Back in the spring the west-side rap group Qualo received a proposition they were sure was a prank: the intern who handles their digital marketing got a message through his MySpace page offering them a record deal with major-label monolith Universal. “We thought it was a joke,” says Chicago Shawn, whose real name is Shawndell Lewis. “But it turned out to be real.” The message was from Universal A and R exec Jolene Cherry. “So we called her up, and they flew us out to LA,” Shawn says, “and it was popping from there.” Qualo signed a deal with the company in mid-July.
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A month later Shawn, Shala Esquire (Olusola Akintunde), Preast G (Trevell Ruffer), and Optimyst (Kenneth Bayliss) are holed up at Lake Street’s DAM! studios. As they bound in and out of the control room, it’s hard to keep track of which of their myriad projects they’re working on at the moment. Aside from a batch of new material slated for their Universal debut, they’re putting the finishing touches on Preast’s solo effort, Fear God, Tell the Truth and Make Money, which will be released independently on September 11; a compilation called Immortal Movement Nation; and samplers for Nike and the performing rights organization ASCAP. The group is also working on tracks for the members of its Movement crew, which includes Morocco Stone (formerly known as the Colombian Prince) and Crystal Claire.
Qualo released their debut comp, Movementality, in 2000, and furthered their reputation by opening for everyone from KRS-One to Cash Money to DMX. “Every gig in Chicago you can play we played,” says Optimyst. “Every college, House of Blues, Metro, Elbo Room, all of that.” In 2003 they hit it big, selling more than 10,000 copies of their comp Chi Bangin’: The Movement Catalog, which featured group and solo tracks from Qualo as well as from other west-side rappers like Psychodrama and Royale.
“Our goal is to bring back the danger to the shit,” he adds. “Eighty-year-old ladies shouldn’t be singing 50 Cent songs. I want to affect the kids, and make music that pisses their parents off again–like, ‘You ain’t supposed to be listening to this.’”
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Jim Newberry.
