Reality Bites!!

Whats good people,

So this past Sunday I was really feeling good about myself right. 2:00 I had an interview with channel 12 in Stamford. I was in this big TV studio with the lights and cameras and all that Jazz. Well fed and Fresh off a couple positive myspace messages. I was part of a conversation on the History of Hip Hop and it turned out pretty well so I was flying high.
After the interview I headed to "Fame City" in Bridgeport to meet up with this cool cat from out there who has a clothing line and wanted to sponsor me by hitting me with some gear so I could rock at the shows. It's not a prob cause I'm feeling what he's doing with his movement. Spreading a positive message with his fashion while I do it with my music. Peace to Selfmathematiks by the way.
So I walk into "Fame City" which is a dope ass spot where they do legal graffiti. It was a bright sunny day and as I headed towards the open area full of people tagging these dope pieces on the walls, in the distance I can hear my album blasting out of a black SUV. Wow! It was such a dope feeling.
So I met the dude I was talking about who was gonna hit me with the shirts. We built for a minute and exchanged packs of flyers so we can help promote each others causes. As I walked around to the different graffiti artists, one looks at me and says "yo, I know you from somewhere. Do you write?" I said, "not on walls but I write rhymes ... lol." He smiled and said "your the Sun right, they call you the sun or sun rising right?" I laughed and replied "yea, I'm the rising sun Quest." I was shocked as he told me he had my second album "Surviving Life" and then started rattling off the names of my tracks, concepts off the album and even recited verses from it. He talked about how dope the album was and how much he loved the it. He gave me mad props and all that.
So here I am fresh from Ch. 12 in the Graffiti Mecca of Bridgeport with my music blasting on a beautiful sunny day and a fan reciting my rhymes.

BUT THATS WHEN REALITY BITES!!

You see thats all good and everything, but when I asked If he wanted to buy the new album he said "awww come on man, I'm a fan. Cant I just get that shit?"

Trust me people. It's not about the money at all. I love to make music for you to listen to. It's the reason I invest my hard earned money in putting out my material and professionally packaged at that. So I love when people tell me how much my music has moved them. But the REALITY is that as an underground rapper I can't continue to put this music out If I press it up and give it away. The REALITY is that people aren't interested in supporting us local artists either. The REALITY is, How the hell am I supposed to sell music to someone who doesn't know Me if I can't sell it to someone who recites my Music.

Damn Reality BITES!!

So whens Quest's New Album Finally droppin?

APRIL 18th!!!
Thats right people I'm finally gonna drop my 3rd release called
"Journey Towards The Sun"
I'm gonna rock a little three week tour to promote it.
Friday April 18th I'll be rocking in Danbury @ Cousin Larry's. Its our monthly Enter The Cypher Event and I'll be Celebrating the release of my release but, we'll also be having a Dj Battle that night as well so definitely Come down if you can.
The following week on the 24th I'll be hitting up NYC at a spot called The Alphabet Lounge. That night will feature acts such as myself, The Higher Concept, NYOil and More.
Closing out the Mini tour will be a release party in my hometown Waterbury, CT @ Bobby Allen's on May 2nd.

so there it is in a nutshell....April It is!! Hit me up on myspace for all things QUEST.

www.Myspace.com/risingsunquest
www.risingsunquest.com

AFA

HIP HOP LOVERS!!!
Show your support. Please Vote for Quest's song "Our Dreams"on kiss957.com in the underground countdown.


CLICK HERE to vote for QUEST or text "CYPHER 2" TO 49330

Vote online now. Song airs LIVE on 95.7 Feb 3 (Superbowl Sunday) so make sure you remember me after you watch the game.

Election year right!! Lets Vote!

HIP HOP LOVERS!!!
Whats going on my people. Just checkin in with the AFA fans to let them know what i'm up to. Still Workin on the album. I know I been saying its comming soon so heres an official report. I have 12 tracks recorded with three more to tackle. I'll be recording with expertiz this weekend and Dutch shortly after. Spaz, Protege and Myself are also working on one of those final cut's. Once thats done Ill be hitting ya'll up to let you know where you can get the album from so stay tuned.
In the meantime you can still Show your support. Please Vote for my song "Our Dreams"on kiss957.com in the underground countdown. Its only a 30 second clip on kiss957.com but you can hear the whole song on www.myspace.com/risingsunquest.


