Author: Jake Paine
Q Da Kid has made history, being the first artist signed to Procter & Gamble's TAG Records [click to read], a label that's being guided by the expertise of Jermaine Dupri [click to read].
Beyond just making history, the Brooklyn emcee has a history of his own, not often discussed in the chatter about corporate labels. Monday afternoon, Q told HipHopDX, "I was signed to Violator a couple of years ago, [within a] a group called The Franchise. It included me, Red Cafe and Gravy. Red Cafe is from Konvict Muzik, and Gravy's playing Biggie Smalls in [Notorious]."
In a group with such would-be talent, it's surprising The Franchise did not go further. "It just didn't work. We was on numerous mixtapes, from Kay Slay, to Whoo Kid, who was our deejay at the time, [DJ] Clue. We was grindin' hard, crazy in the streets. I was the first one to leave the group, and went out on my own. I moved to Miami. When I moved to Miami, that's when I met up with [DJ] Khaled, [DJ] Irie; I did the crazy club thing in Miami, and I used to always see JD coming back and forth. Dallas Austin flew me to Atlanta to do the Drumline Soundtrack, and I met JD out there during the process."
That relationship led to the TAG deal. However, given the major backing Q has, he may be in a greater position than most debuting artists with bringing attention back to New York. He recognizes the accountability that comes with that though. "Being that I'm from Brooklyn, a lot of the great emcees came from [here]. So there's a lot of pressure at the end of the day. People expect a lot 'cause a lot of great music came from here," Q says, citing Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z [click to read], Lil Kim and Shyne. "I gotta make sure my music is correct, and it represents Brooklyn and Hip Hop as a whole. That's what I'm trying to do." It's bigger than New York to Q. "I'm not trying to be a regional artist. I'm trying to be an artist that can go to Africa or China and perform."
Part of Q's Hip Hop side may come from working with No I.D., whose produced hits for Common and Jay-Z as well as having worked alongside JD and Kanye West. "A lot of people don't realize he made 'On A Mission,' the single," admits Q Da Kid of his first single, presently available on iTunes. "Me and No I.D. have a relationship from back in the days; I've known [him] from like 2002. Me and him is like family. We sit down and conversate about the records and how Hip Hop is playing out right now, how the whole music thing is doin' right now. He said, 'I don't want you to have nothing like nobody else has right now; I want you to have your own sound.' And you can hear that on 'On A Mission,' it's totally different from anything that's out now."
"On A Mission" has gone on to become this season's theme song for The Denver Nuggets. Q just returned from the Mile High City performing the regional hit. He says the effort has also garnered him an Under Armour campaign to boot.
With ad campaigns coming in quickly for the relatively new face in the mainstream, some skeptics point to Q's backing, in a culture that saw KRS-One and LL Cool J gain endorsements well into their career stardom. Q speaks to his critics in saying, "At the end of the day, it's not like we do it in a corny way. When you see the TAG commercial, [there isn't] anything about body spray. We tried to keep it as urban as we could. We made it look like it was an [emcee] battle, where you see the TAG [mention] at the end. It's not like we incorporate it on some stuff."
Owning his own studio, and often mixing his own records, the hustler in Q adds that his present commercial spots and endorsements only add to his artistry. "Everybody that sees that TAG commercial is like, 'Yo, that's an incredible commercial right there.' That commercial was hard. When they hear me on radio doing freestyles or whatever, they be like, 'Nah, dude can really rap.'"
With his debut album on the way for 2009, Q told DX before heading onto more meetings, "I should be tired, but hey, I can't sleep now. I gotta keep going."
hiphopdx.com
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