QUALO: Believe.

Qualo

Believe.

© 2004 The Movement. Chicago, LLC (809400999828)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

"Qualo's Preast, Chicago Shawn, Optimyst and Shala Esquire pack 'Believe' with a mentality born from years of absorbing Public Enemy, NWA and OutKast: smartly brutal verses over bangin' beats...." - Billboard Magazine

tracks

1 Creed
2 Immortal Movement Nation
3 Do What the Track Say
4 Dro
5 Pimpaholic
6 How to Make a Baby Mama
7 Ride Slow
8 Come Outside
9 We Are the War
10 Holiday
11 Coco
12 Im Yo Brother
13 I Ain't a Pimp
14 So Mo Gangsta
15 This Little Light
16 Diary of a Mad Band
17 Never Die

notes

"What if 2pac was a group....."
Chicago, hip hop's new mecca, is rapidly
being recognized for being the new breeding
ground for the self-produced-artist/franchise
performer. The Midwest capital has given the world
R. Kelly, Kanye West, and now, the band: Qualo.
Qualo, meaning "The four of us", consist of four
producer/rappers from the West side of Chicago.
This seldom-seen combination makes their musical
reach wide and addictive. The four come together
with an energy similar to the heydays of the hip
hop super-group. Bottomline: a definite
franchise...
Preast delivers soul-touching,
picturesque rhymes with a lyrical depth
paralleled only by such greats as 'Pac, Nas, and
Eminem. Stepping in the producer's arena, Preast
provides equally intense production that is both
refreshing and edgy. Chicago Shawn adds a stick
of dynamite to the recipe with a high octane flow
to match his intricate wordplay and introspective
sentimentality. His innovative production keeps
Qualo on their toes and listeners under that
hypnotic Qualo spell. Adding fuel to the fire is
Optimyst. Optimyst lends his distinguished
wordplay, commanding the listeners' attention.
His compelling "prose" style verses possess a
quality of simple sincerity and clarity; a kin to
musical icons, Outkast. No stranger to the boards,
he also lends his hand in constructing the distinct
Qualo sound. Shala Esquire adds a truly cultured
"Fugee-esque" perspective to the group. A native
Nigerian, Esquire is the proverbial glue,
anchoring the Qualo sound with his intriguing
street narrative poetry and rock-influenced
production.
Qualo's unique blend of bass-heavy beats, fierce
rhyme techniques, infectious chants and catchy
hooks, set to a backdrop of soulful music, social
awareness, and political satire will have you
rolling in emotion one minute and laughing out
loud the next; all the while nodding your head
uncontrollably.

While the music is an experience in
itself, Qualo's true essence can only be captured
by seeing their live show. Qualo captivates the
audience with a stage presence that is both
exciting and inviting. They possess a synergy
and presence rarely seen in this post-new school
hip hop era. Whether you're a "hip hop purist",
a radio junkie, or a rap critic, if you put your
ear to the street and listen closely, you'll hear
and be quickly entranced by the "hood's
heartbeat"...
the Qualo sound.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
the Movement. Chicago, LLC
773.536.3540
--

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • This album really catches fire on joints like “Come Outside” and “So Mo Ga
    author: Elemental Magazine

