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.

The World According To Music - Ghani Gautama - theworldaccordingtomusic.weebly.com

You may not have heard of him yet, but you probably will soon.  Ghani Guatama is not the typical hip hop artist nor the typical thinker. Get him started talking about the music industry and you are bound to learn a lot from him. Ghani Guatama is full of opinions, information, and insight; and before we picked his brain fully of musical politics, the World According to Music wanted to hear a little bit more about him as an artist.   


   Where did the name Ghani Guatama come from?

The origin of my Ghani Gautama moniker is actually rather unspectacular.  I really just chose it because it sounds cool.  Ghani was my tag name during my short career as a graffiti artist.  I came up with it one day when I was smoking a bunch of Afghani and liked the way the letters looked.  I added Gautama to that and started using it as my stage name.  I wanted to have a name that could have been an actual given name instead of “MC so and so” or “Lil' so and so.”  I felt like my government name, Ian James Currie, didn't sound very rapper-ish so I went with Ghani Gautama.  I felt like it created a sense of exotic origins while also paying subliminal homage to my Irish roots.  Ghani is a West African surname and during the dark ages Ireland was the only northern European country that maintained trade relations with west Africa. There's a book called “How the Irish Saved Western Civilization” or something of that nature, that's where I found out about that.  Gautama is an Indian surname, it is attributed to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama.   Buddhist monks were some of the most well-traveled of antiquity.  It is believed by some anthropologists that they made it as far as Ireland where their teaching gave birth to the religion of the druids.   Plus I think it sounds cool.

      How long have you been doing music? What got you into it?

In a lot of ways I feel like I've been doing it my whole life, but my formal entry into it was in the late 90's.  I took guitar lessons when I was younger and I've always liked to sing and write lyrics.  Eventually I joined band with the intention of being a rhythm guitar player and singer.  As it turns out the other members of the band were much better than me at both things.  I knew my stock was slipping so I needed to find a way to make myself valuable to the band.  One day at practice everyone was jamming and I started rapping.  Everybody in the band said “you should do that.”  I've never looked back since.  I couldn't really pinpoint any one thing that got me into it but I feel like I am the musical sum of my parents.  My mom is an excellent singer, she has the natural gift for it but she's pretty conservative in her taste.  She sang in choirs and stuff.  My dad was more rock 'n' roll, he had more rebellious musical taste and was passionate and charismatic about it but had not a lick of natural ability.  I think I inherited the best of both.

             How would you describe your music?

I try not to honestly, I prefer to let it speak for itself but for the sake of conversation I consider myself a songwriter first.  I don't necessarily dazzle with verbal dexterity, I'm not really interested in writing a “hot sixteen.”  I strive to write complete songs and just happen to use hip hop as my medium (probably because I can't sing or play an instrument.

                What are you working on right now?

I am currently in the process of recording a project called “Strong Medicine” it's the first of three 5-song E.P.s that I'll be releasing this year through my deal with First Team Music/Halogen Records.  It's a bit of a departure for me because it will be the first time I've recorded an album using beats from producers besides my long time creative partner Metrognome.  He's got one song on it but each of the 5 tracks are from a different producer.

               What are your artistic goals?

To be like B.B. King.  The man played 200+ shows a year well into his 80's.  I'd also like to play a show on every continent (except maybe Antarctica) and learn how to say “thank you” in 50 languages.

              Who/what are your influences?

I'm a sponge when it comes to rap so I've easily stolen a trick or two from pretty much any rapper that I've ever heard as far as style and delivery goes.  Lyrics wise I borrow heavily from Issac Brock and Ian McKaye.  I'm also huge into outlaw country, I've been listening to a lot of Waylon Jennings recently.  Plus I read a lot, non-fiction mostly and I'm a big fan of the speculative fiction of Harlan Ellison.

             What are some of your favorite tracks of yours?

The song I'm most proud of is a cut off of “Few Against Many,” my last album, called “Maybe” it was an idea about 8 years in the making.  I remember being in the room while Metrognome was making the beat for it and it ended up becoming a perfect storm of a song.  It is always a hit at shows and is a lot of my friends' favorite track.  I'm also really proud of a song from that album called “Another Day At The Office” it was the first track I ever did with guest verses and I feel like that brought the best out of me.  The title track to my 1st solo album “Give 'Em Enough Hope” is another highlight.  Another instance of an idea years in the making that turned out so well.

