Amietee Fuondjing, Staff Writer

Q Da Fool, a leader of the radioactive DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) music scene, visited campus on Oct. 22. Q Da Fool is an artist from Largo, Maryland who has been supplying his fans with masterpieces in the form of mixtapes, picturesque music videos, and an overall unrelenting effort and consistency. He sat down for an interview with The Maroon Tiger where his character only seemed to shine through more and more, demonstrating he is someone who values good energy, positivity, giving back, and genuineness. 

 

Amietee Fuondjing: King Q! What’s good with you? What are you up to nowadays?

Q Da Fool: I’m chillin man, working on new music, working on my album, thinking of better ways to do new stuff for PG, the DMV —  just tryna find new ways to get people excited about around the way and stuff like that. That’s what I’ve been working on, just tryna boss up and be the OG around the way.

AF: So you signed with Roc Nation, right? So how do you think Roc Nation has helped out your situation thus far?

Q: Well it just put me on different platforms. There’s a lot of stuff that I’m getting exposed to like big business, stuff like that. It just helps all the little stuff that I can’t do to come.

AF: What’s your favorite thing to do back home in Maryland?

Q: Smoke, ride around the way, ride around PG, go to Bowie University. I fuck with Bowie; I go up there, chill, go smoke. All my men go up there.

AF: So, what do you think of the DMV music scene?

Q: It’s cool right now. Everybody need to just keep working together. Everyone need to start making music together. Everyone need to just stop the hate. 

AF: And what does it take for a local artist who’s still coming up to get your attention or maybe your support?

Q: He don’t even gotta follow nothing, he just needs to be a grinder and a hustler and shit. You gotta have dedication to get anybody’s attention not just mine. If you want real attention you gotta have dedication and one day you can be seen.

AF: Was that your experience?

Q: For sure, it definitely ain’t happen overnight. It took dedication, hard work, pain, sweat and tears for real. Years and years of work to get right here. So that’s why how people be saying new Q, old Q, I’m on some different shit. I’m on some mature shit.

AF: When you came out bro and you dropped all those tapes, you really had the DMV in a stronghold.

Q: I had to drop them jaunts though because I had to solidify my position again. I might just drop like that again next year.

AF: Bro if you do that the DMV’s gonna go crazy.

Q: I already know.

AF: At what point did you transition from someone making music to a prominent artist in the DMV?

Q: Getting locked up and just getting all that stuff taken away from me. Not being able to go to the studio, not being around my friends, not being around my family, shit like that made me appreciate rap and my opportunities. So when I came home it just made me be like ‘I’m bouta be a rapper’.

AF: How did your deen guide you while you were incarcerated and how does it still guide you now?

Q: It just keep me thinking positive. I used to be negative. When I think about Islam and the stuff I’m supposed to be doing and Allah is one of the reasons that makes me more positive. I don’t be negative. I don’t really deal with no negative energy. I just wanna be positive, I want to see my sons happy, shit like that. 

AF: Congratulations on your twins by the way man. Two young kings man I love it.

Q: Appreciate it bro.

AF: What’s your process like when you record in the studio?

Q: It’s like just brainstorming bruh, whatever come to my head, I don’t know. Lately I ain’t been in the studio bra, I’ve been tryna get the business aspect right. Me and OG Dolla gonna shine some of this shit up.  

AF: What are your short term and long term goals right now?

Q: Man, short term is to turn my label up and get more artists out the DMV for real. I feel like that’s what we need. At one point we was it but I feel like we need more artists from out that joint. We need more people in the game, that voice really matters for real, people just gotta start steppin up. So I feel like that’s really the short term, long term goal is to be a mogul, you feel me, to be the face of the DMV forreal.

AF: You’re already the face of the DMV if we’re telling the truth bra.

Q: Nah man, that’s in ya’ll eyes. In my eyes I just be thinking I’m still up and coming.

AF: You looking to collab with any artists back home, or just any collaborations in general soon?

Q: I mean I work with everybody so I definitely want to collab and do some tapes with some upcoming artists and shit like that. But I collab with everybody, I work with everybody that I need to work with. Ain’t nobody out the DMV that I don’t really mess with.

AF: Let’s say you had an opportunity to collab with any artist or producer, who would it be?

Q: I don’t know bruh. I really don’t be too big on that. Probably like an old school rapper, like a legend or something. I can’t really put my finger on it for real for real.

AF: You think you can collab with Jay-Z?

Q: Oh yeah, already. 

AF: For real?

Q: That’s gonna happen. Stuff like that I don’t even be wishing for it to happen because I already know it’s gonna happen, just overtime for real. 

AF: Congratulations again for signing because I know that’s big time. Probably something you thought about for a while.

Q: Already already. This is a big opportunity gotta take advantage of it.

AF: So since we from back home what does go-go mean to you and how do you feel about the current state of go-go?

Q: Go-go cool. I ain’t never really been a big fan of go-go for real growing up. Like I always listened to it because that’s what I grew up around but it’s coming back. We having Moechella and all that so that’s definitely good, bringing the culture back in the DMV so that’s all that really matters. 

AF: Do you have any advice for anybody trying to make it in music?

Q: You gotta stay consistent, build your own fan base, stuff like that. Just stay consistent and stay true to yourself, typical stuff. It might sound cliche but that’s what you gotta do though.