Kurtis Stanley

Kurtis Stanley a.k.a. Khalid Akil was born in Nashville, TN on May 28 th , 1979.



The youngest of three, he grew up in Old Hickory, TN where his mother and father always stressed the value of hard work and perseverance.



Following his graduation from Mt. Juliet High School, he attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he majored in Advertising and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor’s of Science.



With his passion for creative writing/poetry - introduced by his mother - and his love for music, it was during his time at UT that he began focusing on rapping/emceeing.



With a vision of what he wanted to do musically, Bracey Halbrook (Obtuse Music) helped him hone his craft.



After working with Obtuse Music, where he released his debut “Long Time Comin’”, he met Kent Gillum of Dirty Cabin Records.



With no concrete vision in mind for a second album, he and Kent only had one goal - have fun making music.



As he grew personally during this time period, his music began to reflect new life experiences - such as traveling and even becoming an uncle - helping him accelerate his growth even more as a lyricist.



You’ll be hard pressed to categorize him as Dirty South, Mid West, East or West Coast given his versatility, mic charisma, and intellect.



And with his second release, “Time’s Flying”, he’s just now beginning to tap into his potential.