                What do you want your fans to know about you?
I'm a man of the people.  I have somewhat extreme viewpoints about the world and make rather intense music but at the end of the day I'm just a person like everyone else.  I think that sometimes hip hop music can put too much emphasis on people's differences.  I like to focus on our similarities.  Every day that I wake up and get to make music is a victory to me and I am extremely thankful for all of the people that have made that possible.  I'd also like people to know that if I can make my dream work so can they, and probably better.

              Who are some of your biggest supporters?

I'm fortunate to have incredibly supportive family and friends.  My label mates Quanstar, Evaready RAW, and Metrognome have been invaluable in getting to where I am.  Besides that everyone who's ever supported me is my biggest supporter, I value each and every person who's ever watched me play a set or listened to a song of mine.  I look at music as a lifestyle choice and a life-long commitment so every person that shows support makes it what it is.

              How can your fans access your music?

All my stuff is available through all major digital outlets.  I'm also active on social networks so just Google “Ghani Gautama” and you'll find me.  And don't hesitate to leave comments and send messages, I always answer them and this might sound sad but I live for fan feedback.

              What has been your biggest challenge as an upcoming artist?

Today's industry is basically a struggle for legitimacy.  Technology has made it possible for anyone to create and market music.  This has evened the playing field to a large degree but it has also created a vast amount of over-choice.  My biggest challenge has been getting that third party recognition and credibility.  Things like press coverage are important to growing a career.  With virtually billions of artists out there fighting for the same limited media space.  An artist like me who is entirely independent often gets overlooked in favor of artists with buckets of money to throw at the situation.

             What is your music making process?

I don't really have a set method.  I'm pretty much always making music, even when I'm cooking dinner or at the gym I'm always tossing around ideas in my head.  Sometimes if I have a deadline or something I'll just lock myself in my room put a beat on repeat and won't come out until I have a song.  Editing is very important, I never bring notebooks into the vocal booth so everything I record has been dedicated to memory.  The process of memorizing the song is the best editing method.  By the time I've recited something a couple hundred times I've usually trimmed out the fat and optimized the execution of the verse.  I also like to perform my songs live a lot before I record them.  That helps me work out all of the kinks.  When you’re live on stage, there's an audience, the music is loud, there's no second takes or punch-ins.  Once a song is down cold for a live show it is a piece of cake to knock out in the studio where conditions are optimal.

              Do you have a main theme to your music?

I know it sounds trite but my life is pretty much the theme of my music.  I try to present it in a way that is universally understandable.  Instead of focusing on specific details I emphasize the underlying sentiments.  For instance, if I write a song about a lame ass job that I hate, I don't focus my writing on specific details like what kind of tasks I'm doing or the eccentricities of customers and co-workers.  Instead I focus on the feelings of being undervalued of misunderstood or stuck in a situation because of responsibilities.  Those are things that any working person could understand from the janitor to the hedge fund manager.  It ties into the whole idea of finding commonalities between people as opposed to finding differences.

*Check the Upcoming Shows tab to see when you can see Ghani Guatama next.

