Few things resonate more than an emcee kicking truth. The combination is dope enough to enlighten, dangerous enough to incarcerate. Whether on or off wax, the power of positive energy resonates past incredulity. HipHopDX recently spoke with Atlanta-party starter, Que about everything from the off-the-chain qualities of McDonald’s iced tea to people thinking his smash single “OG Bobby Johnson” was self-titled, to dream-killers doubting his ability to be a successful rapper. What stood out most during this brief chat during Brisk Bodega’s SXSW showcase was that regardless of topic, Que ends every anecdote on a positive note. For aspiring artists, Mister-Don’t-Call-Him-Bobby-Johnson suggests distinctive music and style as a necessary tool towards success, but his tone around each conversational turn could’ve come from Will Smith’s course on the power of positive thinking—if such a thing existed. Our favorite four Que Motivational Quotes are listed below:
“You know I get people confused by my name, buddy. [Laughs] You know that. The song [‘OG Bobby Johnson’] is like a gift and a curse. People call me ‘Bobby Johnson’ all the time. I have promoters, hosts at the party used to call me ‘Bobby Johnson’ all the time. Even the people at the radio [are like], ‘Oh, we got Mr. OG Bobby Johnson…’ That ain’t my name, buddy. It’s cute. It’s all good, though. We’re working our way up out of it, so we’re straight.”
“It’s so saturated. Everywhere you look—right, left, forward, behind—is a rapper or a singer or somebody trying to pursue the music business. So you gotta standout, whether it be looks. The music gotta be there, of course. It’s very saturated, long story short.”
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“Regardless of whether you like it or not, the bigger picture, the main thang I’m preaching is just do what you believe in. At the end of the day, you came by yourself, you’re gonna go by yourself. Some people ain’t agree with me rapping. They didn’t believe in me at first. But I made a decision on my own to keep going. At the end of the day, you’ve gotta make your own decisions. If you make a decision off of somebody else and it fails, you’ve gotta live with it like, ‘Damn, what if I had made a decision that I was gonna go with? Long story short, whatever you rap about, whatever you do, do you. I do what I believe in.”
“A lot of people get caught up in the hype and the fame. I don’t even consider it fame. I consider it recognition. I tell people all the time, ‘I don’t have fans. I have supporters.’ You ain’t gotta get off your ass and go buy a record from me. You don’t have to go punch your credit card number and go buy nothing off iTunes. All your doing is supporting me. What’s a fan? Personally, I don’t you know. You may know. He may know. But I don’t know. But I ain’t gonna preach to you ‘cause I don’t like nobody preachin’ to me, ya dig? [Laughs]”
