Quality Control is the most important hip hop label out there today

FEATURE

Seven key artists with Quality Control Music, HYBE’s latest label

2023.03.29

Credit

Article. Kang Ilkwon (RHYTHMER, Music Critic)

Photo Credit. QC Music

Def Jam, Tommy Boy, Death Row, Aftermath, Bad Boy, Cash Money, No Limit, Loud, Roc-A-Fella, Top Dawg … Behind all the developments in hip hop are the influential labels who help shape it. Since the 2010s, Atlanta-based Quality Control Music has been one of the most important labels among them. It’s practically hallowed ground in the world of Southern hip hop.

Quality Control Music, or QC for short, was founded by Kevin “Coach K” Lee, who had previously managed Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane, and Pierre “P” Thomas, who himself grew up idolizing Master P, the head of No Limit Records. QC spent their first 12 months and a cool million dollars building their vision of a hybrid company in the digital age, constructing their headquarters and hiring radio staff and promotional workers. They quickly got to work hunting down potential new talent and bringing them into the family, combing through social networks and streaming platforms endlessly to make full use of the tools available to them. Their label consequently ended up with “all the hottest artists in Atlanta,” in local influential producer Zaytoven’s words.

The label’s growth started with a star-studded lineup of artists leading today’s hip hop trends, including the group Migos as well as Lil Baby, City Girls and Lil Yachty. Today, the roster includes Lakeyah, Duke Deuce and a whole host of others standing shoulder to shoulder: Marlo, 24 Heavy, Bankroll Freddie, Javy Fox, Jordan Hollywood, Kollision, Metro Marrs, Quay Global, Wavy Navy Pooh, Layton Greene and more.

Back in 2015, Coach K and P told Billboard that they wanted to position QC as a “world label.” Less than five years later, they surpassed being a world label and instead became the world’s most important label. You can work out the secret to their success just by looking at the artists with the label and all the success they’ve had with their releases. Below are seven major artists to give you a sense of QC’s influence.

Migos

QC’s most prominent artist is Migos. With the group’s unique lineup, consisting of Takeoff and his two uncles, Quavo and Offset, they’re more than just rappers—they’re hip hop icons. The group was originally meant to be called Polo Club, but they deemed that too general and changed to their current name, which is derived from the Spanish word “amigos,” meaning “friends.” Popular belief had it that they named themselves after the 1986 comedy Three Amigos, but the group debunked this in a radio interview with HOT 97 in 2013, saying “it’s just so coincident[al].”

The group formed in 2008 but first rose to prominence in 2013 after the release of their third mixtape, Y.R.N. (Young Rich Niggas). The mixtape fully embraces trap music, then an emerging trend. The single “Versace” had a particular impact. The song uses a rap style called triplet flow, which is where you rap in groups of three choppy syllables, emphasizing the first. Most rappers working in the trap genre since the 2010s have used the same technique, and Korean rappers are no exception. It’s like the signature menu item of rap today. Because “Versace” brought the triplet flow into vogue, it’s sometimes also referred to as the Versace flow.

Seen from afar, the song’s success hardly appeared significant—it went to number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100—but overall, the reaction was huge. In the United States alone, the track went gold, with more than 500,000 downloads, and was no doubt the most talked-about song of the year—to the point that Drake was featured in a remix. Billboard even selected it as one of the “100 Songs that Defined the Decade” across all genres. After “Versace,” the hits just kept on coming. “Handsome and Wealthy,” “Look at My Dab,” “Bad and Boujee” (feat. Lil Uzi Vert), “T-Shirt,” “MotorSport,” “Stir Fry,” “Walk It Talk It” (feat. Drake), “Pure Water” and “Need It” (feat. YoungBoy Never Broke Again) are all good places to start to get a feel for Migos’ take on trap. “Look at My Dab” even helped popularize the titular dance move after the song’s release in 2015. Dabbing is a move where you angle both arms up to one side, your head dipped into the inside of your one elbow and with your other hand coming up to your face. It became a popular Internet meme among the young crowd during the last decade and solidified its place in the culture. The move had already been around a long time when “Look at My Dab” came out but the song was so influential that many people think Migos invented it.

