Published: Thursday - April 26, 2007
Words by Claudio E. Cabrera
QD3 (Photo: QD3 Entertainment)
Imagine growing up in Sweden far away from the States where your father is revered as one of the greatest music minds ever. Growing up in poverty, while your father is producing the classic Thriller album for Michael Jackson. No ill regret is held between both parties and they both do business now. These are the lives of QD3 and his father Quincy Jones.
Many people, growing up, thought how can QD3 step out of his father's shadow. If you thought Quincy worked with great artists, take a look at who QD3 ran with in the 80s -- Scott La Rock, KRS-One, NWA, and the one person who dated his sister and called his father a "sellout" for dating white women, Tupac Shakur. Despite all this, QD3 bonded with Shakur and is building his own legacy with his highly acclaimed BET "Beef" series and many future digital projects.
Ballerstatus.com: You grew up in Sweden. People look at Europe and think it's a place where there are no ghettos or hoods. Give us your experience out there.
QD3: Man... Sweden wasn't easy. I grew in a working class immigrant hood in Stockholm. There are a lot of immigrants that are funneling into Europe nowadays and Sweden is one of those countries where there are many from various countries -- Africa, Latin America... you name it, we got it.
Ballerstatus.com: What made you want to move to New York?
QD3: I was in love with hip-hop culture from a young age. Once I turned 16, I decided to move to the epic-center of the art and that's New York. There I linked up with KRS-One and De La Rock and even sat in studio sessions with the legendary Rakim. I was there for "Microphone Fiend" man.
Ballerstatus: Wow
QD3: Exactly (laughing). I sat in the recording session of one the greatest lyrical tracks ever made.
Ballerstatus.com: When did you feel you were coming into your own as a producer?
QD3: When I left NY for the West Coast and linked up with Dr. Dre. Those were the best moments of my career man. I was able to work under Dre and when NWA broke up, I worked with Cube and that eventually branched out into the whole Death Row.
Ballerstatus.com: Now your sister was engaged to Tupac till the time of his death. How difficult was his death for her?
QD3: Extremely painful. It's something you never get over.
Ballerstatus.com: Before you met Tupac, he said some pretty nasty things about your father being a "sell-out" for dating white women. How did that affect your perception of Pac?
QD3: It's crazy because I didn't understand why he was saying all these things. It kind of made me a bit wary before meeting him, but once we got in the studio together we clicked. Pac respects hard work and consistency and he believed I brought that to the table and we continued collaborating.
Ballerstatus.com: What was the experience like?
QD3: It was amazing man. I've never met someone who's been able to match his work ethic and passion. It wasn't about money with Pac, it was about emitting all the emotions he had inside to the world.
Ballerstatus.com: Hit the public with a quick discography of your work for Pac?
QD3: "To Live & Die In L.A." I produced uh, "Lost Souls," "Letter To The President," "Tear Drops & Closed Caskets," "Friends," "Heaven Ain't Hard To Find" and a host of others.
Ballerstatus.com: Damn I can't even name a wack track out of those. Did you have a favorite Pac track?
QD3: "Dear Mama" man. That embodies Pac period.
Ballerstatus.com: One thing that led to Pac's demise was "Beef." Tell us about the series and the success it's had on BET. How'd you initially come up with the idea?
QD3: I felt an obligation to make this series after Pac passed to show that he was not a thug, but someone who was a regular person. The media depicted as some sort of street smoking thug loud mouth who looked for death. That's not the case at all. I try to humanize the characters with this "Beef" series. As evidence, every "Beef" show we have usually ends with a truce to the beef or a squashed beef. We aren't trying to egg it on.
Ballerstatus.com: What do you say to critics who say BET should be ashamed of themselves considering the state of black men today and how violence is being promoted with this series?
QD3: Violence is not being promoted with this series. All we are trying to do is show what goes on in these rap beefs and how they start. Most of the beefs aired on the show are squashed and put aside.
Ballerstatus.com: You are the son of one of the greatest musical minds ever. What was your relationship like?
QD3: People look at me and think I grew up lovely. Not true at all. My parents went through a divorce and people think she must've gotten a boatload of money. Wrong. We lived in public housing the majority of our lives. When I first came to the States, people thought I hung out with Michael Jackson amongst other celebrities. I told them that was not the case at all. In the end, I appreciate seeing both sides of the tracks. It's made me into a much better person.
Ballerstatus.com: How are you and your dad today?
QD3: We are cool. We both do business together. I can't sit here and tell you we're the closest father and son combo, but we have managed to put whatever differences we've had in the past aside. There's no time to hold ill sentiments towards people. Life is too short.
Ballerstatus.com: What does the future hold for QD3?
QD3: Man... an array of projects. I made my way into comedy with a recently released Paul Mooney DVD. It's the first show after the whole Michael Richards incident at the Laugh Factory. Mooney swears off never using the "N" word after that event. We also have the QD3 broadband channel on the website. A partnership with the writer of the "48 Laws of Power" was made, which is one of the most read books by the hip-hop community. We will be relating those laws to hip-hop and including a DVD with it.
Ballerstatus.com: So I see you're on your way to carving out your own legacy?
QD3: Just like my dad did his thing in his sector, I plan on doing the same in various sectors and being just as successful.
Features Slim (of 112): Hi Haters What else do you want from Slim? His prolific group 112 has sold over 20 million records worldwide, and with a bevy ... full story
Beyond Hip-Hop Game Review: Far Cry 2 Gone are Jack Carver, his Hawaiian shirt, and the trigens from the first installment of "Far Cry," but in comes spine ... full story
Digg It
Del.icio.us
