Live Session with Strange Music's Stevie Stone

Based out of St. Louis by way of Columbia, Missouri, Stevie Stone first discovered a love of music through his mother, a singer and choir director who introduced the rapper to gospel, blues, and soul at an early age. As he grew up, Stone had his feet in the worlds of music and sports, pursuing a basketball career as well as playing piano and drums. Though he received an offer to play ball for a junior college in Iowa, he was asked to open at a show just weeks before he would leave for school, and it sparked a love for performance that made focusing on his rap career an easy choice. In 2007, Stone signed on with Ruthless Records, which released his debut, New Kid Coming, in 2009. Not long afterward, the MC left the label to join up with Tech N9ne's Strange Music, which was fast making a name for itself as a giant in the independent rap world. Strange Music's emphasis on touring was a perfect fit for Stone, who loved performing, and the label's knack for connecting with its fans helped him grow as a rapper.

Biography by Gregory Heaney allmusic.com