Joseph T. Evans (born December 11, 1971), known professionally as Sev Statik and Stu Dent, is a hip hop musician and promoter from

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. Active as a

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

since the early 1990s, he has performed and recorded both as a solo artist and as a member of the hip hop

collectives A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

Deepspace5 Deepspace5 is an underground hip hop supergroup formed in 1997 and currently composed of Beat Rabbi, Manwell?, Freddie Bruno, Listener, Mars ILL (a stand-alone duo consisting of Manchild and DJ Dust), Playdough, Sintax.the.Terrific, Sivio ...

and

Tunnel Rats The tunnel rats were American, Australian, New Zealander, and South Vietnamese soldiers who performed underground search and destroy missions during the Vietnam War. Later, similar teams were used by the Soviet Army during the Soviet–Afghan ...

. Evans has also been a member of various Albany-area hip hop groups, including All Bully, Master Plan, Body Language, currently fronts the

rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

band Goldtooth, and is active in Pitch Control Music, a musical collective and arts movement he co-founded in order to promote and develop hip hop in the Albany area. Evans is a

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

East Greenbush, New York East Greenbush is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Rensselaer County, New York, Rensselaer County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Albany, New York, Albany. The population was 16,473 at the 2010 cen ...

. Evans has released six studio albums and multiple EPs under the Sev Statik moniker, another two under the Stu Dent moniker, and numerous recordings as a member of various music groups. In 1996, he co-founded the

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Deepspace5, and joined the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based collective Tunnel Rats in 1997. In 2001, Evans released a studio album, '' Altered State'', under the name Stu Dent. As Sev Statik, he released his debut studio album, ''

Speak Life ''Speak Life'' is the debut studio album by Albany, New York-based hip hop musician Sev Statik, released on November 9, 2002, through Uprok Records. While Sev Statik, real name Joseph Evans, had released a previous studio album, '' Altered State' ...

'', in 2002. A second Stu Dent recording, '' Nephilim: Act of God 1'', was released in 2003. Under the Sev Statik moniker, Evans has released five additional studio albums: '' Slow Burn'' (2005), ''Sliver LP'' (2007), ''

Back to Dust ''Back to Dust'' is a studio album by Albany, New York-based rapper Sev Statik and Atlanta-based producer DJ Dust, originally released on October 9, 2007, through Rawkus Records. It was the fourth studio release by Sev Statik and the second stu ...

'' with

DJ Dust DJ Dust is the DJ and producer for the underground hip-hop groups Mars ILL and Deepspace5. His real name is Nathan Corrona. DJ Dust is known for his hard hitting "boom bap" style of production, often mixing samples from obscure 1960s and 1970s ...

(2007)'', Shotgun'' (2008), and ''Sondial'' with Rawthreat (2011), as well as a collaborative album, ''Falling Tsar'' (2008), with Scribbling Idiots members JustMe, Wonder Brown, and

Theory Hazit Thearthur Readié Washington, (born November 3, 1978), better known by the stage name Theory Hazit is an American Christian hip hop artist from Cincinnati, Ohio. History Born as Thearthur Readie Washington IV in Winchester, Clark County, Kent ...

. He co-founded the

band Goldtooth in 2011.

History

Early career

Evans ventured into hip hop music during the early 1990s, after being awed by local DJ and MC performances in Albany neighborhoods. Studying the rhyme patterns of artists such as

Rakim William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim Allah or simply Rakim (), is an American rapper and record producer. One half of golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, KRS,

Just-Ice Joseph Williams Jr. (born June 22, 1965), better known by the stage name Just-Ice, is an American rapper from New York City. A former bouncer at punk clubs, Williams was the first of the New York rappers to embrace gangsta rap, and when he bur ...

, Run–D.M.C.,

Freestyle Fellowship Freestyle Fellowship is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. It consists of Aceyalone, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Self Jupiter. The group was a prominent part of the Good Life Cafe collective, and are part of the Project Blowed col ...