Quanstar: Momentum: as reviewed by Pedro 'DJ Complejo' Hernandez

Quanstar is the true definition of a hustler. By that I don't mean that his music brags about how much he hustles, how he always hustles, or even mentions the word "hustle." Instead, Quanstar's work ethic says everything that needs to be said about his work ethic. His name may be unfamiliar to the masses, but that has not kept the man from releasing multiple albums and EPs, music videos, and touring consistently to promote his music. His music doesn't reflect the desperate delusions of a man trying to rap for a big hit or ringtone sales, but instead conveys his love for hip-hop and his determination to make quality music. "Momentum" is the latest EP from Quanstar and delivers another small, but potent, dose of dope hip-hop. The EP's name doesn't convey much about the music contained, but reflects the fact that Quanstar wanted to release this music ASAP rather than wait to compile an album's worth of material. While the EP lacks a cohesive purpose, the individual songs overcome any thematic shortcomings. "I'm Through" is a short barrage of punch lines and positive advice that serves as an appropriate intro. "Higher Standards" is a clever proclamation of Quanstar's abilities as an emcee as he declares "higher standards, giving these niggas nosebleeds" on the hook. "On My Brain" is a reflective track where Quanstar details some of the struggles he has faced as an artist. "She Did Me Wrong" features one of the EP's dopest beats with a warm, soulful sample looped over soft piano keys. The instrumental serves as the perfect backdrop for Quanstar to reflect on young love and the problems that can come with it. "Christmas List" is the EP's strongest track as Quanstar finds a strong way to convey his sorrow: "A couple months ago Dale died in Iraq Two weeks before he was supposed to come back Married about a year, newlywed to the widow Still can't believe it so she staring out the window Never got a chance to see his daughter The only thing she'll know is a picture of her father Never learned a lesson he'd have taught her Shaking and trembling, barely even hold a glass of water Eyes swollen up, blood red, bone dry First couple of weeks only thing she did was cry Mother came down to help with the baby Only time she cool is when you rocking little Katie Thought it was right so he took another tour Pissed because she shouldn't have let him out the door Does it even ever get better than this? Wrote "bring him back" on your Christmas list And please cruel world don't look at me I'm a shell of the person that I used to be Because God don't love me, that much clear And wonder why Santa won't come around here It's "happiness" on my Christmas list And I still didn't get that wish" Presenting sorrow, sadness, and disappointment in adulthood through the concept of unfulfilled Christmas wishes is very unique and clever. The EP ends on a strong note with "I Need You," an up tempo track about perceptions with an eerie, robotic beat. Overall, "Momentum" is a dope EP from a passionate artist. That said, the last three tracks are definitely stronger than the first three. One minor gripe with the project is just the vocal quality of Quanstar's vocals on most tracks. They don't sound unprofessional at all, but do lack something in terms of mastering that make them sound at odds with the beats on some songs. Oddly enough, the distortion effect used on "I Need You" is just right to mesh his vocals with that particular song. Despite that small issue, Quanstar's passion and lyrics shine through on this EP and he gives us plenty of dopeness to hold you over for his next project. Knowing his work ethic and passion, that next project should be right around the corner. Music Vibes: 6.5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 6.5 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 6.5 of 10 Originally posted: October 4th, 2011 source: www.RapReviews.com

Quanstar: The Underdog: as reviewd by Steve "Flash" Juon

"The only way to get it is to go out and earn it
There's no turnin back cause the bridges are burnin
I used to want a manager but figured they useless
I fucked with a label but don't like how they do shit
The videos on cable fuckin cost too much
And mainstream radio is whack as fuck
Now cats back trackin that path, we up
See the folks that ignored me now ask whassup
Now they couldn't try to sign a nigga fast enough
At the start, same cats that laughed at us"

Vowing that he's "the greatest fucking emcee to never be signed," Quanstar is back with his fourth volume of unsigned music. Regrettably I missed the first three and only recently got introduced to his music, but the self-titled single off his new "Underdog" album drifted into my inbox and impressed me enough to get a spin on my weekly podcast. It's amazing how many talented rappers are putting their albums straight out to the public, for free or for a small donation fee, and just bypassing the conventional "get a deal, record an album and get it into stores nationwide" model altogether - but I digress. Suffice it to say Quan's rap on the above intro and on that single suggest a polished rapper that 10-15 years ago would have been hungrily snapped up by an indie imprint until bid on by a major label. Q found an ideal analogy for his career in the NFL:

"I'm the underdog y'all, Kurt Warner of rap
Payroll ain't even close to the salary cap!
Maybe I'm wantin too much, you shouldn't bother me
Do it my way, still make a million dollars
While most cats that are noted for playin this label game
After everybody's cut, our bank accounts look the same
So niggaz get fame, and people call they name in the mall
That's just more folks to know how you fall
See if I'MA go down I'ma GO givin my all
Rockin a couple hundred people yellin YES YES Y'ALL"

The rapper who represents A-T-L is very humble and prone to crack self-effacing jokes about his music at all times, noting on "Mr. Blue Collar" that he'll be standing in the bread line if you're not buying his rhymes. The funny thing is that he doesn't really need to be humble when you look at his bio: he's been putting out music since 2003, has toured with Black Sheep, been featured on the Vans Warped Tour and even written for TV. Perhaps he could be accused of exaggeration when he describes himself as "the hardest working man in hip-hop to never be signed," but if the resume is everything it seems to be he's definitely not a lazy cat. In fact Quan is hustling so hard that he linked up with Akil the MC (formerly of Jurassic 5) to do music, and one of those songs wound up on this album: "Heart it All Before."

