Spotlight Talent: Q. Realigion

Welcome to Spotlight Talent. Where I showcase and interview talented people, whether that's rappers, singers, dancers, poets, actors, dancers, ANYTHING!

For my first "Spotlight Talent," I had the pleasure of meeting with a rapper that goes by the name of Q Realigion.

Not only is he extremely talented lyrically, but he is also a college student, currently at Ferrum College and does vlogs about his everyday life as a college student and talks with the people on campus about lots of different things. Not to mention he also has his own brand that he is working on called, 7VZNS!

Location: DMV

Age: 20

Talent: Rapper

Social Media: IG:@qrealigion, SC: @quureligion, Twitter: @321OnlyQ, FB: Quimirr Heyward, SoundCloud: QRealigion

Me: When did you start rapping?

Q. Realigion: I started rapping at 16. It was like therapy to me. I was able to write about how I felt and that's what really made me fall in love with it from the jump.

What made you start rapping?

I felt like I needed people to hear my story and understand what I been through.

A lot of rappers say that, so what would you say makes you different from the rest?

I think I came from such a rough situation that a lot of people would have gave into and took what life gave them. I feel that by me sharing my story, one day a little boy or girl can hear it and grab some inspiration knowing that it has been successful people who come from the same circumstances as themselves. Honestly that's more important to me than anything.

I like that. Who are your biggest inspirations?

J. Cole, his word play is crazy and people say we sound the same. Jay Z, absolute hustler and legend. Tupac, he spoke out for what he stood on and believed in. Vincent Van Gogh, we look at our art the same. 50 Cent, he made me fall in love with Hip-Hop. Tariq Nasheed, a huge African American activist. Kendrick Lamar, he pushes his sound to new heights and he's so versatile. And of course Drake, he's at the level that every musician in Hip-Hop works to one day be.

(Laughs) I'm not gon get mad that you just said that about J. Cole because that's my favorite rapper and I would be mad if it wasn't SLIGHTLY true... How'd you come up with the name Q. Realigion?

I'm just going off of what people told me. Obviously I take that as a compliment! (laughs) And Q. Realigion is just me saying my name is Q and being real is like a religion so I added the two together. Dope? Yeah I know (laughs) but yeah.

Yo I'm weak. Something is wrong with you. (laughs) So, okay at first I guessed that it was because you liked True Religion or something.

It'll be a lie if I said I wasn't inspired just a little bit.

What's your favorite song that you made?

That's a tough one, I really like Comeback season & J.A.W.

Why are those your favorite songs?

In general, I'm a laid back dude, but I have different levels to my personality. One particular level is just straight up drive and aggression and you can hear that in comeback season. On the other hand JAW is dropping because it's about my dad being locked up and how I'm dealing with that. True story, he actually calls me from prison in the middle of me making the song and I got him to speak into the mic. You can hear it in the music.

Locally, who are your biggest competitions?

None. I don't really compete with anybody.

(laughs) See, I like that. Most people would say "I have no competition, I'm the greatest." That was real humble... Who do you want to get signed to?

Honestly, I plan to run my own label someday and sign myself along with others.

Like J. Cole?

Yeah! I think what Cole is doing is amazing.

And are there any local artists that you would like to make music with?

Yeah there's a few like this one guy named Miah Travis, he's dope. Another one, NI-Trel, we have a song coming out together. Nick verses and maybe someone else.

I never heard of them and now I gotta look into them. Okay, now for the gushy stuff! (laughs) Are you single?

(laughs) No, I'm engaged.

You're lying.

(laughs) Yeah I'm just playing, I'm very single.

(laughs) Don't play like that. I thought you was serious. Do you think being in a relationship distracts you from your music?

Being in a relationship at this point would distract from everything. So, yes.

Why though?

It's too much things I have to account for to maintain a healthy relationship. School, my business, and music. All too much going on.

Alrighty, two more questions! What's the weirdest thing you've encountered now that you're a rapper?

I notice a lot of people are just fake straight up. And the people that are close usually aren't the ones supporting, in fact it usually comes from the people you don't expect to be honest.

Man! I noticed that too. And it felt weird at first, but then I realized that's how the game go. It's like person A don't support person B because he don't support person A. But, person B don't support person A because he don't support person B. It's a big cycle.

Exactly how it goes.

Alright, last question, what can the listeners expect from you now? Do you have any upcoming projects?

I have a lot of singles and freestyles I'm going to just keep dropping. I want to get more people familiar with my music before I put out a whole project. So that's the plan just more music. I have a single dropping soon. Called "My shit hot," you should really look out for that.

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And that concludes this interview! Y'all go check out Q Realigion. Look out for his music and don't forget to support him and buy some of his clothes from his brand 7VZNS and subscribe to his YouTube channel!

Check out the freestyle I shot in the Gallery!

Make sure to tune in to the next "Spotlight Talent" soon!

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#rappers #localartists #qrealigion #dmv #spotlighttalent