Quanstar

Quanstar
is the ultimate indie hip hop artist. His DIY attitude,
insatiable need to create, and control freak tendencies have
allowed him to flourish and accomplish more than many of his
contemporaries signed to major labels with bigger budgets.

Born
in Compton, Ca, Quanstar attributes his earliest exposure to hip hop
culture to his cousin. It was through him that Quanstar found out
about artists like Run DMC, The Sugarhill Gang, The Fat Boys, and
Kurtis Blow. After that Beat Street, Breakin', and Wild Styles took
over; however, the one single moment that made him a bona fide hip
hop head was seeing LL Cool J perform Radio in the movie,
Krush Groove. At that point he got it, and knew that's what he wanted
to be.

In
the years following, whether it was showing off his fancy footwork on
cardboard, rhymin on the street corner about cars driving by, or
taggin up his notebook in class when he should be listening to the
teacher, Quanstar was completely immersed in hip hop culture. By the
time he was 16, he was known as the fiercest freestyler in his
neighborhood, and winning competitions all over the Los Angeles area.

Later
relocating to Georgia to attend Clark Atlanta University, Quanstar
kept doing much of the same, building a name for himself on campus
and hip hop circles around the city. It was here that he originally
met fellow MC and future business partner, Evaready RAW. In 2002,
they started the hip hop band, First Team.

Around
that same time, Quanstar and Evaready noticed that many of their
contemporaries signed too labels began complaining about the lack of
fiscal and creative control they had with their carreers. So the two
decided to go in the footsteps of rappers like Ice Cube, El-P,
Atmosphere, and the Hieroglyphics Crew by taking ownership of their
careers and starting First Team Music.

Originally
used only to professionally oversee their careers, First Team Music
has since blossomed into a multi-faceted media company developed from
the perspective of the independent musician. Among its many
operations: a label, tour management company, booking agency, and
Android app development firm. All with Quanstar at the capatain's
helm steering the ship.

Quanstar's
resume is undeniable. In just a little over 10 years in the business
he dropped 10+ albums, been the subject of a documentary, released a
book, written an directed several short films, and written and
directed his first feature film. He's also had an online cooking show
(Cooking wih Quanstar), and occasionally writes a blog about his
experiences as an indie hip hop artist.

A
leader in indie music, Quanstar uses hip hop to set the bar high and
stretch the boundaries of art and music in hopes to influence and
increase opportunities for others.