Akil: "Somebody told me hell with this rap shit, nigga let the mac spit
Chop it up and package it, flip it like a mattress
You'll never make a platinum hit, won't make a classic
You ain't Jeezy, you need to quit and sell cannabis
Bang the hood, really you ain't that good
If you was, then why ain't you signed with Suge?
You seem them other niggaz quit, they wasn't feelin yo' shit
Broke and went solo now who you fuckin with?
Those you thought was true or really close to you
I seen interviews and they ain't even mention you dude
The homies wouldn't do you like that
Even though we might scrap and pull straps, niggaz still got'cha back"

Quan: "Get my kids put my hands on they ears
Trained them they're not to listen to the shit that they hear
Because if you really want it, you can get it if you wish
Just step to the plate and swing at the pitch
And even if you miss man swing again
One day you gonna hit it and begin to win
Somebody told me yo Quan, how dare you
Give kids hopes of something that's there too
I told 'em that it's simple man, I gotta give 'em good
Let 'em know that they more than the Boyz N the Hood
Not that bein a boy in the hood is bad
But when a boy's still trapped in the hood it's sad
And rather than be in the projects cookin coke like a chemist
Get a job with Coke, work in the project as a chemist"

I know you're skeptical about yet another new rapper claiming to be great but unsigned because there's anywhere from tens of thousands to millions who all think they're the shit, don't have a deal and giving away their free album or mixtape online. If that's a given, then consider how much BETTER Quanstar has to be than most of them to have actually broken through the pack. Even his guest stars stand out amongst most albums you'll download this year - Ghani Gautama makes a funny cameo on "Caffeine Hustlaz" as both men rap about pushing latte to make their pay. "Bank" featuring Juicy the Emissary has a loping clip clop beat backdrop that sets up JTE perfectly, as he sounds like a country rap version of Eminem. "It's funny right? But I'm hardly laughing." No offense Juicy, you're nice. Nato Caliph also rocks on "Revolution."

As noted earlier though, Quan believes in the swing, miss and swing again philosophy. While "Summertime" in Atlanta is undoubtedly as nice as described in rhymes, it's not impressive musically and suffers by comparison to the first hip-hop classic to rock that title. "American Dreams" is another song that needed more bump in the lab. "Relax" plays off a classic track by Tribe but it's over too early at only 1:52. I mean no disrespect to his seeds either but I don't need two skits mixed into the album of him goofing around or play-rapping along to old Vanilla Ice hits with daddy. It's worthwhile to cut Quan some slack for the tracks that don't work though, because the ones that do work more than make up for it. He's working hard to impress you, and giving you the chance to preview his album for free and then name your own price to download it. Based on what I'm hearing anything between $7-$15 would be fair, especially given it's arguably twice as good as some rappers who ARE signed and totally suck. Quan's got bill paying skills. His time in the bread line will be short.

Music Vibes: 6.5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 7.5 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 7 of 10

See the review here

"The Underdog" review on Okayplayer.com

Quanstar informs us, right off the bat, that he’s no label’s puppet; he has no heavy investors; no managerial team, yet he has managed to tour the country. On his fourth installment The Underdog, from First Team Music, his flow and timing show us how that feat was possible.

A thoughtful lyricist, Quanstar raps philosophically, topically and all in between. His guest stars were well chosen and complemented his style. Akil, of J5 fame, killed it as usual, on “Heard It All Before,” Ghani Gautama on “Caffeine Hustlaz,” and Rock Most on “Blame,” both did fine jobs, even if the songs they guested on were a bit suspect in their theme (Caffeine Hustlaz is about working at a coffee chain) and Nato Caliph was a welcome addition on “Revolution?”

And while the words were strong and tasteful, the beats left me wanting for something aggressive or catchy enough to match Quanstar’s lyrical prowess. They weren’t bad, just a bit understated and, in the worst cases, bland. It’s a good thing the overall feel more than made up for what it lacked in nerve.

Sandwiched between two very short tracks of baby performances is a song called “Raising The Bar,” which must have been consciously named, as it’s the best song on the album. “Mr. Blue Collar” is another good track along with the creeping “Cleansing” and the previously mentioned “Revolution?”

Quanstar sounds like a man who knows his talents and knows that he’s worked hard to get where he is. He plays the underdog part well, maybe too well. And now that we know what he’s capable of, he’s going to have to adapt: Once people expect great things out of you, you’re no longer the underdog.