, and others, Evans began

freestyling Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental beats (Mystrodamus), in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure and with no prior memorization.Kevin Fitzgerald (director), '' Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme' ...

. Evans states that at this point, he did not write down any of his rhymes as he "had no idea hose artistswrote down their raps until later on. I thought it was all off the head because that's what I first saw at parties and on the street." Originally, he went by the name Seven, with Sev for short, but came up with a second part, "Statik", during a freestyle. He promoted himself through flyers, posters, and booking his own shows at venues. Evans claims that these early efforts led to him becoming the first hip hop artist to appear on the cover of ''Metroland'' in 1993. From 1993 through 1996, he was active in the hip hop group Master Plan, recording two albums with the group.

Studio debuts and work with collectives (1996–2002)

In 1996, Evans released two EPs under the Sev Statik name, and, during a

Christian hip hop Christian hip hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip hop or holy hip hop) is a subgenre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United S ...

convention in Florida, co-founded

with Listener, Sintax.the.Terrific, Manchild and Recon. The next year, the supergroup released an EP, ''The Beginning, is the Start of Everything''. Evans also joined the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

-based collective

. In 1998, he joined with JB to form Illumination, which released the EP ''Temple of Light''. In 1999 he recorded the studio album ''

'', but formed an agreement with Tunnel Rats not to release an album under the Sev Statik name until the group released its next album. Instead, he created an alternate moniker, Stu Dent, and released a different studio album, '' Altered State'', in 2001. In 2000, he teamed up with the hip hop artists Dan "Dezin8ed" Hulbert and Atypical, and later on with Sween McCann, to found Pitch Control Music, an arts movement and loose musical collective based in the Albany area to promote

hip hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntablis ...

. In a 2002 ''Metroland'' article, Evans explained that his intention for initiating the collective was "to put Albany on the map. Any kind of exposure we can get here in the 518 for anybody, it’ll bring A&Rs, it’ll bring managers, and the attention of the industry to the Albany area.” Tunnel Rats released ''

Tunnel Vision Tunnel vision is the loss of peripheral vision with retention of central vision, resulting in a constricted circular tunnel-like field of vision. Causes Tunnel vision can be caused by: Eyeglass users Eyeglass users experience tunnel vision t ...

'' in October 2001, and Evans followed up that release with a re-recorded version ''Speak Life'' in 2002, making his studio debut as Sev Statik. The album was released through UpRok and distributed by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. Evans has since expressed some reservations about the final song list of that album, but acknowledges that the album allowed him to promote himself through Tunnel Rats' exposure. Also in 2002, Evans released a compilation album, ''Severed Remaynz'', a

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

, and a studio album with the Albany group All Bully, a band consisting of, in addition to himself, Dezin8ed, Sween, JB!!, and Soundwave. Deepspace5, which by this point had expanded to include

, Playdough,

Freddie Bruno David Frederick Washington (born August 20, 1978), who goes by the stage name Freddie Bruno, is an American Christian hip hop musician and member of the hip hop collective, Deepspace5. He has released two noteworthy studio albums, ''The Ballpoin ...

, and

Sivion Gary James Watson (born May 11, 1972), who goes by the stage name Sivion, formerly Vision, is an American Christian hip hop musician and member of the hip hop supergroup collective Deepspace5. He was also a member of the duo Phat K.A.T.S., whi ...

, also released its first album, '' The Night We Called it a Day''.

Continued activities (2003–09)

In 2003, Tunnel Rats released the

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

and

sampler album A sampler or promotional compilation is a type of compilation album generally offered at a reduced price to showcase an artist or a selection of artists signed to a particular record label. The format became popular in the late 1960s as record labe ...

'' Underground Rise, Volume 1: Sunrise/Sunset'', on which Tunnel Rats collaborated with Deepspace5,

LA Symphony L.A. Symphony is an independent hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. Current members of L.A. Symphony are FLYNN (also known as Flynn Adam), UNO Mas, CookBook, Joey the Jerk (formerly Joey's Dream), Sareem Poems (fka Sharlock Poems), Pige ...

