Q-Unique Biography

6 March 2011 One Comment

Born into a musical family from Brooklyn NY, Q-Unique realized at a very early age that he wanted to entertain through song; “When I was 3 or 4 years old, whenever we had company, my parents would give me a microphone and I’d sing for the guests, and I loved it”. His parents went through some personal turmoil, which resulted in Q leaving Brooklyn for the Bronx to live with his father, where Q witnessed Hip Hop and instantly fell in love. “My life before Hip Hop was mostly Rock music, now I was divided, with new heroes from the Hip Hop culture”. Q-Unique instantly started to write & produced demos at a friend’s house, then started to work odd jobs and saved money to record in a studio.

Q-Unique’s first professional opportunities were given to him by the legendary Crazy Legs of the world famous Rock Steady Crew, which Q became a member of as an MC. Crazy Legs would get Q his first two record deals, one of them resulting in a very short stint with multi platinum C+C Music Factory. That’s when Q would learn quickly the ups and downs of the music industry; “C+C just wasn’t for me, they had a path and a formula that was very different from where I wanted to go, but never the less, it was a learning experience that taught me a lot”.

After C+C, Q put together a Hip Hop group called the Nomaads, which included producer Skeff Anselm (Tribe Called Quest & Brand Nubians). The group was able to release a single, “The Ultimate” before calling it quits due to the death of their DJ, Mel Ice. Shortly after that, Q met an MC by the name of D Stroy, the two hit it off and D Stroy invited Q to meet up with the rest of the crew, The Arsonists. ”When I first saw the Arsonists, I was instantly amazed with all the raw talent, so, I brought my experience to the table which brought some structure to the group and got us our first record deal with Bobbito” (of the famous radio program “the Stretch Armstrong & Bobbito show”). Two Arsonists singles were released on Bobbito’s label, Fondel ‘em records, and a third single was released on DJ Eclipse & MC Serch’s label, Serchlite records. All three singles were very successful in the underground Hip Hop market and enabled the group to do US & European tours, and eventually landed the group a record deal with legendary indie label Matador records. Matador released two critically acclaimed Arsonists albums, As The World Burns and Date Of Birth. These albums made it possible for the group to tour the world several times over with groups such as, Public Enemy, The Roots, The Beatnuts, KRS ONE, EPMD, Atmosphere and Dilated Peoples.

When the group called it quits, Q was contacted by Ill Bill (Non Phixion, La Coka Nostra, Uncle Howie Records) with an offer to put out Q’s first solo album. Ill Bill would act as a “Rick Rubin” to Q-Unique’s first solo album Vengeance Is Mine, pushing Q to dig deep into his soul and spit with pure passion about his life experiences, his views and twisted thoughts. The result was another critically successful album, with songs like “The Set Up”, “One Shot”, “Father’s Day” and “Psychological Warfare”. Q instantly scored with the fans, both old and new. This was a darker, more aggressive Q-Unique, and the fans loved it. Releasing a solo album opened a new forum of opportunities for Q, enabling him to rhyme and produce with artists such as, Raekwon from the Wu Tang Clan, La Coka Nostra, Tony Touch & Pit Bull, Necro and many more. Q was now open for business both here and abroad recording internationally as well, with groups like Saian Super crew from France, to LE Flaco from Spain. Q’s reputation as a lyricist & producer were now solidified.

A phone call from the president of a clothing company called Tribal Gear, would send Q into an evolution that would change him forever. Q was asked if he would be interested in recording a song with Fieldy, the bassist from the multi platinum group Korn. Q flew over to California, not realizing that a life changing experience was about to take place, because the two decided instead to create a band called StillWell, which includes the drummer from the platinum group POD, Wuv; but that’s another story in itself!

Q-Unique, now equipped with all of these life and creative changing experiences has put together another masterpiece with Between Heaven & Hell. An album that will take you on a journey with Q’s visual lyrics that paints pictures and characters for you to follow in amazement. The album features an all star cast of lyricists such as Ill Bill & Slaine of La Coka Nostra, Psycho Realm, Cashis (Shady records), Realm Reality (actor Rick Gonzalez), Mr. Hyde and for the first time after several years, all of the original members from the Arsonists: D Story, Freestyle, Jise and Ching Rock. On Production, Q-Unique is joined by Necro, Quincey Tones, Al’ Tarba, Lost Sun and for the first time, Q-Unique’s 10 year old son, who refers to himself as Q Dog. Between Heaven & Hell is pure Hip Hop… Think music. Tracks like “Mr. Lopez”, “Man Of God”, “Crack Era”, and “Dead Roses” are instant classics. At a time when subject matter seems to be lost in rap music, Q-Unique comes with substance, creativity and a heavy-handed reality slap.