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Who is Don Q? The Bronx rapper helping bring New York back

From battle rapping on Smack/URL to dropping bangers with Highbridge The Label, Don Q has been on the rise and making more noise than ever.

Born and raised in The Bronx, NY, he was inspired by lyricists like Cassidy and Fabolous. Don Q began rapping at 16-years-old when he decided he wanted to be one of the best to ever do it. Q wrote his first rap at 10-years-old and battle rapped all throughout his mid-teens. He told DJ Smallz in a 2018 interview,

“My first battle with people that I don’t know, like, was when I was like 16.”

He admits that he took an L in his very first battle but that loss gave him all the confidence he needed to go harder and stronger. His potential was always there, plus his late right-hand man “Pop” constantly encouraged him to take rap seriously.

In 2016, Q and fellow Highbridge member and childhood friend, A Boogie, took to Hot 97 with Funk Flex for a freestyle that would be remembered forever.

A Boogie definitely did his thing, but Q took over the internet with his verse, gaining the video millions of views in just a few months. It currently has 11 million views and there’s no doubt that Don Q’s flawless freestyle gave his career a major boost.

Don admitted recently that he’s decided to go more solo from A Boogie do his own thing. He doesn’t want to fall into brother’s shadow, instead, he wants the world to see them as two separate monsters. On his song “Don Season Pt. 2,” a song off Don Season 2, he raps:

Let’s give these niggas a rude awakening //

They said, “Boogie was the one, you’ll never be as great as him//

They tried to throw me in the shadow, had to move away from him //

Lookin’ over and degradin’ ’em but never breakin’ ’em

Before joining HBTL, Q perfected his craft over the course of 10 years. While in the studio, he says the three things he needs at all times: fire beats, weed, and positive energy. When he’s looking for this type of vibe, he likes to gain inspiration by traveling the country and seeing other places.

Atlanta is his go-to for nice vibes and beat shopping. He also mentions that on average it takes him about an hour to work on a song. He currently has four mixtapes out: Don Season (2016), Corner Stories (2017), Don Talk (2018) and Don Season 2 (2018).

Q is a competitive guy and when it comes to hopping on someone’s track or vice versa, he always attacks it by putting out his most fire verses. But when asked what his proudest accomplishment is in his music career so far, Q responded with, “Ain’t nobody killed me on a track, except Pusha T… but it’s all good.”

However, Q isn’t interested at all in the King of NY debate. He believes that all artists in the Big Apple are kings. Also, that there isn’t even a certain New York sound anymore.

He says that most NY rappers like Cardi, 69, Cassanova and A Boogie have their own style and wave. The only rapper Q sees similar to him is Dave East because of their raw delivery.

Don Q is known for having a nostalgic flow and delivery, often being compared to Styles P and Lloyd Banks — two artists he grew up listening to.

Even when he was younger, his friends used to call him “Styles Q,” because of the heavy similarities. On his 2017 mixtape Corner Stories, Q has a song with Styles P and Jadakiss as features called “Take Me Alive.”

His latest mixtape, Don Season 2, is out right now and making a lot of noise in the streets. Q has been working on the tape since early 2018 and he obviously wanted it to be perfect before the world heard it.

It contains features from G Herbo, Jay Critch, Moneybagg Yo, Young Scooter and Dave East and more. Q’s personal favorites off the tape are “Weakness.” “Pull Up” and “Back 2 Back.”

Stream Don Season 2 here and keep your eye out for Don Q!

boogie with da hoodie

Who is A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie? The BX rapper bringing a new sound to NYC

In an an era of mumble rap and trap artists flexing over the beat, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie’s style brings-hip hop (and most musical genre’s) back to its roots, singing about love and growing up.

When asked about his style and why he doesn’t dabble in the elusive art of mumble rapping he told NewsWeek,

“I guess I never really got to a point where I decided I wanted to rap like a mumble rapper. As a New York rapper, I feel like I can’t take it there anyway. That would be changing New York. My music, it needs to be heard. Sometimes the vibe is good, but I don’t really care about [being played in the club]. I care to be heard.”

Artist Julius Dubose was born in Highbridge, NYC in the Bronx (the same place as Cardi B) and started rapping at age 12. He acquired the name “A Boogie Wit da Hoodie” for a multitude of reasons.

@papermagazine 🖤

A post shared by A-Boogie Wit Da Hoodie 🎨 (@artisthbtl) on

The A comes from his first name, Artist. The “boogie” comes from being from the Bronx. And the “hoodie” part is due to the fact that he always had a hoodie on as part of his wardrobe.

