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The Adventures of Pos in Wonderland (of Music)

I come from what often feels like the last generation of true record store rats. Crate Diggers, Milkcrate Moles. Bargain Bin Beavers (okay, I just made that one up…but you get my point). There are still of course a few record stores – often a small section of your local bookshops – that still sell vinyl fresh out the sleeve (support your local Ma & Pa brick and mortar stores!). But One of things I miss most was getting to know my guys and gals across the counter who worked there. Who I could nerd out on the latest west coast post punk record, Verve or Blue Note Records vault reissues or the spankin’ new miami bass and atlanta booty shake tapes, fresh out the trunk of a young entrepreneurs Caddy Seville.

I would spend hours going down aisles of music. Intentionally trying to lose myself in the enigmatic, desperate sounds that I came across. Well…here’s a little post (that might be recurring) about those beautiful rabbit holes I would dive into with the aid of my friends behind the counter and a little bit of curiosity and a lot of open mindedness

I was listening to the great band The Sylvers a lot recently and thought to myself “what are some other jammin’ songs by incredible family bands?” Here’s a little taste of what I was digging on when I took a dive. If you think of some other dope songs by family bands, get@me!

Postell (aka POS)

The Sylvers – We Can Make It If We Try

DeBarge – I Like It

The Roches – Hammond Song

Audio Two- Top Billin’

Staple Singers – Let’s Do It Again

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change the perspective

Almost two years after all of our lives were inexorably changed, I find myself reflecting most about my shift in perspective.  Where panic and uncertainty once flooded my consciousness after each new week brought another creative and monetary cancellation to our company, I now can breathe and be ok with chaos in a way I once could not.  Part of that comes with spending so much time with small children over these months and learning to flow with them and say “yes” instead of trying to control their impulses but this thing has taught me above all to focus on the things I CAN control and NOT the things I CAN’T.

As a society, we all have been forced to focus on new parts of our lives.  My wife and I started our children at a Muslim school to try and actively practice anti-racism (no small feat) and it has grown into a beatuiful and supportive community for us. I learned to truly love to cook again after burning out when I did it as a job in my twenties.  The slow down in work and scheduling allowed my wife and I to talk more and listen to each other in ways we weren’t able to give ourselves to each other before the lock downs. I started running to get out of the house a year and a half ago and have since ran my first half marathon at 40. I will run my first full marathon in June. The Q Brothers Collective and I were able to focus on more passionate creative projects and making music again as a new venture in: “The Rap Pack.” I also took a leap of faith on myself this last fall and began purchasing a camera and digital video equipment.  I’ve always edited video for the collective but never bothered to take a deep dive into all facets of digital production.  There is an endless continuum of evolving tech and craft to hone but the rewards have already begun to be reaped.  I manifested that I was going to do something one day and so I financed a camera and lens, began watching Youtube videos to learn, and I started a business.

None of these things probably would have happened without this stupid Pandemy Lavato.  At least not in the specific way they have unfolded.  There have been negative effects as well:  Too much beer and wine to pass the days, more news consumption than is healthy, some relationships lost to science skepticism and politics.  But I challenge you to think of what you’ve gained and reflect on it.  How has your life changed forever in a positive way?  What does the future hold?  Think outside of the restraints and the past and don’t just wait for the structures and norms to return to the way they were.  Embrace the change.  That’s what we here at the QBC are trying to do and hoping that flowers of new opportunity continue to open up before us.  Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog!

– Jax

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family

These are the years of family. Why do me and my homies of the QBC (Q Brothers Collective) meet once a week for 2 to 3 hours to create together, even when no one is paying us to make anything? Why do we continue to hammer out new documents surrounding new ideas that no one else has even heard about yet? Why do we laugh but not hesitate to embrace the title Jackson used – Infinity Meeting – to mark our never-ending weekly session in our shared google calendar? Because we’re family. Because we’re down to meet forever. Because we made that commitment. Shoot, that commitment made us! Cuz we fam, y’all. Because without each other, life just doesn’t feel as good.

Family is at the core of everything. Everything real comes back to some kind of family in one way or another. The whole Q Brothers community is one family, in fact. Which means that if you’re reading this, YOU are part of our family. And reciprocally, we humbly and gratefully consider ourselves part of yours.

I don’t even like using the word “fans.” Fan implies a certain level of distance that we don’t tend to feel. FAM is more like it. If you pickin up what we puttin down, if you dig on the vibe and you diggin the sound, then embrace your relationship to us – nah, your relationship with us – and let’s all take a moment to recognize who continues to be there for us. Who keeps loving us when we make ourselves challenging to love? Who then challenges us to make ourselves even more lovable by helping us see how we can become better versions of ourselves? Not by telling us what to do. Just by continuing to love us for who we are. For us, that’s each other, and YOU ALL.

Whoever you thought of when reading those questions…take a moment to let them know you appreciate them. Whether it’s through a hug, a smile, a text, or a silent blessing of some kind. And today, please receive our love and gratitude for your unending and unbending and sometimes-spending and who-cares-if-it’s-trending and hearts-and-ears-and-eyes-lending and hip hop family friendly fusion blending SUPPORT.

We love you, Q Family. You mean more to us than we can properly express. THANK YOU!!!

– GQ

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Can meet you under the mistletoe in December ?

“Here we are! Right under the mistletoooooooooooe!” Love seeing everybody masking up and doing our part so we can meet you under the mistletoe in December. Keep it up Chicago! @gqtheman @jeffreyqaiyum @jackiedoh99 @posluv. Photo by Liz Lauren

 

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Oh, hey everybody!

Do you want to see all four Q Creators of #QChristmas back in the show this winter? Cause we’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Come party with us for your favorite holiday tradition. We love you!

While the temperatures drop outside, the party will be heating up with the non-stop energy of the 80-minute hip hop musical Q BROTHERS CHRISTMAS CAROL!

The raucous and irreverent holiday tradition returns November 29–December 23, 2019. Created by Chicago hip hop sensations the Q Brothers Collective (GQ, JQ, Jax, and Pos) and developed with Creative Producer Rick Boynton, this wildly entertaining reinterpretation of the Charles Dickens classic mashes up hip hop with contemporary musical styles ranging from reggae and dancehall music, to dubstep and epic rock ballads—all underscored with beats spun live at the turntables by a DJ.

Tickets and more at www.chicagoshakes.com/qchristmas.