The new hip hop.

The imprint originally created by Tonedeff in 1997 as a means to independently release his debut project The Monotone EP and reformed in 2000 as the artist collective behind ‘the new hip hop’ movement, has established itself as one of the most refreshing, energetic and inventive brands in Hip Hop history.

With one of the most devout and outspoken fan communities in music today, QN5 Music proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that art-driven albums and a strict focus on fan-interaction are the keys to success in a an ailing industry driven by the principles of quantity-over-quality.

Presenting Tonedeff, CunninLynguists, PackFM, Substantial & Kokayi, all at the top of their creative game. With over 46 full-length releases under their belt and a roster chocked-full of triple-threat solo-artists who jump from emceeing, to producing, to singing without flinching – QN5 Music is quite simply the most versatile hip hop label assembled in recent memory.

QN5 artists have graced the pages of nearly every major media outlet, including Rolling Stone, Spin, XXL, The Source, Elemental, URB, XLR8R, and Scratch. With full-page features and glowing album reviews, they’ve toured the globe extensively, played major festivals such as Lollapalooza, Rocksteady, Hultsfred, Scribble Jam and have even found rotation on network TV behemoths like MTV, BET, ESPN & VH1 . All of this was done 100% independently – a fact that some find outrageous and others find inspiring.

Of QN5’s many strong-suits, their ability to constantly employ innovative marketing techniques is among their strongest. With an expert knowledge of design and viral marketing chops that continually rival those of major labels, they’ve repeatedly set the standard for indie labels online. The result is a devoted grassroots following (nicknamed “Blue Schoolers”), that was built upon the idea that powerful music brings a community together and interaction strengthens its bonds.

As Hip Hop begins to crawl out of the mud and evolve into its next form, QN5 is finally poised to lead the march of new voices into the future, set to the sound of the new hip hop.

http://www.qn5.com

Good Vibes Cali Tour On Sale Now ☀️
"Taking My Time" and "Pay No Mind" Out Now 💫

https://linktr.ee/wearedelasoul

De La Soul is back—but did they ever really leave? After delivering their seminal debut 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989 with the production genius of Prince Paul, the New York City-bred trio of Posdnuos (Pos), Dave and Maseo went on to further impact Hip Hop culture with five more groundbreaking albums: De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) and AOI: Bionix (2001). But once the digital age exploded in the late ‘90s, De La Soul’s celebrated catalog was unavailable to stream. As the decades passed, the tight-knit group forged ahead anyway—touring the world, connecting with their adoring fanbase and making music on their own terms. Following 2004’s The Grind Date, De La Soul took a hiatus from making albums, but joined The Gorillaz on the track “Feel Good Inc” which won them a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration.  In 2015, the group raised over $600,000 on Kickstarter from fans to independently release their album and the Anonymous Nobody, which was their first #1 on the Rap Albums chart, and was also nominated for a Best Rap Album Grammy.   

However, the demand for unreleased De La Soul music was palpable and the cry for access to the first six albums grew louder. Unfortunately, De La Soul was stuck riding a roller coaster of stalled negotiations, dashed hopes and dead-end conversations with their old label, and the group nearly gave up. 

"We have lived without the music up for long, these six albums haven’t been up—ever,” Pos says. “We got used to knowing they weren’t up.” In June of 2021, Tommy Boy Music was acquired by Reservoir, giving De La Soul’s catalog a new home.  In March of 2023, the six missing albums were finally available to stream.  But sadly, right before the catalog release, Dave, the beloved member of De La Soul, passed away. Though bittersweet, De La Soul preserves his legacy and the ongoing impact of their music. 

As iconic songs such as “The Magic Number”, found new life in the film Spiderman: No Way Home in 2021, De La Soul continues to resonate with a diverse population of people. 

As Pos notes, “We’ve noticed over the past several years of tour like, ‘Wow, there’s a father here with his child who also is here with their child. ‘We’re generational. To me, there’s nothing more gratifying than that. That means something. That’s telling about a group. What we were doing wasn’t just stuck to that time.”

“We really naturally been that group for everyone,” Pos says. “It was never about we’re just here for this community, that community, this set of people or these certain fans of Hip Hop culture. We see music as music. We’ve been very resilient, even being a group that didn’t have our music up [on streaming platforms]. We still had these beautiful opportunities through young people finding out about us through a commercial or Spider-Man. Now that it can all be there for people to gravitate to, I’m really happy about that.” 

De La Soul's impact on the musical landscape is immeasurable, with 3 Feet High and Rising widely regarded as one of the most influential albums of its era. Pioneering inventive sampling, playful lyrics, and eclectic beats, the album broke new ground and set a standard for creativity in the genre. Recognizing its cultural significance, the album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress.

Xperience or XP as he is widely known as, is a skilled lyricist, R&B musician and star rapper; he was a church boy raised by his mother in Detroit before his metamorphosis into a musical juggernaut. As a young boy, XP was shuttled between his mother and father’s before finally, in 2002, he moved across the country to Olympia, WA to live with his father full-time. 

 Moving to Olympia had the most significant impact on his life; his lifestyle was completely revolutionized. He began penning dope lyrics and putting rhymes to beats, and it was at this point the idea of being a career artist was cemented.
 
 The turning point in his musical journey came in 2004; XP opened up for Brother Ali, alongside a young, up-and-coming, white MC and fellow Olympia-based MC Ben Haggarty aka Macklemore. They clicked immediately and started writing together soon after.
 
 XP was ultimately featured on “Hold Your Head Up,” “As Soon As I Wake Up,” and “Good for You” on Macklemore's 2005 “The Language of My World” and was promptly enlisted to join Macklemore's first worldwide tour. XP’s desire to be at the top of his game fueled his hunger which led him to meet other notable Pacific North West hip-hop artists like Sleep, Onry Ozzborn, JFK, Smoke, and Candidt. By 2006, XP was the last member to be inducted into the famed Northwest collective, Oldominion.
 
 XP continued to tour the world, working with Macklemore, contributing to both Macklemore's' massively successful releases “The Heist" & "Gemini” landing multiple gold & platinum certifications, including Platinum tracks consisting of Macklemore's “Good ol days” feat. Kesha, “Marmalade” feat. Lil Yachty, “Glorious” feat Skylar Grey, and “Downtown” feat Eric Nally, and more. He also landed a gold plaque for his contributions on “Gemini.”
 
The relentless world touring and the amount of sales was massive by any standard. Yet in between all of this, XP has managed to release numerous projects of his own, including The Mixtape, “The Durden Papers "Vol 1" , “The Revelations e.p”, “Chasing Grace” which featured the critically acclaimed "Not Today" produced by Ryan Lewis, 2018's Picsean and he is currently working on his next R&B/Soul project slated for release later this year. 

 XP continues to tour the world with Macklemore as he prepares for his next release, which promises to be his most ambitious and personal musical masterpiece yet. XP is out to express himself, and continue to elevate artistically. His love and passion for music & performance has reached millions, passing a message, telling his story, and entertaining the world!

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