Migos’ trap music is influenced by what they heard and saw growing up in Atlanta. There’s no denying Migos’ claims to fame, including their triplet flow that so many rappers have since adopted, catchy three-person choruses, unexpected and varied ad libs and cultural influence through their dancing, fashion choices and music videos. Migos made their status explicit when they released their aptly named Culture trilogy, starting in 2017.

But in 2022, the group underwent serious changes. Offset departed from the group, leaving Quavo and Takeoff to become a duo instead. But even that didn’t last long. On November 1, the duo was at a bowling alley in Houston when Takeoff was shot and killed after an argument broke out between them and another group. Quavo was shattered by the utterly unpredictable tragedy while shocked hip hop fans and the media expressed their condolences. It’s naturally not the time to talk about future plans, then, but the aura around Migos’ legacy and their ongoing presence remains unquestionable.

My deepest, most sincere condolences to Takeoff.

RIP Takeoff

June 18, 1994–November 1, 2022

Lil Baby

Rappers who were thrown into tough lives because of growing up poor hope for a better life for their children and children everywhere. That still holds true after they move onto legal work in a better environment. The same can be said for Lil Baby. He once had to rely on illicit street life just to have financial stability. Although Lil Baby had no plans to become a rapper, QC found Coach K recognized his unique brand of swag and his talent for rapping and encouraged him.

After spending some time in prison, Lil Baby changed his mind. He spent two years behind bars, but once out, and after much cajoling by Coach K, he decided to devote himself to music. His 2017 mixtape Perfect Timing was just the beginning. He went on to record and release singles, mixtapes and albums at an awesome speed. Baby’s commitment to his craft quickly resulted in amazing successes. His rap abilities and his personality shined through on his steady stream of releases and he enjoyed continued commercial and critical success.

People were drawn to his use of language and wordplay, his knack for spinning captivating stories without glorifying life on the streets, catchy choruses, tight rapping and everything else that goes into his street anthems. His platinum discography is a record of his continuing success, from his debut single, “My Dawg,” to “Freestyle,” “Yes Indeed,” “Drip Too Hard,” “Close Friends,” “Woah,” “Sum 2 Prove” and “On Me.”

In a scene saturated with trap and singing rap, Lil Baby took the same ideas but elevated them to an entirely new level. And even with his repeated success, he’s never become complacent, only more driven by a desire to create. That’s what led QC founder P to call him “one of the brightest stars in the hip hop community.”

City Girls

City Girls, formed by Yung Miami and JT, is a two-woman rap duo—a rarity in the hip hop scene—who turned heads with a musical style as atypical as their lineup. While they mainly work within a trap framework, their song “Twerk,” which made them a recognizable name across the globe, explores older genres: New Orleans bounce and Miami bass.

The first of these genres is a dynamic kind of hip hop rooted in New Orleans jazz and with a focus on twerking, and the second is a combination of rap and 1980s-style electro funk that’s perfect for parties. The song occupies a unique space where it’s simultaneously at the forefront of current trends and dipping into past ones. Their focus on their hometown of Miami goes beyond their production style, with lyrics that touch on their experiences living in the city.

City Girls have been persistent and fearless in their vision ever since their debut 2018 mixtape, Period. They certainly didn’t self-censor. They may have stirred up some controversy along the way, but their praise for independent women and their tributes to Miami’s hip hop history and its pioneers have proven to captivate their listeners. City Girls have become one of QC’s breakout stars, with an endless string of hit singles, including the Cardi B collaboration “Twerk,” “Act Up,” “Pussy Talk” (feat. Doja Cat) and “Twerkulator.”

Lil Yachty

The hip hop landscape has shifted significantly since the 2010s. Most notably has been the birth of a completely new style of rapper. These people become stars based on the music they post to music site SoundCloud and find their inspiration in rock and pop rather than hip hop. With their muffled vocals, so-called mumble rap was born and exploded in popularity. With such a sudden shift, an uproar naturally followed.

