A star-studded group chat crammed with NBA ballers and rappers offered the genesis for a cross-industry collaboration between Stalley and Kevin Durant.
The Phoenix Suns All-Star briefly traded in his buttery bounce shot for a microphone as he groups up with the Blue Collar Gang rapper for the thumping “Scared Cash,” which hit streaming companies on Friday (Feb. 16).
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“Someday we was speaking and he was like, ‘Yo bro, ship me a report to hop on,’” Stalley recollects being shocked to listen to Durant was hungry to place his rhyming chops to the take a look at late final summer time.
The Ohio-bred rapper listened to some unreleased Durant songs by means of a mutual good friend to get acclimated with the EasyMoneySniper’s circulate. Then it clicked in Stalley’s head to ship over what grew to become the beat for “Scared Cash,” crammed with bristling drums growling behind starry manufacturing.
“I had that sitting not for lengthy [because] I used to be engaged on my album,” Stalley says. “I had simply put the hook and verse on it and there was an open verse. I’m like, ‘I’ma ship it to him and see what he thinks.’”
A lot to the shock of Stalley, KD’s turnaround time was faster than his launch behind the three-point line. “He despatched it proper again,” Stall provides. “[Durant] despatched it again quicker than some rappers.”
Durant’s introspective bars discover him evaluating himself to the enigmatic NFL icon Randy Moss and paying tribute to his grandma, who handed away in Feb. 2022. He waxes poetic about his standing among the many NBA’s legends, whereas nonetheless displaying his starvation for extra: “On this hoop world I’m Freddie, Jason/ I’m sitting within the locations of greats however by no means complacent.”
The previous NBA MVP isn’t precisely international to the rap world, as he’s had verses floating round courting again to the 2011 NBA lockout.
Drake additionally tapped KD to function an government producer on his For All of the Canines mission, in addition to its Scary Hours reissue version. Lil Wayne lately known as Durant a “jewel” and a “backpack” rapper, whereas revealing they’ve a collaboration that the New Orleans legend is considering placing on Tha Carter VI.
As for Stalley, the 41-year-old was extraordinarily impressed with Kevin Durant’s lyrical skills and thinks listeners might be “actually shocked” in a great way after urgent play.
“You possibly can inform he’s hung out discovering his voice and comfortability whereas creating,” Stalley salutes Durant. “I didn’t need it to really feel like we simply jumped on a beat and began rapping. I wished it to really feel like an entire report. I wished us to enhance one another. It wasn’t about making an attempt to out-rap someone.”
Don’t count on this to be the final time Stalley and KD be a part of forces on wax, as the previous MMG rapper predicts they’ll have extra data down the road — and even teases the potential of a joint mission.
“We been speaking and probably been taking pictures some concepts about perhaps doing a collab mission,” Stalley admits. “Discovering a dope producer to supply perhaps an EP with us. We positively been having these conversations. We positively may have extra data that may drop.”
“Scared Cash” serves as a single to supply momentum for Stalley to journey into his subsequent album, titled Peerless, which is able to arrive in some unspecified time in the future in mid-to-late March by way of his impartial label.
Stalley hopes individuals seeing him work with Durant “evokes extra athletes to make music.” “I’m hoping this provides them the boldness and pleasure to step into the music,” the rapper states. “I’m all for individuals doing every thing and expressing themselves.”
He circles again to credit score the “brotherhood” shaped in his group chat for finally resulting in the collaboration with the two-time NBA Finals MVP. “With out us, perhaps, talking on daily basis, this may have by no means occurred,” Stalley admits.
Watch the “Scared Cash” video and stream the one under.