CLICK HERE to vote for QUEST or text "CYPHER 2" TO 49330

Vote online now. Song airs LIVE on 95.7 Feb 3 (Superbowl Sunday) so make sure you remember me after you watch the game.

AFA: Freestyle Corner - Hawl Digg Interview

Today we present to you an interview with Danbury's finest MC, Hawl Digg of Workforce.




Live 'n direct from the back alley of Cousin Larry's, we present to you ... The AFA Freestyle Corner.

Enjoy

QUEST, New Release!!! Sooner than later it seems.

Whats good people,
Sorry I haven't been checking in lately. I hope I didn't lose any fans. I been working heavy on this new project. Its untitled at the moment but I'm really feeling good about this one. Some say Surviving Life Is a classic. I really love that album too, but what i've recorded for the new one, OMFG!!! peep the RUNDOWN below

UNTITLED (any suggestions) SIKE!!!

1)Taking care of Business produced by sketch
2)Speak produced by Deto 22
3)On and On produced by Definition featuring DJ SirCumference
4)Escape from what? produced by Maddsonn featuring SilenTuch
5)Walk With the Beat produced by JK1
6)Our Dreams produced by Spaz

Just to name a few

Those who know me know my style and when I say I'm bringing that real HIP HOP, its the truth. I'm trying to wrap up the recording by the end of September and have a finished product by mid October. What happens from there depends on feedback from fans though. I need to know if your still with me. Hit me with some feedback on my myspace page and let me know if your ready to hear some new Tracks from The Rising Sun. I'm really feeling the last couple joints I did and I cant wait to bring this one to the people!!!
I think I,ll upload some new mix tape shit I did to my myspace page in the next few days. So be on the lookout www.myspace.com/risingsunquest

One love,
The Rising Sun Quest.
But if we meet just call me Quest

Xotic Dreamz Car Show

Whats good everybody,

This Is Quest with a little summery of the goings on this past Sunday. The Xotic Dreams car club was holding their 5th annual car show in Waterbury this year so they asked If I could rock the crowed since It's my hometown. I was definitely down for it and have been waiting with great anticipation for it to go down. I was afraid that the rain would spoil the event considering that every outdoor event that I've ever tried to rock has been canceled due to rain. The car show was supposed to be a two day event which started at noon on Saturday. I was to be performing Sunday around 2:00 but DJ SirCumference and I intended to drop by on Saturday to see what the deal was. The forecast called for Severe Thunderstorms on Saturday and Sunday. I was bummed Cause I was sure the event was canceled but to my surprise the car show was going on. Through the rain cars were registered and judged on Saturday.

Sunday was looking pretty good around noon. the sun was out and their was a good amount of people at the event. Their were about 50 cars on display which i was told was a very small turnout but considering the forecast was not that bad. Their were some real dope whips there. there also were some dope shorties in short shorts too for all the fellas to look at. I was there with some of my peoples just enjoying the day. Nemesis was there with his family, My boy Definition, Roc One, Expertiz, Spaz, Dj Sircumference. It was a dope afternoon. The first event was a High low competition where they measure how close the car is to the ground or how high it is off the ground. Whatever. After that was a rev competition to see who the big dogs were in terms of revving that engine. Their was a Dodge Charger there that nobody could fuck with. He revved that bad boy up and i'm sure it was the loudest car Ive ever heard. Their was a Chevy Impala that came close but nobody could see that Charger.

After that was my performance. I had to cut it a little short cause the storm clouds were approaching and their were still other events like the Bikinni Contest, tug of war, bobbing for apples, pie throwing yet to be held. I set it off with a track that was kinda lyrical and im not sure the crowed was feeling what i Was doing At first. So I broke out a joint off the upcomming album titled "The Rhythm" THats now my go to track. Heads were feeling it and because it has that dope b-boy vibe a couple heads even started to break on the concrete in front of the stage. It was dope and the crowed was definately into it at that point. I rocked a freestyle after that and then Ended it off with My favorite closer off Surviving Life,"Hip HOP FOR YOU" I definately had a good time. But just as i finished up and announced the next event, I look to my ritht and saw a wall of rain headed right for us. it went from dry to flood in seconds. You would think shots went off the way the crowed scattered. It was funny i cant remember seeing that many people dissappear that fast. many ran under tents most ran to their cars.