-Paul Fisher

http://www.okayplayer.com/reviews/new-reviews-2010/quanstar-2010072711297/

Interview with Landon Hill for Straight Outta Hip Hop.com

Following is the interview with the very talented artist Quanstar. It was a pleasure talking to him because it is clear that he knows his hip hop history and that he grew up in the culture. Not only that, but he represents for the "common man," which is rare in these days. His new album, The Underdog will be out in two days (July 27th), so make sure you check out the songs ("Caffeine Hustlaz" and "Summertime") placed directly after the interview, go to the website for the album, and enjoy the interview!

First, I want to thank you for taking the time to hold this interview. Before we really jump into things, why don’t you give a brief introduction as to who you are so that people can become more familiar with you?

Well, I’m Quanstar. I’m an emcee first and foremost. I came in the game around 2001. I’m originally from LA, from Compton, CA. I relocated from Compton to Atlanta to go to school at Clark. I was doing hip hop tours from 2001 to 2004 and dropped my first solo album the following year. Since then I’ve just been trying to tour twice a year, building a fan base. The Underdog is thefourth solo project and I’ve been doing all of this independent. I’ve never had a manager, never been signed, been my own PR person, for the most part I’ve been my head booking agent. I just wanted to do everything the right way and not deal with the B.S. most people have to put up with doing a major deal early in their career.



And what is the significance of your name?

My government name is Janale Da' Quan, so growing up my family and friends would always call me “Quan.” And so, you know when people would tag and everything, their signature would usually be their name and they would add “ster” to end of it. So, when I would tag, I would sign it “Quanster”, but one day my friend, she said I shouldstart using “Quanstar” because she said I was always acting like a star, so that’s how it came about.



That’s an interesting twist. And when I was reading you bio,I saw how you were involved in most of the founding hip hop activities; the break dancing, tagging, rhyming. You basically came from all of that.

Yeah, because what people don’t really know was that LA was like hip hop heaven in the early ‘90s. Everybody was rhymin’. It didn’t matter if you were a thug or whatever, you needed to be able to bust. People were always trying to rap, cats were dancin’, and everybody tagged a little something’. I was more into rappin’ and dancin’, though. Taggin’ was number 4 or 5 on pecking order, but that’s just how LA was. The thugs one the block wanted to hear me rap and people were always trying to battle. LA was just different. You had to be endorsed. Like E-40 could do atrack or show with Souls of Mischief. You don’t get that anywhere else but Cali.



Yeah, there seems to be this misconception about the West Coast, and specifically LA that it was just gangsta rap. All they connect it with are groups like N.W.A., but from what you’re saying, it was the same sort of feeling in LA as it was in New York.

Yeah, and even in the case of N.W.A., those cats had to be able to bust! People don’t understand thatpeople in LA grew up on Public Enemy, but they were bumpin’ Spice 1, too. They grew up on all that, so dudes were surprised when they realized everybody in LA could bust harder.



You mention moving from Compton to Atlanta, but you don’t really have a West Coast or a down South sound. Why do you think that is?

I don’t know. I don’t really have thoughts regarding any of that. It’s not generically made. It’s just important how I feel. If I hear a dope beat, then I just start writing. I want to say that there’s some big thing behind it, but it’s not. It’s how I feel and the things I go through when I rhyme. It’s probably also my influences. I listened to everybody; Melle Mel, LL, Common, Souls of Mischief, UGK. I was listening to all of this in high school, non-stop. I was a hip hop head!



Those influences really come through in your music. A lot of times people try to mimic a sound or a style and it doesn’t sound organic, but given your history, the fact that you don’t sound like a particular region or person is good. Talk a little bit about your experience like when you were down at Clark?

I went to Clark for a couple of years. Honestly, I didn’t wanna be there. I didn’t want to be in college. I didn’t know why I was there. I just knew I had to get out of Comptonfor a while. Around that time, sh*t was real hectic. It was a couple years after the riots and I knew if I didn’t get out…I saw people get caught up and I saw my friends that were 21 who had no intentions of ever leaving Cali, so I just wanted to get out. School was that way of getting out.



I wrote a blog not too long ago about how school is about education, but even more than that it’s about the experiences and getting out of your comfort zone. I went to school in Michigan and it was just so that I could get away and see different things.