Although A boogie stays repping New York, he credits his real incentive to taking rap seriously and entering the game by the time he spent in Florida.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, A-Boogie went on to explain how his parents moved to Florida first and how he ended up down there with them.

“My mom and my dad moved to Florida first. I was in New York, I got in trouble a few times – just regular little weed charges and shit. They were like, ‘It’s over, you gotta come with us.'”

It was in Florida where Artist met producer Mr. Whyte, who evidently helped him turn into the artist he is today and reach the stardom he has achieved.

With songs like “Say A”, “No Promises”, “Undefeated”, “Beast Mode”, and “No Comparison”, (and let’s not forget “Drowning”) all breaking the Billboard top 100 off of his first legitimate studio album The Bigger Artist, it seems that Artist (get it?) Dubose has already established a solid foundation in the rap game.

But this is just the beginning, A Boogie went into detail about new directions he wants to take his music in the future, telling NewsWeek,

“I would like to do more singing, but I want more of a pop feeling when I do that. I don’t wanna just do it out of nowhere. [My career] gotta rise more.”

A Boogie is quietly taking over the rap game, with a famous artist like Drake as his cosign, the sky is the limit for Artist Dubose.

Of course, being under the spotlight at such a young age brings about a lot of stress. Being that he is twenty one years old, A Boogie is not immune to cracking under the pressure.
Earlier this year on October 21st, A Boogie and his crew allegedly attacked Lil B backstage at Rolling Loud music festival after an altercation between the two parties.

Everything turned out ok, no one was severely injured, and the two parties absolved the issue pretty quickly. In fact, Lil B came out during his show and publicly forgave A Boogie right after it happened, and A Boogie apologized a couple days later via Twitter.

All incidents aside, Artist Julius Dubose is an up and coming artist with a very melodic flow that’ll take you on a musical journey, backed with meaningful lyrics.

He is helping bring the rap game back to its rightful home, New York City, albeit with a very new sound.

A Boogie is up next, and we can’t wait to see what he does with it.

Peep his debut album The Bigger Artist here

#ThankYouBasedGod: Lil B’s most positive messages for the youth dem

What does it mean to be “Based”?  Based means being yourself, staying positive, and making people accept you for who you are.

You don’t have to change for anyone as long as your movement is positive. The “Based Life” is a choice to be optimistic despite the obstacles in your way.

If everyone becomes “Based” we can all evolve together as human beings instead of independently.

This is Lil B’s religion and he is the revolutionary rapper behind being “Based.” He has used his voice to inspire millions around the world.

His thousands of songs are all about positivity and self-love. Not only does he include an upbeat vibe in his massive library of rap songs but he uses his influence on social media to encourage those that might be looking for happiness.

Lil B is a positive prophet. When he was 19, Lil B authored his book Takin Over, which was devoted to spreading an uplifting message to haters everywhere. Truly a based bible.

His message is so positive he gets invited to do lectures at prestigious universities. His movement shouldn’t be taken as a joke. During these seminars, he has touched on a variety of subjects with a socially progressive attitude.

We might as well call him the rainbow of positivity in the rap game. His strange style has influenced a grip of emcees. Lil Yachty and Vince Staples have taken a page from his book and credited Lil B for impacting their style.

Recently, BasedGod was ambushed by A Boogie and PnB Rock’s crews at the Rolling Loud Festival, currently taking place in the Bay Area. The news was very sad to me as I’ve always seen Lil B as a peaceful and loving dude.

So why would anyone do this to him? In the words of Travis Scott, ScHoolboy Q, and Kaytranada in response to the attacks, “Protect Lil B at all fucking costs!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BajGPkDl7bj/

Many would’ve expected Lil B to put positivity to the side after he was jumped. He surprised us all taking the stage for his set with nothing but love. Lil B actually couldn’t even perform because someone stole his equipment.

On stage B, said, “It’s all good I said something about Boogie music and they all got mad and they jumped me about that. So, it’s all good.”

He also caught up with Shaheem Reid in an interview for Revolt and reiterated his message of pacifism,

“How I’m going to use this to show people to make sure you don’t retaliate with violence. I’m not going to retaliate with violence. I love them. I love Boogie and his whole crew. I’ll hang with them, feel me. We’ll shake hands after this…”

His tweet in response to A Boogie’s unawareness to the situation was golden. Lil B calls for unity at all times.

Lil B has so much love in his heart. Hopefully, he will continue to touch hearts and minds throughout the timeline of humanity. Forgive them of their sins BasedGod, for they know not what they do.

WE LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU BASEDGOD.