Those Xotic Dreamz cats are no joke though. They weren't about to have the rain completely ruin their event. Even with Thunder, Lightning and heavy downpours they still had their bobbin for apples event. That shit was so funny to see them in the rain trying to get a trophy for whoever could get the most apples. After that every car club that was taking shelter under a tent lifted it and walked towards the stage under the tent like 20 deep per tent. Now that they had all the tents butted up against each other the were able to have their trophy ceremony's.
Considering the shitty weather Id say I had a great time. THanks to the Xotic Dreamz Car club for having me as the live entertainment for the event.

Southern Cross Sundays

Whats going on people. Its been a minute since I've added my weekly post. But it seems that Southern Cross Sundays on the blog has been replace with Sunday recording sessions at the Southern Cross.
Its 10:35 right now and its the end of a very productive weekend. Just to keep you up on things, here is a quick rundown of the "goings on" in my little anthill called The Southern Cross.
I got a dope solo joint on a Spaz beat, we got Expert and DJ SirCumference with Scribe+, Expert and myself on a dope track, D_Cyphernauts making some serious noise on a Sketch production, Protoge of Phenetiks consistent over the past two weeks collaborating with overseas and out of state producers, Spaz on his own production with Dj premier... Oh wait that's Circumference?
Put it simple, the storm is brewing. Nothing but dopeness being created over the past couple weeks. Wow, now is the time to really stay in tune with the AFA. These gems will be finding their way to your ears pretty soon. Very very soon. Wack MC's BEWARE!!!

Peace
The Rising Sun Quest

Southern Cross Sundays

This is a list of the albums that have had the most impact on me. This is a very short post, but I spent more time writing it than I have writing any other post. I cant say this is my top ten because It was too hard to create a top ten. This is in no order of preference.

• Illmatic by Nas
• 6 Feet Deep by Gravediggaz
• Muddy Waters by Redman
• Enta da Stage by Black Moon
• The Infamous by Mobb Deep
• Only Built 4 Cuban Linx by Raekwon
• Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
• Capital Punishment by Big Pun
• The Score by Fugees
• The Sun Rises in the East by Jeru The Damaja

It was very hard not to include:

• Ready to Die by Notorious B.I.G.
• Dare Iz a Darkside by Redman
• A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Black Sheep
• The Chronic by Dr. Dre
• The Slim Shady LP by Eminem
  

... and so many more

By Quest, The Rising Sun
www.myspace.com/risingsunquest
www.soundclick.com/risingsunquest
AFA

Southern Cross Sundays: Sophomore Slump

Whats going on people. Its Sunday which means its my day to contribute to the AFA blog with whatever I want. Today I want to talk about the "sophomore slump." Ever since Ive been listening to HIP HOP I've noticed that for many of my favorite rappers, album number two is not always as dope as album #1. Its not always the case as Redman held It down with three solid albums to jump off his career. Nas in my opinion did a good job with his second effort. Some say "It was written wasn't as dope as "Illmatic," no shit. If you compare his second album to his first you'll miss all of the good things that album #2 has to offer. Many people criticize Cannibus' first album for being weak and a complete let down. I disagree. I think Cannibus' first album was very good in fact. It had a lot of versatility, dope lyrics, interesting concepts. However His second album, though it may have had slightly better beats. Every song was the same thing over and over.

I think the Sophomore Slump is a combination of many things. Number one is that when the first album is so good, people will expect certain things from the second. Instead of just treating it as a fresh new project, they see it as a continuation of the first. Another key factor in the Slump is that all the hunger driving the first album is genuine. Its a hunger that has had a whole life to develop. The hunger for the second effort only has time to develop between albums and its also not genuine in that its corrupted with expectations to meet the success of it's predecessor. Thus making some of the content forced and unauthentic.

With that I leave you with what in my opinion was the most disappointing "Sophomore Slump." Yeah Baby, by Big Pun...R.I.P. I hate to say it, but Capitol Punishment is arguably one of the best albums ever. It had everything that I as a fan wanted to hear in an album. It was in my opinion some of the best rhyme delivery in hip hop. I remember waiting for that second album to come out. I just knew it would be regarded as the, "Best Album EVER!!" Though it had some good points, it was far from that. Very Disappointing.

Oh well, Ill take Yeah Baby over any album distributed in todays Hip Hop mainstream.