, and numerous other underground hip hop artists. This was followed up by the collective's third and final studio album, ''

'', in 2004. In 2003, Evans released his second studio album as Stu Dent, '' Nephilim: Act of God 1'', and a second ''Severed Remaynz'' compilation was released in 2004. His second studio album as Sev Statik, '' Slow Burn'', came out in 2005, and Deepspace5 released ''Unique, Just Like Everyone Else''. Also in 2005, Evans joined up with fellow Albany-area hip hop artist Rick Whispers to form Body Language and record the studio album ''All Up In Yer Grill Piece'', which was later released as a free download. In 2006, Evans released a Sev Statik studio album, ''Sliver LP'', a remix of ''Slow Burn'' entitled ''Afterburn'', and the compilation ''Severed Remaynz III''. A fourth studio album, ''

'', followed in 2007, and featured Deepspace5 member DJ Dust as producer. In 2008, Deepspace5 released two studio albums, ''Deepspacesoul'', a project put together by one of the collective's producers, Beat Rabbi, and ''Bake Sale''. As a solo artist, Evans released the studio album ''Shotgun'' and collaborated with Scribbling Idiots members JustMe, Wonder Brown, and

to release the studio album ''Falling Tsar''.

Goldtooth and current activity (2010 – present)

Evans released two albums in 2010, an EP titled ''School Shooting'' with DJ Tone and ''Back to Dust Remix,'' a compilation remixed by Theory Hazit, and Deepspace5 also released the studio album ''The Future Ain't What it Used to Be''. In 2011, he released the studio album ''Sondial'', which features production by Rawthreat. That same year, he joined the band Goldtooth. Goldtooth was formed when the drummer Dan Beck "El Mustango", of the recently dissolved band Honeycreepers, contacted Evans and discussed the idea of a collaboration with him and fellow Honeycreepers member Sean Fortune. Evans expressed in an interview that he initially was unsure of the idea, since he had not heard of the other musicians before, but found that things worked out. Matt Ferguson of Beware! the Other Head of Science also joined, rounding out the group to a quartet with Dan Beck "El Mustango" on drums, Sean Fortune on bass, Sev Statik as emcee, and Ferguson on guitar and synthesizers. Ferguson stated that "95 percent" of the band's material is covers of previous songs written by Sev Statik. Goldtooth released the song "Change the World" on August 27, 2013, for purchase off of Bandcamp. Evans released two more EPs as Sev Statik, ''Sinderblock'' in 2012 and ''Sophy'' in 2013.

Personal life

Evans is a

at the Van Rensselaer Lodge No. 87, located in

. Evans was born on December 11, 1971.

Discography

As Sev Statik

Studio

* ''

'' – 2002 * '' Slow Burn'' – 2005 * ''Sliver LP'' – 2006 * ''

'' with

– 2007 * ''Shotgun'' – 2008 * ''Falling Tsar'' with JustMe, Wonder Brown, and

– 2008 * ''Sondial'' with Rawthreat – 2011

EP

* ''Speak Life'' – 1996 * ''The Point Man'' – 1996 * ''School Shooting'' with DJ Tone – 2010 * ''Sinderblock'' with The Vinylcologist – 2012 * ''Sophy'' – 2013

Compilations

* ''Severed Remaynz'' – 2002 * ''Severed Remaynz'' ''II'' – 2004 * ''Severed Remaynz III'' – 2006 * ''Afterburn'' (

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

) – 2006 * ''Back to Dust Remix'' with Theory Hazit (remix) – 2010

As Stu Dent

* '' Altered State'' – (2001) * '' Nephilim: Act of God 1'' – (2003)

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Living people 1971 births Christian hip hop Rappers from New York (state) Rap rock musicians Music promoters Musicians from Albany, New York Tooth & Nail Records artists American Freemasons Deepspace5 members Tunnel Rats (music group) members 21st-century American rappers