Stokley Williams

Stokley Williams (born 15 July 1967; St. Paul, Minnesota), also known simply as Stokley, is an American vocalist, studio drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and studio drummer of the prominent R&B band Mint Condition.

Early Life

Raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Williams developed his early musical foundations through a variety of childhood influences. He has declared his main childhood and professional influences as being Cliff Alexis Sr., Prince, and Maurice White. These early musical foundations shaped his development into a multi-talented instrumentalist and vocalist. His artistic roots were heavily formed by the vibrant Minneapolis–Saint Paul musical landscape, which allowed him to refine his craft before entering the commercial music industry.

Career

Williams established his professional timeline as the front-man for Mint Condition, which became celebrated for its live instrumentation and soulful recordings. In 2011, he was featured on Kelly Price's song “Not My Daddy” from her album Kelly, earning his first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance. He reached a major technical milestone in 2017 by joining the tribute tour for Prince alongside the icon's original band, The Revolution.

That same year, he launched his solo career with his debut album Introducing Stokley on Bluraffe/Concord Records, produced by himself and the Philadelphia production team Carvin & Ivan. He expanded his solo discography highlights in 2019 when Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis initiated a joint venture between Bluraffe ent and Perspective Records to release his second solo album, Sankofa. This project yielded significant single success in March 2020, when his track “She...” reached the top of the Billboard Adult R&B Chart for two consecutive weeks, driven by heavy radio play on stations such as WAMO, WDAS, and WHUR.

Current Activities

At present, Williams continues to expand his creative endeavours into musical theater and live performing arts. In 2024, he was cast as Rick James in Ja'Caryous Johnson's musical stage play, Super Freak: A Rick James Story, which was organised to tour across North America. He remains active on the live music circuit, performing at venues like the Country Club Hills Theater and the Ludlow Garage, whilst concurrently working on upcoming material.