Thomas
Contributed by Aria W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@artkid9279
I haven't heard this song in a min. And it popped into my head out of nowhere. Got flat-out goosebumps listening to this again.
@bongumenzisibandze
I know the feeling
@El-CliqueTV
This is nostalgic AF. This track got me through my late teens early 20s.
@Bigstf93
Facts
@dionvlogs5769
Forever one of the greatest classics. Still motivated by this in 2022 now more than ever! Hope y'all get blessed up an live the good life Amen!
@zulub.r.u.h7846
Stalley is timeless. True classic
@cashoutsteve2495
Great lyrics, soothing beat. Stalley is way too slept on. Hip hop for life!
@jamiashoffler5426
One of my fav. Rappers
@reaganibeh9443
It's a very wicked thing how slept on Stalley is[Seriously!!!]
@IDONTLIKETHATSHIT
Classic ladies and gentlemen! This is a slept on classic!