Monarch Artist Feature: B. Stille from Nappy Roots

By Kelsey Knott Photos by Matt Johnson

“We stood on the shoulders of giants. So, now, we’re just trying to be some giants out here for people to stand on ours.” With a cowboy hat and Western style, it’s no secret that Buffalo Stille stays connected to his Kentucky roots. What might surprise you is how deeply music was woven into his story before he was even born.

Stille’s life feels cinematic in parts, or perhaps it’s his masterful storytelling. His father claims that before B could talk, he walked around bow-legged, singing Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler.” Stille’s father, Sam Scott, was no stranger to music–growing up in Lebanon near Club Cherry, he gleaned musical knowledge from greats like Ike & Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix, and Joe Tex before forming a musical group with B’s uncles known for integrating a movie theater during an intermission, their impromptu show a catalyst for desegregating Lebanon, KY, at the time.

As hip-hop slowly made its way to Kentucky in the 80s and 90s, Stille remembers being fascinated by the energy and freedom of expressing yourself and saying what you want unapologetically. What he thought was a crowd gathered for a neighborhood fight turned out to be his first time witnessing a freestyle cypher. “This dude was just going off, looking in the sky, freestyling about the crowd, about the day, about life growing up in Newburg, Louisville, Kentucky…I ran home. I went right to my room, went through my homework, grabbed the notebook that had some empty pages in it, and just started writing. I wrote my first song, and after a while, ended up taking it to the guy who was actually in that cypher. He ended up being my first producer, and he made my whole first album at 12 years old.”

From rapping morning announcements at school to achieving The Source Magazine’s “Hiphop Quotable” award (“the Super Bowl trophy for Rap’s best bar spitters”), Stille keeps storytelling at the forefront of songwriting and considers himself an actor of sorts. “Like an actor learns about who they’re playing, I might add my own little spin and think, what would I have felt?” He recognizes the value of understanding the business side as well: “We can write songs all day long, but you want to be able to profit off of your intellectual property and pass residual income on to your loved ones. You can create an amazing song that might fall on deaf ears. You can create a horrible song, and if you know the business or algorithm, it could go viral.” 

We spoke about fires being fueled by those who tried to extinguish them and wasting negative energy on those who doubted. “Louisville has greatness in the water, whether sports, musicians, actors, bourbon, horses… It’s a city of tradition. Harlow, EST Gee, Tiller, the late Static Major –these dudes can really write music. I love listening to artists who take pride in perfecting their craft.” He hopes people gain a sense of self-respect from hearing his music. “We like to say Nappy Roots move at the speed of life. We talk about real life we’ve seen growing up. We chose to say, ‘man, there’s a brighter side that we want our people who are living in it to fantasize about and get them out of that mind frame that they’re stuck in.’ When Nappy Roots is all said and done, I want the aliens to come down in the year 4050 and dig up an old record, or stream, or hologram, something with Nappy Roots, and say, ‘Bro, the world truly underestimated and slept on these guys. They should’ve been the Rolling Stones of hip-hop.’ Our fans truly believe that and pass Nappy Roots down to their children, who gain a sense of pride from our music. 

We did go platinum–less than maybe 200 rappers in history have gone certified Platinum, right? Shout out to Atlantic Records–a bittersweet topic, but they definitely exposed us to a fan base, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. There are a lot more artists like Nappy Roots out here, who speak the truth unapologetically, who want better for their communities, who aren’t pushing poisonous messages. Record labels choose not to put money behind them, and we know there’s a bigger agenda behind that.” 

While Stille’s legacy is already clear, he continues it through his daughter, Stacia Baby, as she begins her own musical career. He acknowledges the importance of taking young artists under his wing: “The first thing I do when I meet a new artist is show them all the plaques, the platinums, the golds, the soundtracks, the quotables–the Nappy Roots days and Kentucky Colonels. I show them so they can have a better visualization. As a child, I saw people who did things and showed me things. Then, I said, ‘Damn, I’m this close. They were able to do it, so I can do it. They grew up the same way, same place I did.’ I’m not flexing, but I’ll let you know that you’re so close. It’s possible. That’s all we need as young urban artists. I could see a path.” Whether jumping on a song or giving specific advice on a track that’s almost there, Stille refuses to ignore young artists with a dream, in Louisville and beyond. 

Stille likens the Monarch to another home, which tracks, since he helped paint the walls in its early stages. “It just resonates creativity.” One of his central missions is to progress the music business forward in Kentucky. “Why do we have to go to all these different places for somebody to notice us and sign us? Right now, my business partner, Jou Jou Papailler, and I are working on a reality TV show dealing with amateur artists, and we’re coming to the Monarch for our first live event: The Jou Jou and Buffalo Variety Show. We’re looking for talented artists in any genre. I’m not gonna spill all the beans but trust me–it is something advantageous if you feel like you are good at what you do ($$$). If you’re talented, we want you on the stage.” 

Reach out to joujoupresents@gmail.com to land an audition or see the show live at the Monarch on July 25th!