Stanley Robinson, known as Substantial, is a hip hop recording artist from Prince George's County, Maryland. He now operates out of Virginia. His videos have appeared on MTV, BET and VH1, while his music has made it to the second round of Grammy voting in three categories. The renowned car company Bentley reached out to have Substantial’s supergroup, FANOMM to create a song for them and perform in China at their car show.
Personal life
Stanley Robinson was born in Cheverly, Maryland on January 7, 1979. Growing up the first concert he attended was Run DMC featuring Naughty By Nature, and Lords of the Underground. Substantial has stated that some of his main influences are Native Tongues, Outkast, and Redman. In May 2011 Substantial underwent a preventative surgery to remove a potentially cancerous growth from his large and small intestines. Discussing the surgery Substantial said, “The purpose of the procedure I had on May 10th was to remove the section of my large and small intestines, where the growth was located. As I mentioned before, I don’t have cancer but I have decided to do the surgery as a preventive measure.”
Career
According to Raptology, Substantial has performed in nearly 20 countries and has collaborated with artists such as Kool Herc, Verbal, Oddisee, Jeff Bernat and more. Substantial has licensed music to major brands such as Ford Motor Company, Amazon and UBER and also had his music featured in films and television shows such as Kevin Hart’s Laugh at My Pain, Kill Me 3 Times starring Simon Pegg, Daytime Emmy nominated show Tough Love and its spin off series Pillow Talk. Substantial has appeared in the documentaries,. In 2019, Substantial wrote and produced music featured in the video gameRenaine, to be released on the Nintendo Switch and the South Korean online game Tree of Savior. Substantial gained prominence after collaborating with Japanese Hip-Hop producer, Nujabes and signing to his record labelHyde Out Productions. Substantial's 2001 debut album, To This Union A Sun Was Born was a result of this collaboration. The album was a top-10 hit in Japan, and he continued to work with Seba until the producer's death in 2010. January 2008 he released his 2nd studio albumSacrifice, which was the #1 in sales on website undergroundhiphop.com. In February 2008 Substantial was a featured artist on both iTunes and Myspace. Substantial was featured in the Rap/R&B monthly Black Beat Magazine in March 2008 in a full-page feature. Later in 2008 Substantial's video for his single "It's You " received the "Winning Freshman Video" award from MTV. The video was posted on the MTV website, as was the following interview with Substantial. In April 2013, while recovering from cancer, Substantial produced and released the album titled Jackin' Jill as a tribute to singer Jill Scott. It is composed of 17 tracks built by from various Jill Scott songs. Being a free download, the collection of reworks and remixes of her work was blended by DJ Jav, while the artwork drawn by Substantial himself. Although Substantial was originally with Hydeout Productions, he now records as a member of the company QN5 Music. He is also a close affiliate of Mello Music Group, by way of his working relation with music producer Oddisee.
Discography
Studio albums
To This Union A Sun Was Born
Substantial Evidence
Sacrifice
Home Is Where the Art Is
The Past Is Always Present in the Future
The Garden
Collaboration albums
Happy F*ck You Songs
Substantial/Burns
The Past...
Always
Compilations
Sacrificial Lambs
Substantial vs Samurai Champloo: Beats, Rhymes & Strife