By Quest, The Rising Sun
www.myspace.com/risingsunquest
www.soundclick.com/risingsunquest

The Evil Dee show

The basic rundown of the show last night was , It was dope. If you couldn't make it out there you really missed a dope event. The AFA was definitely reppin strong.The event was held at the monkey bar in Danbury. Their were like 4 DJ's set-ups and lap tops at each one. The game has changed!!!

DJ Circumference and I held it down for a good 30min plus of solid material. much love to Circumference for makin it one of my favorite performances of mine. we rehersed for a short amount of time but everything came out as planned. Spaz rocked a joint with me, and my freestyle was definately on point. The crowed was definately into it and I repped AFA throughout.

After my set Cee Reed held it down for another half hour. Giving the people a good dose of what the AFA has to offer. With special guests Matikhan and Mic Ripz the set was full of dope rhymes and lyrics for the people to get down wit.
Much love Cee Reed for reppin AFA aswell.

Along with a bunch of Dj's their were undercover breakers scattered throughout. Napalm was definitely doing his thing as always. While the DJ's dropped the break beats heads were just stepping to the floor doing their thing. My boy Wos definitely held his own in the circle and he and Napalm collaborated on the floor for a spontaneous routine. Then outta nowhere we had DJ Circumference show his stuff on the floor.That cat does it all! If that wasn't enough my boy Cee Reed got into the mix proving that he also is well versed in the art of the b-boy. So you know I had to rep. I blew um all out the water when I approached the center of the floor and simply crossed my arms in a b-boy stance. With a glaring stare to all the onlookers I gained my respect....lol Yea right. Anyway, Much love to all the b-boys reppin.

You already know that with all the MC's in the cut that out on the patio we had to bring it back to the old school cypher. Straight up we had cats doing it up on the freestyle tip wit my man Circumference on the beatbox. It brought me back to being on the block on a chilly night just rockin on the corners.

Oh, their was also a merch table where this cat Mastro was tagin up graff on caps for the people. He had a real dope setup there. I saw people getting some real fresh quality caps. Its all hip hop baby!!

Basically, the vibe was a very good one and everybody was having a great time.
When Evil Dee went up to do his thing he only fueled the fire that was already burning. Much respect to him for coming through and chillin wit us, as on of us. He announced that if you were here for that radio bullshit. Your in the wrong place. His set was as he put it, a journey through Hip HOP. He was sure enough right.

I don't remember exactly what he set off with but damn!!! I'm talking rappers delight, mass appeal, sound of the police, passing me by, don't sweat the technic, luchiano, shook ones, You got what I need. The list goes on and on and on. I mean, you gotta love it when you hear the man say " lets rock to one of MY old school beats" an then he drops "BUCKTOWN" shit was crazy. looking around I can see everybody basically taking a journey back in time to when hip hop was real to us. I coulde't stop jumping, throwing my hands up, and reciting the words to my favorite jams. We had Hawl Dig jumping up reciting T.R.O.Y., Cee Reed and two tall blonds bugging out to KRS 1, Dirt E Dutch just in his own world dancing to the old, old school record. Like some 70's soul shit. I could tell he wanted to make a beat..lol Much love kat. It was just too live in the motherfuckin house. Then Evil Dee said it was time for the last track. " I'm gonna exit the way I came into the game," Then he drops what else, Who Got the Props!! What!!

What can I say, we all had a great time. I'm happy to have shared that with many of my AFA brothers. Its clear to see we grew up loving the same music. And just when I thought the night couldn't get any better. 2:30am right outside the Monkey Bar their was a hot dog stand equipped with chili. It was on! My peoplez would agree that those ware some top notch dogs right there.

Peace to those who were able to make it out. Roc One, Cee Reed, Dirt E Dutch , Hawl Dig, Matikhan, Spaz, Jay of Not For Nothing, Protoge, Wos, Henchmen, Abstract Trax, Napalm, Jus Mula, Russ, Germ, DJ Circumference, Mastro, all the Dj's, breakers, performers, Evil Dee and company, hip hop lovers in the crowed makin it so live. The hot dog guy in the HDP Mobil.
Thanks T NOC for holding this event. Cant wait to do it again.

The Rising Sun Quest

Quest: Live @ Hillside Cafe

Quest LIVE @ HILLSIDE CAFE

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