And even after college, I walked around for 2 or 3 years, just fu**ed up. Working these horrible jobs, I wanted something different, something more. I may have never wanted that if I hadn’t gone to college. I might have still been a rapper, I don’t know, but I might have been talking about completely different things or doing completely different things.



I want to transition to the music for a minute. So you have The Underdog coming out. The title seems self-explanatory, but what is the motivation behind it? Why did you feel it was appropriate to drop it now? This is your fourth album in 9 years in the game, right?

Naw, it’s actually the fourth in 5 years. I was originally in a hip hop band called First Team and we dropped a couple albums in 2003 and 2004. The first solo project was in 2005, title Sometimes You Gotta Stand Alone and my second album in 2006. I also did a documentary in 2008 called Do It!: Documentary and I did a soundtrack for that. We’re actually going to re-release the documentary soon, but the message of The Underdog is…When you’ve been doin’ shows and you have connections to all these artists that have been signed…Let me put it this way because I don’t want to sound arrogant. When we came in this game, the things we do and how we did it, nobody really fu**ed with us initially and then we made this thought like “We’re not unsigned, we’re independent.” That was our thought process. Even in ATL, one or two cats were getting signed to majors, one or two cats were getting signed to independents, but me and my crew stayed on our grind. We would take a step, plan things out, tape a step, plan things out. By doing that, we been catching up with a lot of cats. And it’s not a competition or anything, but we have just as many people come to see us at a spot as the rest of these cats. Calling the album, myself, my crew, the underdog, it’s because we did a lot of things against knowledge. We went against what the music books say, what people in the industry say, what the A&Rs say, and we still did it! We didn’t take a traditional route. I don’t do numbers or talk about number of records sold. I don’t care about that. I will say this though. At no point have I had more than $4,000 to market with. I’ve had 6 national tours that I booked, that we put together and they were paid for! Nobody on the tour has to put up any money. All they gotta do is ride. That’s a huge accomplishment in music. Plus, it’s just how I do it. I got kids, and they’re pretty much my constant thought when I rap.



Speaking of your kids, what I really appreciated about your music, and the reason I wanted to have you on the blog, is how honest you are in the music. Specifically, in songs like “Summertime,” you have songs that talk about your wife and your family, which is very rare to hear nowadays. Even when artists are married, they will still make songs flaunting about how many women they are with and whatnot. Why have you chosen not to do that?

Up until about the time I was 23, I fu**ed up a huge portion of my life. After that, I told myself I was gonna do [the music] the right way and speak from my heart. I’m a family man. That’s where it comes from. As much as I tour, I still have a job. I do other things, but a huge portion of my life is at home working. My office is in my home, so I’m always around my family and my kids I don’t party. I don’t really go out unless I’m promoting. I don’t have a dream car. No matter how much money I make, you won’t hear me talking about my dream car. I’m more worried about the mileage on the car. I’ve been on that single life type of stuff. I’ve been there, but I’m a family man. I spend pretty much 89% of my time in Atlanta with my family.



It’s really refreshing to hear somebody really “keep it real.” Another song that caught my attention was “Caffeine Hustlaz.” Did you used to work at a coffee shop or were you just trying represent for all those on their grind?

I worked for a coffee corporation. I can’t say their name, but I worked for them for 8 years. Don’t get me wrong, as far as companies go, it was a great company, if you wanna work for someone. My thing has always been music. I let everybody there know that, and they accepted it. But, when you don’t wanna do anything but music, after 7,8 years it wears on you. And let me tell you this, coffee customers are some of the worst customers on the planet. They always complain about the drink, they think they know how to make the drink, when they don’t. Really, 95% of them don’t even know how to pronounce the name. This one particular time, this dude tried to bullsh*t his way into getting a free drink. He came talking about it was the wrong drink, he had his girl there, made a whole scene. We eventually had to give him a new drink, but I was so stressed off and pissed off already that after we served him, I took a break and went out and wrote that song. Working for the company, it wasn’t all bad, but it was the most stressful job I’ve ever had.



On the song “Bank,” you not only state, but repeat that half of your first million dollars is going to charity. What issues are you most concerned and passionate about?

