1.) - Being born and raised in the DMV, how did you link up with indie-mainstays, QN5?
I first moved to NYC in '97. A friend of mine introduced me to Pack FM, then a few years later Pack introduced me to Tonedeff who knew Session. We did a track called The Evil That
Pens Do and we've been fam ever since.
2.) - Aside from having a family, a regular job, being a musician, etc. how do you find time to tour, make music video's, teach youth, spend time with the fam, record new material, network, etc.?!
Time Management. It's definitely difficult and at times stressful but it's all worth it.
3.) - What is your profession, and how did you get into it?
Outside of pursuing music, I do youth work. I first got into it by volunteering at local High Schools & Middle Schools, speaking to kids about about various career paths. The next thing knew I was doing youth work full time.
4.) - With having all of these responsibilities, you seem to be very successful at accomplishing all these goals aforementioned...Musically, you are one of the few artists from the area that get's to tour, make music video's that air on MTV, and record with some of the games most formidable talent...What are you doing differently, that enables you to do these things?
I don't know for sure. But one thing I do is constantly put in work and learn to adapt. When others took breaks for whatever reason, I pushed forward. Although things were very different in the biz when I first started, I managed to keep up to the best of my ability and kept people around me who could spot the changes/trends when I couldn't.
5.) - What's up with the Japan situation, how did all of that come about?
I was discovered by a Japanese producer named Nujabes back in '99. After putting out my first solo album and doing several other collabos, I managed to build a very strong following there. You can peep the full story on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK3A36eGj0U
6.) - When is your next video dropping for, "My Favorite Things"? Where can we see it, and big ups to the director, that kid is nice...
It's actually dropping Monday, March 9th. It will be debuting all across the web next week. Keep checking back at QN5.com for it's television debut. Matt Hobbs (www.vitalfilms.net) directed the new video. That kid is truly amazing.
7.) - Within the last couple of years, DC has been getting a lot more positive attention, do you think that this recent appeal is manifesting itself in more industries, than politics? What I mean is, do you feel that the art world, music scene, restaurant/foodie scene, etc. are getting a lot more media attention, and more people are turning to DC for talent?
Yeah, I definitely think so. More and more people are starting to pay attention to what's going on here outside of politics. DC has always had influence, now it's starting to step into the national/international spotlight even more.
8.) - For example, Kokayi (www.myspace.com/kokayi) was nominated for Grammy's this year, and you were in the running, tell me about that?!
Well my man Kokayi got the official nomination with another DMV artist, Wayna. I was came close, maybe next year. That was definitely a good look regardless. It's too much talent here to be ignored.
9.) - With all of these accomplishments, what do you still feel like you have to do in life?
There's always room for improvement. There are still a lot of places I haven't toured and even more people who haven't discovered my music. I'll never reached everyone or see every stage and as long as that's the case, I still have a lot of work to do.
10.) - Shouts...
Well first, thank you for the continued support, shout out to the DMV, QN5 Music, My UV Ink fam/God's Illa, and all of my family, fans and supporters worldwide. Peace.
-SC-
www.qn5.com
http://www.myspace.com/substantial