    Just in case you didn’t get it when they dropped their first album, Movementality, nearly five years ago, this Chicago quartet of producers, songwriters and rhyme-sayers is part of a broader grass roots movement steadily gaining momentum in the Midwest for more than a minute now. If you don’t believe it, listen to the streets or the next best thing and hit up the Internet for the mixtapes floating around featuring Chicago Shawn, Preast, Shala, and Optimyst. Incendiary material like “Gunshots, Warfare, Revelations” add fuel to the fire but is only a tip of the iceberg and hardly conveys the hard-edged ideology and eclectic range of style this collective is capable of. In the end you’ll get a definitive sense of where they’re coming from. They come hard and righteous, and broadsides like “Creed” and “Immortal Movement Nation” go far in seconding that emotion. Preast, like the rest of the group, is a jack-of-all-trades. He produced and played all the instruments for the first track that starts off with the accelerated sample of an Islamic prayer and a heartbeat that goes bump in the night while Shawn goes off like a ticking bomb. The second song is a jack from a Nas classic that sheds even more light on the group’s contentiously contradictory character. They flip-off all the right figures of authority with two middle fingers on “Do What the Track Say” and even call for the arrest of the president, among other brilliant suggestions. But such instigations sound decrepit in the wake of an avalanche like “fuck the situation of corporations monopolizing the radio stations, TVs, CDs and DVDs” that urges audiences to “fuck the internet if the shit ain’t free” even while calling for the heads of “bootleggers and Best Buy too” since “it ain’t cuz we want to but cuz we got to.” Songs like “Pimpaholic” and “I Ain’t A Pimp” would sound sophomorically stupid if it weren’t for the tongue-in-cheek humor in abundance on other tracks like “How To Make A Baby” that are slightly reminiscent of the southern-fried hijinks of OutKast. Still though, the thin misogynistic veneer passed off as black humor saves this album from the sociopolitical dogma that would ordinarily be pure drudgery. Jokes at the expense of the lesser half aside, this album really catches fire on joints like “Come Outside” and “So Mo Gangsta” where their synergy as a unit bears fruit through accomplished beats that bubble and percolate with the slamming bull’s-eye lyricism that is their stock and trade. In the end though it’s tracks like “This Little Light” and “Diary of a Mad Band” that are the rare poetic gems since they’re the most accomplished and expressive in the way that they offer a vivid glimpse into the woeful trouble they and other po’ folks have been steadily seeing since day one. – Elemental Magazine

  • The Movement Continues...........
    author: K Smooth of Inner City Hoodlumz

    Been a Qualo fan, still a Qualo fan. Nothin' but that hot shit, and we know Chi-Town has all this right? Don't stop my niggas, and tell the Drama Ward to keep it poppin'.

  • Never Fail
    author: -SIN-

    Been Behind Qualo Since Chibangin Vol. One and they never fails me.

  • Innovative Mastery of Lyrical Prowess and Intelligence of the World.
    author: Black Pantha 9

    QUALO-Believe CD Is As Good As Or Better Than Any Multi-Platinum selling Album In Recent Memory! This Band Of Brothers Have set The stage For A Long And Influential Footprint In The Rap Game (Industry)!!! G.O.M.A.B #9

  • Hot SH_T..... Keep it movin! Support Chi Music..
    author: Matrixx (Earchild Productions)

    Qualo Keep it Movin. The CD is hot.

  • Awesome
    author: Colby

    This is some of the greatest rhyming I've heard. The things Qualo raps about is real so it makes it that much better. Believe is must get album for true rap fans.

  • Real Sh!t
    author: Revelation 8:10 aka Rev

    Yeah this CD cold mayne.. real life shit, Im feelin it, nuff said yall.. keep doing yall thang.... If yall interested in being on a compilation mixtape, hit me up, I got lots of nice features such as Father Tyme, Vizion, Mac & AK from Cali, Fingeroll of No Tamin, RiP of RiP Records + mad others... hit me up on email rev@revelation810.com or check out my website www.revelation810.com my album Loyalty out now... CHITOWN, WILD 100s! One hunnit...

  • author: Ron Pericles

    "If pimpin were a sport it'd be golf" -Colombian Prince Need I say more? Believe = cold

  • The best in the game right now.
    author: Sinned A.M.eN.

    If y'all think the Chicago rap scene is all about fast flows and Slow Jams, y'all need to give this disc a listen. Combining unique beats and socially concious, relevent lyrics, this clique from the Terror Town section of the west side take you on a virtual tour of the grimmy Chi-Town streets that inspire their heartfelt wordplay. An absolute classic rap album on par with ANY offering from ANY artist from ANYWHERE on the planet. Check out their previous album Chi-Bangin Compelation. QUALO!!!

  • Perfect mix ! ! Outkast meets Tupac. Pimp, Street and Playalistic
    author: Pimp Skipp

    This is some of the sickest sh%*#. out in a long time, The beats is tite and flows are right, Pimpaholic, Coco, Diary of a mad band, all hot singles club or radio!!

  • LOOK WHAT THE WINDY CITY BLOW IN..........REVOLUTION!!!!
    author: KALEBER

    CHI TOWN STAND UP!!! yo peace & luv, yall cats or the truth fo real. This is some high evergy " by the time I get to Arizona " sh#% here!!!! Good Damn!!!

email

Please log in to email this artist.