Let me say this, the world is not racial. The powers that be make it seem racial. The world is about economics…funds. What they do is put all these poor people together, against each other, and they don’t focus on what the issue is. They put them at a tea party and they say “This black president is fu**in’ your sh*t up.” So, the poor white people are talking about taxes, when taxes is lower than it’s been in years and years. They point out health care, but most people are on Medicaid. A lot of people don’t see that. One of the founders of the Tea Party was a millionaire saying “Think about me, don’t think about yourself.” If you’re white and you’re poor, you got a lot more in common with people in Compton than you do with somebody that’s wealthy. I’ve performed in Charleston, West Virginia. I got more in common with people there than somewhere that has a lot of money. It’s all about money. So what I want to do is teach people what credit is really about. Educating people on investing for the future, how money flows, how the FDIC goes, how the bank really runs. Talk about that 1% you get back on your account from the bank don’t mean sh*t because the bank is getting 12% from your money. The other thing I’m really passionate about is helping families. I’m gonna help families that work hard, that do everything they need to do, and take them through a one year course. I’m gonna pick a family from ATL, from Compton, from Oakland, from these different areas and get them a house. We’ll show them how to mix it up, show them what they need to do to maintain it. That’s what I want to be involved in.



It’s good to see somebody who really wants to be involved and raise awareness. The key to changing anything is awareness. Given that you’ve been independent this long now and you have been able to do all these things on your own, are you just not even considering being signed?

It’s not that I would take a label deal or anything. I’ve been approached, been offered vehicles and everything, but it’s not about that. I want creative control of my project. I want to own my masters and publishing. I have a book coming soon. I have documentary. I want freedom to do all these things. If those can be guaranteed contractually, then we can do that. It’s probably not gonna happen. For me to be signed should mean my situation is being increased. It’s the same situation just on a bigger scale.



That’s where a lot of people get screwed is signing away their masters and publishing. That’s probably stressed more than anything else.

Yeah, that’s where you really make the money. That’s why the labels want to keep it.



I love asking this next question, and so I’m interested to hear your response. If you were introducing somebody to hip hop for the first time, what album would you give them and why?

That’s a good one…I’ll probably end up giving them “The Message” the song. It’s the greatest song to me, for a number of reasons. The sample can still run today. I have favorite albums and favorite groups, but everybody started at that point. I would have said Resurrection from Common or Black Star, but all that came from “The Message.” I bet if you were to ask all these guys, “The Message” is in their top 5.



That’s true. That’s definitely where the social and political commentary of hip hop started.

But it’s even more than that. It was anything other than party music. The way you ride the bass and melody like you do. All that came from that song. Hip Hop was reinvented in that song. It wasn’t just the lyrics, but how it was done and arranged. That’s probably the most powerful song in hip hop history.



If nothing else, what should people take away from this interview?

Just that I love hip hop and I love my kids. And I have a good album because of it. Check out the website at quanstarmusic.com. I also have a national tour that I’ve been putting together for years now called the Bring Your A Game Tour. They can go to www.bringyouragametour.com for more information. Shout out to my folks, Ghani Gautama, Evaready RAW, and Dlabrie, and my DJ, Metronome. He produced “Caffeine Hustlaz.” Shout out Juicy the Emissary, Lexzyne Production for the songs they did on the album. I actually met them on Twitter. I loveTwitter. It really allows you to connect and network with people.



Where can they pick the album up?

The album comes out on July 27th and for now it’s gonna be on the website. I had a little glitch with my distributors, so it’ll be at all digital stores a few weeks after it comes out. It’s a strictly digital release, so they can just goto the website now and it’ll be at all digital stores soon after that.



Well, I appreciate your time. Good luck with the album and everything else.

I appreciate the interview and having a chance to speak to your crowd.
http://www.straightouttahiphop.com

How "The Underdog" came out on top by Melle Mels

The story of balancing a lifelong dream and the responsibilities of a family, “The Underdog” is the refreshing break away from mainstream we get from the Atlanta based artist Quanstar. The Compton native uses his fourth solo album to reject the calculated formula of flashy cars, women and money set in a hot spot night club running rampant in the current industry. He instead takes his experience and becomes something everyone can relate to, Mr. Blue Collar. And while one reality is never a more worthy experience than another, Quanstar brings integrity to his craft by embracing everyday life and layering it atop a melodic mix of feel good tracks. From Cleansing the past, wanting to Raise the Bar for his children, to remaining honest about the socioeconomic strife in chasing American Dreams, there is no exaggerations. No sugarcoating. No scripts. No giving up. Just one man’s journey from no other point of view than his own; for this “The Underdog” comes out on top.