Rap star Lil Yachty followed this exact path. He listened to more pop than hip hop or R&B, earned himself a slew of followers on social media before his musical debut thanks to his fashion and often used samples from anime and games. Tellingly, he defined his own music as “bubblegum trap” in a Rolling Stone interview—a lighthearted, accessible form of pop associated with bubblegum pop and mainly targeting teens, sometimes used disparagingly. As such, the idea of making serious music never crossed Yachty’s mind.

His music was intentionally silly and sounded awkward and at times so amateurish that the songs bordered on perplexing. It was a controversial angle, but the unusual flavor served to let Yachty stand out from the crowd of new rappers. His veritable hit parade—the singles “One Night” and “Minnesota” off his debut mixtape Lil Boat, the collaboration “Broccoli” with DRAM, “Peek a Boo” featuring Migos, “Ice Tray,” “Who Want the Smoke?”—turned him into one of the most famous rappers among the younger generation. Then, when he released his new album Let’s Start Here this past January, he greeted to world with psychedelic alternative in place of rap/hip hop. The total departure and move to something more serious and polished was enough to catch people off guard. It’s beginning to look like Yachty was a master strategist all along.

Duke Deuce

Today, the most prominent styles in Southern hip hop—the current hip hop mainstream—are trap and drill. But before those caught on, crunk put Southern hip hop in the spotlight. The brainchild of producer-rapper Lil Jon, crunk combines simple 808 drums, dramatically emphasized repetitive synths, heavy bass and rap that borders on shouting. It took the scene by storm in the early 2000s, and although its heyday was short-lived, it served as a gateway to the era of trap music.

Duke Deuce, a newcomer out of Memphis, stood out among other fresh faces because he gave his music a crunk angle. He created a completely new class of club bangers revolving around the subgenre from his hometown. Crucial to establishing his name was the release of his 2021 album Duke Nukem under QC backed with the strong promotional push of distributor Motown. With the album, Duke Deuce established his own middle ground between the two major pillars of crunk: Lil Jon’s upbeat sound and the darker music of Three 6 Mafia. Duke’s rapping is full of energy and his music is produced in such a way that the excitement never cools down. That’s not to mention the specific pleasure that comes from hearing his signature cry of “what the f**k!” inserted into all of his tracks. For a sense of what makes Duke Deuce the real deal, listen to “Crunk Ain’t Dead,” an ode to the genre’s resurrection, and “SOLDIERS STEPPIN,” a single off Duke Nukem.

Lakeyah

It’s no exaggeration to say that Milwaukee-born singer-rapper Lakeyah is the future of QC. Although she hasn’t yet released a studio album, her mixtapes and EPs show why the label snatched her up. In 2019, she took part in City Girls’ viral “First Day Out” rap challenge and made waves with her unique style and sheer talent. Then, in 2020, she released a well-received rap overtop 42 Dugg and Lil Baby’s song “We Paid” and became a member of the QC family.

Lakeyah moves seamlessly between aggressive, self-aggrandizing rap and soulful R&B. Her clear talent led to her being labeled an up-and-comer to keep your eye on by various media outlets, most notably when XXL magazine put her on their Freshman Class list in 2021. The magazine’s annual Freshman Class is basically a guaranteed stepping stone for future rap stars. Only a few artists are chosen, with rap stars such as Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Chance the Rapper and Megan thee Stallion all having made the list in their earlier years. In the 14 years that the list has been published, Lakeyah was the first rapper from Milwaukee to be admitted.

Layton Greene

Singer-songwriter Layton Greene is QC’s first R&B artist. In 2017, she remixed Kodak Black’s “Roll in Peace,” uploading a homemade video that went viral. Since then, an official extended version of the remix has been played more than 3.5 million times on SoundCloud and has made it into the top 15 on the Billboard R&B Songs chart. It was at that point that labels began to take notice.

Greene is living proof of the Pygmalion effect, in which a strong enough desire in itself helps it to come true. Ever since first discovering her musical talent at the age of seven, she was confident that she would become a professional singer. She just knew she’d be famous one day, so she didn’t feel flustered even when she didn’t pass the auditions on The X Factor and America’s Got Talent as a teenager. Greene put all her focus into going pro and was eventually recruited by QC, going on to become one of the most notable new names in R&B.