Quanstar interview with CulturalOrganizing.org

You can love or hate me, idolize or despise me greatly
you can yell my name at the top of your lungs or talk about ever so faintly
but you ain’t me
ain’t worn my shoes, walked my path
been through the times that made my cry
don’t understand what makes my laugh
lived my past.

— Quanstar, from I’m Through

This week I had a chance to interview Quanstar, an independent hip-hop artist whose new book, Water from Turnips, is a candid, raw, funny, and often touching account of his early life, and his struggle to make it as a truly independent hip-hop artist in a massive, corporate industry. Starting with his early life in Compton, and pulling no punches, readers follow him through being introduced to rap, getting in numerous tangles with women, and feeling out the industry. Today, Quanstar boasts ten albums, blogs about the hip hop industry for newer artists, and even does a cooking show with his son. In case you don’t know him already, here’s a taste off his most recent album:

You are very honest about yourself in the book, putting forward the good and the bad. What was that experience like for you?
Therapeutic. I’d say 70% of the things I put in Water From Turnips were never discussed with anyone before. So as I wrote and dug deep into why I acted a certain way, I began to understand the reasons.

You write about being young, during the heyday of Public Enemy and X-Clan, and having your eyes opened socially and politically by hip-hop music. Do you see hip hop as playing that same role for young people today?

Yes and No. I think that it’s important to understand the context and the time in which Public Enemy thrived. Back then, the great barrier in our society was still racial, and any problem that was considered a black problem was basically left alone. So things like police brutality, unemployment, dilapidated  schools, and under funded social programs were allowed to fester and grow. So hip hop became that solution to a lot of our issues.

Now, I think hip hop has a different role. While the world today isn’t, by any means, “post-racial,” thanks to hip hop we are a ways from the late 80′s and and early 90′s (mostly thanks to hip hop). The issues that face black folks today are the pretty much the same as the ones that face other races…economics. Poor people, no matter their color, are the new ‘niggas’. So hip hop’s role today mostly deals with economics. It inspires entrepreneurialism, materialism (which isn’t always a bad thing), and confidence. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of that shit is over the top, but a lot of rap always has been.

What led you to create Indie Hip Hop 101? What is the most common advice you give to hip hop artists like yourself today, if they are trying to get into the music business?

I created Indie Hip Hop 101 because I always found myself giving advice to other independent artists on the business and thought that it would be cool to share that on larger scale. The most common advice that I find giving to others like myself is to learn the business before looking into hiring a manager, and when you do find someone remember that they work for you.

Apart from the business side of things — the hustling, the gigs, the albums — how has the process of making the music itself affected or changed you over the years?

It taught me that people in Boise, ID and Charleston, WV deal with a lot of the same problems as folks in Compton and Atlanta.

What gifts has hip-hop culture given the world, and what does it still have to offer for the future?

Actually, it has allowed us to see the similarities that we all have with each other. It has also given generations a creative outlet by which they could express themselves without expensive lessons or formal training. It’s influenced an entire generation of thinkers and business people. I believe that hip hop is the building blocks of the future. The creative “something from nothing” nature has infused itself into the world culture. It’s a beautiful thing.

Do you have any final thoughts to share with this blog’s readers, who are interested in art and social change?

Believe and fight for something because you know it’s the right thing to do…not because you think it is.

"Water From Turnips" review for booksandjunk.tumblr.com

Water for Turnips (the greatest story ever written about the best rapper you’ve never heard of) is a jolting twist into a life I honestly knew nothing about. I know nothing about rap music and the lifestyle that comes with it and this story gave my insight I never knew I could have, or even knew that I was missing. The first half of the book is about him growing up in Compton. And I’ll be the first to admit I was raised in a sheltered suburban home so reading about the kind of crazy that kids as young as he was have dealt with was pretty heart wrenching. Seeing his life through the eyes of a boy growing up that way is intense. Just reading through the dozens of names of his family members got over whelming coming from a 3-person household. His story puts his difficulty with school (he was smart-just didn’t like the actual school work part) and even his borderline sex addiction on display for the world to see. It goes behind the scenes in getting a career in the music business started. There are many moments that make you cringe, some that make you laugh out loud (“I thought being married was about yelling, fighting, have kids, and buying a house” made me laugh for some bitter reasons), and other times that just amaze you. 

