Quan’s Walking, Talking Testimonial | Amalgam Digital Blog

Quan’s Walking, Talking Testimonial Artist: Quan Interviewer: MATT SACK

Quan’s Walking, Talking Testimonial

Quan Interview with Matt Sack 06-18-2009

AmalgamDigital.com: What is your main motivation for rapping?

Quan: Outside of it being therapeutic for me and a wonderful way to express myself and the world and my ideas amongst other things, I get to speak for others. It’s a talent that God gave me-I love music and that’s my motivation.

AmalgamDigital.com: Growing up in Virginia, what was it like when some of the local artists started making it big? Did that change the musical landscape of the area?

Quan: Definitely. It definitely was a good look for Virginia. But whether the world knew it or not, I always knew my hood had talent. It didn’t really change my music personally, but it was just another reassurance that dreams come true.

AmalgamDigital.com: I know you’re from Newport News, and you’ve mentioned before how it’s different from the rest of the South because it’s at the uppermost point of the region, but do you still feel an obligation to rep the South-or any region for that matter?

Quan: Me personally, I spent most of my life in the South. I was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but if I wasn’t in Virginia I was in South Carolina for the most part. With that being said, that’s where my roots are from-the South. Outside of that, it’s the start of the Confederacy. I don’t know how much more Southern you get than that. It’s the top of the South, bottom of the North, and that’s what it is. If you go up North, they’re gonna say we’re down here. If you go down South, they’re gonna say we’re up here. So I guess we just stay Southern.

AmalgamDigital.com: Who would you say you make your music for?

Quan: For anybody that can listen to my music and feel it and relate to it and groove to it. I guess lately more people in the urban areas will probably relate to my music that much more, but it’s for anybody that’s going through a struggle or any type of emotion for that matter.

AmalgamDigital.com: Who are the biggest influences on your music and your life in general?

Quan: Life itself. I’m like a sponge-I take to anything. Older artists, whether they be oldies but goodies, hip hop artists, or R&B artists-all of that definitely has been an influence. But I think my biggest influence is life itself.

AmalgamDigital.com: Can you explain a little about the “Carrying the Tradition” and “Walking Testimony” projects that you have coming out?

Quan: With “Carrying the Tradition,” that title came from being about your craft and always trying to make each song better than the last one. “Walking Testimony,” this project that I have coming out on Amalgam, it’s pretty much just what the title says. I’m a walking testimony. After everything I’ve been through, I’m still here. I’m here for a reason, and I try to give that reason in the album, as well as tell the story and tell the testimony. I honestly believe that’s the only reason why I’m still here. If a person wants to know if God’s real or not, just look at my life. Real talk, there’s no way in the world you’re gonna be able to look at my life and have me explain the trials and tribulations I’ve been through and not walk away saying, ‘God really has a hand on him.’

AmalgamDigital.com: Building on that, anyone whose read any of your interviews or heard any of your songs knows you’ve got as many meaningful things to say as any rapper out there. How much harder has that made the album delays you’ve been faced with?

Quan: Believe it or not, I’ve actually always believed that with the way that my career has gone and the goals that I’ve had, that my new album would come out on a major label. But because of politics and bullshit beyond my control, it was never about the music. It was about politics and different entities not being able to come together on the same page and work toward a common goal, that goal being my project. As a result of that, my project suffered.

AmalgamDigital.com: Now that you’re away from some of those major label influences, how do you envision your future in the rap game? Have you changed your career plan at all?

Quan: Nah, I’m just gonna keep going. Either it’s gonna be a beautiful independent career or it’s gonna be an independent/major career-whatever’s in the cards for me. I love the music, and one of the biggest things I’m excited about right now is that I’m recording an urban R&B album, and it’s gonna be wonderful.

AmalgamDigital.com: I know you got the name “Ferquan” because it means “the messenger.” What message are you trying to send to the world?

Quan: One, dreams come true. Two, you can achieve anything, especially through faith. I really wanna raise some awareness to us as human people as to why we are the way we are. I came a long way. I came from a person who had no conscience, no type of understanding, no type of love of self to a person who’s at peace with himself and has a very good understanding of himself. And if I can do it, then I know it can be done.

AmalgamDigital.com: Are there any people out there who you feel are trying to send you a message?

Quan: I think God speaks through people all the time. We get messages all the time from everywhere. It’s just up to us to be humble enough to listen and get the message and learn from the message and then apply the message. I mean, what is life if you’re not striving to make each day better than the last one?

AmalgamDigital.com: What do you think brought you to have faith and a conscience and help change your life from how it used to be back in the day?

Quan: Growth. God and growth, real talk. I say I didn’t use to have a conscience because my motivation was money. I was about that money, and I was about getting it in whatever way I felt appropriate. I just didn’t deal with a lot of situations in the way that a regular person is supposed to.

AmalgamDigital.com: Would you say that a lot of your mentality growing up was also in part a result of your environment and what you knew around you?

Quan: Well there’s a saying that when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I like to compare that to the jungle. If you have a lion in the jungle, he’s not gonna sit back and ask the antelope that he’s about to eat, “How do you feel about me eating you?” He’s gonna eat the antelope because that’s food. You know, so when you’re playing certain games in the street, in certain areas you have to be hard and cold about certain things. Especially with your emotions because they can cloud your perception and cause you to make irrational decisions. Looking at things like that, I had to grow. That’s the best way to explain it. I had to really grow up and learn how to love myself. And in learning how to love myself, I learned to love, honor, and respect mankind.

AmalgamDigital.com: Do you feel like you’re still growing each day?

Quan: Yeah, definitely. The only thing that doesn’t grow is something that’s dead, and I’m very much so alive.

AmalgamDigital.com: If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why?

Quan: Hardest. Music is me. I never had a singing lesson. Nobody ever sat and told me how to verb. Nobody ever sat and told me how to play a piano. Nobody ever sat and told me how to play the drums. So I wouldn’t definitely say I’m the hardest because I’ve been blessed with the gift to create. God gave me every tool that I need to create whatever it is I need to, and I’m thankful for that. If I had more words, then the next two would be real and ambitious.

AmalgamDigital.com: Anything else you’d like to say to everyone out there?

Quan: I love those who love me. I’m thankful for every opportunity. Shout out to Amalgam Digital. Shout out to my Kingz Nation family. Make sure to get that free download, “Carrying the Tradition” mixtape, and “Walking Testimony” album coming out the end of July. Holla at me at myspace.com/donferquan. Love is a verb. Friendship is what soul is to the body.

Tags: Interviews, Quan

This entry was posted on Friday, June 19th, 2009 at 9:34 AM and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.