We've featured QuESt on more than a few occasions here on Crossfade. He's definitely one of South Florida's brightest upcoming hip-hop artists. He has the talent, the voice, the flow, and seemingly a great following in the world of the "true school" hip-hop circles (and, by "true school," we mean being associated with underground and East Coast hip-hop sounds).
While QuESt may not sound like your usual artist from "the 305," that's probably what makes him that much more incredible.
Coming from the North Miami side of the county, he's a fresh element to the sometimes stagnant Miami hip-hop scene of seeing the same three or four artists get most of the mainstream/press attention at any given time.
QuESt has gotten the obligatory Jay-Z comparisons, but he still
stands on his own. A few months ago, he released his first single, "We're Going Down," off his new album The Reason: A Defense Mechanism.
The song sampled One Republic's "All The Right Things," and was a
little bit on the unexpected side - sounding a bit too "pop" influenced
for whatever reason, despite the solid verses from QuESt.
But now, QuESt returns from a summer of hiatus by releasing the
second single off the album. This one is called "If You Wanna." Another kinda-sorta
unexpected track from QuESt, it's mixed with a little bit of
semi-singing, a dash of storytelling, and a grown-n-sexy beat that is
definitely aiming to appeal to the masses. Well, at least under his
terms, of course.
The song sounds very mature, despite QuESt's young age -- but maybe a little too
mature sounding. All in all, its a good preview of what to expect from
QuESt's album, but we definitely wouldn't mind hearing that a few of the
album's songs are little less melancholy and a little brighter. Take a
listen below, and tell us what you think.
Download: QuESt - If You Wanna