The story of his success had many bumps in the road and reading this book was basically watching a boy grow up into a man through many hardships and struggles. 

There’s a lot more to Quanstar than meets the eye, including 10 albums, a documentary, his own blog, and a cooking show he does with his kids. You can find out more about those amazing feats and watch some of his music videos on his website- http://quanstarmusic.com/#

Here’s a video book trailer for Water for Turnips if you would like to see more on it- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5HIUNpxiQ8&feature=youtu.be

And if you’d like your own print copy of the book, you can buy it offAmazon here- http://www.amazon.com/Water-From-Turnips-Greatest-Rapper/dp/1438962126/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344582065&sr=8-1&keywords=water+from+turnips

Definitely Destined For Greatness: Quanstar - definitelyamazing.com

Definitely Destined For Greatness: Quanstar

I was privileged to read the Amazing book from Emcee/Author Quanstar entitled "Water From Turnips"Which gives you an in-depth look into the struggles of an Independent Emcee in the world of the Underground. I was inspired by reading this book and you will too. Whomever comments on this post can receive a free copy of the book so please share and comment.

When you first came up with the idea to do this book what were some of the first obstacles you had to overcome to get it done?

Q: Myself. Songs are basically short stories, so I had to rethink the entire way that I wrote in order to do Water From Turnips. It took almost four years to feel like I got it right.

  

I know writing a book this had to bring up many memories, what were some of toughest memories you had to relive due to doing the book?

 

Q: None that I wrote about. Just kidding. There were a few moments that took me a while to write. Watching my cousin get shot was a pretty obvious one; however, the roughest was recalling being reunited with my dad my freshman year at Clark. Those feelings have never been something that I'd explored or discussed with anyone before writing about it in the book.

 Explain the title and its significance?

  

 Q: My original idea for Water From Turnips was to only write about my experiences in the music industry and how I did all of the things that I did despite the limited funds and resources. Turnips, despite their nutrients and ability to be cooked with anything, they don't get credit for much. I booked my own tours, designed my marketing plans, oversaw my projects, and built my fan base; however, I still had a 9 to 5, struggled to pay bills, and rode the bus. I was a turnip. Lol. The water part came from the fact that I thought that turnips were dry and had very little of it, which went the original premise. I was wrong about that though. A turnip is full of as much water; additionally, my story was a lot more significant than just being a struggling hip hop artist.

 Why did you decide to write that introduction about the tunnel and the dream?

Q: It was originally a chapter in the middle of the book, but I felt it went better at the beginning because it set the tone of what Water From Turnips is about. When I thought about, facing my dreams they had no clue about what I was getting into. I just felt compelled to get out of the 'rat race' and succeed; however, once the reality set in of how hard I was going to have to work to get what I wanted, I had to make the decision of whether I was going to go back to my life or get tunnel vision and chase that light.

Who was your intended audience when you began writing this project?

Q: Honestly, the more I wrote, the more I was unsure about who my audience for this book is. Actually, I'm still figuring that out now.

What do you think an underground artist can learn from reading this book?

   

Q: That life isn't always simple, it isn't always easy, but that's no excuse to give up on your dreams.

What makes Quanstar Amazing Personified?

Q: I’m no different from anyone else.

Southeast Performer 8/2008

The Southeast Performer, July issue

Do It! Documents a Hustler’s Struggle

By Charley Lee; photos by Wendy Englehardt

Atlanta indie rapper Janale Harris, better known as Quanstar, knows exactly how to get his hustle on. And if there’s anyone who knows what struggle is all about, it would be him. Quanstar began his rap career as most rappers do, freestyling in front of mirrors and writing lyrics. He soon delved into the underground rapbattling scene and in 2001 he hooked up with Evaready RAW to start First Team Music. The band dropped two mildly successful albums but couldn’t breakthrough. Since the inception of First Team, Quanstar has been on the grind developing his style and becoming a shameless self-promoter. He has released five albums, booked six national tours, and is holding down two jobs. Not to mention this has all been done amidst housing foreclosure and Quanstar’s duties as a father.

“After 10 years of progression as an artist, regression as a student and unhappily functioning in society, working places that I hate for people that I despise,” says Quanstar, “I decided to step in the game.”

The process of trying to break through and become a recognized artist has been well-documented on Quanstar’s latest project, Do It!: A Documentary. The project chronicles six months in which Quanstar and crew devote all their time and energy to promoting, touring, recording and trying by any means possible to get the word out.

“Anthony Neal [the film’s co-producer] and I worked for Starbuck’s at the time,” recalls Quanstar. “I knew he had a production company, and he knew I rhymed and toured all of the time. One day I pitched the idea to him, and we started recording the next week. We did the whole film on a $1500 budget. The funniest thing about the movie is that 60 percent of the camera work was done by me. I carried that camera everywhere for six months. I think we had over 100 hours of footage between the both us, and Anthony went through all of that himself to cut it down to the best three hours. Then I came through, and we chopped it up some more until the finished project was ready.”

Borrowing a little from old school hip-hop and politically conscious rappers such as dead prez and Common, Quanstar’s message isn’t necessarily politically motivated. Quanstar is more so on a mission to change the rap game rather than the world. Quanstar along with his friends from the Hip Hop Congress (HHC), is putting out a message to evolve hip-hop culture by inspiring social action and creativity within the community through local music events.

“When people want more, they’ll get more,” explains Quanstar. “The entertainment industry is the only 100 percent consumer controlled industry in this country. If people want these companies and stations to change, they have to speak a language that they understand: money. Buy shit that you want mainstream to reflect. Don’t listen to or watch stations that promote music that is unacceptable to your standards. Stop going to clubs that play a lot of the music you don’t like, and stop buying music from artists that send messages you don’t approve of.”

The low-budget documentary features songs from the soundtrack that it’s paired with. Jazz singer Chanel Mosley adds a little flavor to the song “Drunken Man’s Prayer,” and Lena Moon provides the beats for the track “Back in the Day.” A lot of the music on the DVD is from concert gigs and improv shows from on the road.

Do It!: A Documentary takes a pointed look at what it really takes to make it in such a fickle industry. Do It! is in no way a feel-good story. At many times, it looks as though Quanstar should just call it quits — especially when his tour is cancelled due to lack of sponsors — but it’s that drive and determination that make him an underdog worth rooting for. One gets to see the ugly side of everything in this DVD, from troubles with personal and professional finances, to the sometimes futile process of promoting and the struggle to maintain a regular life amongst the chaos. It’s a realistic view of the music industry and what it takes to keep one’s artistic integrity. The DVD which is available online at Quanstar’s MySpace and CD Baby, as well as at Criminal Records and other local music spots, features appearances and performances from Evaready RAW, Metrognome, Akil (Jurassic 5), D.R.E.S. tha Beatnik, Cypher Linguistics, Ricky Raw, Bboy Fidget, Lotus Tribe, Lady Maverick and several other up-and-coming artists. Quanstar hopes that with the release of the DVD, more avenues of opportunity will open up for him.

“We live in a multimedia society,” he says. “No one wants to buy just CDs anymore. So it’s the job of the artist and the company marketing the artist to find their new angle to fans and adapt. Do It! is just the tip of the iceberg. We’re going to film two more documentaries within the next year.”

But this is only the beginning for the 32-year-old father of one. Quanstar will also be playing The Vans Warped Tour on July 9 in Atlanta. The MC and his cohorts also have plans to go on the sixth installment of the “Bring Your ‘A’ Game Tour” in September, which will end up being part of the filming for the next documentary. Quanstar will also be coming out with a book, Water from Turnips, a graphic novel by Visual Poetry, and interestingly enough, a cooking show.

“My book will be out in October,” he says. “My cooking show will be in preproduction soon, which will be the launch of my cookbook. An investor or two with a real idea of what we do and how we do it will come along so we won’t have to do this out of our pockets.” There will also be a one-night-only screening for Do It!: A Documentary at the Midtown Arts Cinemas in Atlanta on August 7.

www.myspace.com/quanstar