“I Want To Leave The Game And People Be Like ‘He Did Something For The Genre’” – An MM Exclusive With Quincy Tell Em

It would not be a stretch to say Quincy Tell Em has defined the UK trap-wave sound over the past half decade at least. Just after releasing his debut solo project Make Wave Great Again, I sat with the North-West London producer to talk melody, pushing the genre forward, and whether producers are underrated:

I heard in an interview about a year ago that you were thinking of releasing a solo project. Why release one now?

I’ve just been busy over the past year. I DJ for Huncho when he tours, and we were working on UTOPIA2. So, I’ve been helping him achieve what he wanted to.

Make Wave Great Again showcases old and new wave artists. Do you feel like there are more artists coming up now that align with your sound than before?

100%. I’ve found so many new artists that are doing trap-wave, but they don’t have a platform. When M Huncho and D-Block Europe were coming up, if you dropped on channels like GRM you might become a superstar. New artists have to drop on their own channels. It’s twenty times more difficult to get their music out there. With my platform I can shed light on new artists, and hopefully off the back of this, more wave artists will come up and use the next Make Wave Great Again to push their music out.

Do you think the wave artists not getting on those big platforms like GRM was because of the rise of drill?

Not necessarily. The platforms are just so oversaturated now that they don’t hold as much weight. Before, there wasn’t a million people dropping on one day, so you could find someone new. Now, you have to sift through a hundred artists to find a decent one. They’re still charging people to upload videos, but you don’t get the same exposure you would have had.

You made it with the artists at a camp in Oxford. Is being in the same space as artists something you really value?

Music’s a collaborative effort, so even though I’m behind the music, I still want the artist to have input. During this camp, there was a lot of that. I don’t want to overproduce. So, I just said, “you’re gonna be on a song with this person” and I’d just let them do their own thing. Also, when the artists linked up, they built chemistry. We didn’t just focus on music; we played video games, had long conversations, and some of them even slept over. Without that chemistry we wouldn’t have been able to make the tape that way.

What was your favourite beat on the tape?

Either ‘M.W.G.A’ or 5 ‘SHOTS’. 

Why those two?

Well, I wanted to give a new energy to wave music. Since 2017 or 2018 there hasn’t really been growth in its sound. Those two beats are me showing what wave might sound like from here on. I put the new artists on those two beats to highlight that. I went for an easier vibe. A lot of trap music is hard on the ears – you have to be in a certain mood to listen to it. I made a tape where you could be driving somewhere and you won’t feel like it’s too energetic, or if you’re getting ready for work you can just slap it on. 

Your dad was a musician. What kind of music did he make?

He made afro-Latin music. Sonically it’s like Latin music, but he’s from Mozambique so they’re talking about African culture. He used to play piano and the drums in a band as well.

Does that kind of music inspire you?

It does subconsciously. I used to listen to a lot of Quincy Jones. I’m named after him. People think it’s just a music thing, but my actual name is Quincy. I also used to listen to a lot of Michael Jackson, Latin music, and Portuguese music. Maybe some of my melodies come from listening to that music growing up, but I wouldn’t say it’s what inspired me to make music.

Did your dad give you any musical advice that’s stuck with you?

One thing he taught me is space. I’ve always kept space in my beats; they’re never over complicated. I always try and keep it simple to let the artists do what they want to do. If there’s a million instruments, it’s going to be overbearing. 

Your mum is Portuguese. I know the wave scene in Portugal is pretty healthy at the moment. Is there anyone you’re looking to work with?

I’ve been to Portugal to work with an artist called Plutónio, but there’s a lot more artists I’d work with. I want to go out there and make another Make Wave Great Again tape to showcase the Portuguese scene. I want to do one in France and another here too because there’s a lot of UK artists that didn’t make it on to this one. This first tape is just a foundation. I made it to show how I’m moving forward.

You’re a big fan of Lex Luger. What is it about his beats that you like so much?

When I started making music, the UK artists that were making trap music used to jump on American beats. More time those beats were Lex Luger’s. I was fascinated with him. I used to watch his YouTube videos religiously. From there, I started finding out about other producers like Metro Boomin and Southside.

Do you have a favourite beat of his?

‘B.M.F’. The Rick Ross one with Styles P. It’s too hard.

The Alchemist said recently the “beat is just a beat. It’s secondary” to the rapping. Do you agree with that, or do you think they’re more equal?

I feel the beat is 60% of it. It’s meant to tell a story in itself without an artist rapping on it. I don’t know why The Alchemist would say that because his beats have a lot of feeling. The beat’s sound determines what kind of mood it will put the rapper in. If I play a dark drill beat, he’s not going to be talking about roses. It all starts with a beat, so I think it’s more important. You can be in a session, if you play ten shit beats, the session’s done.

Do you think producers are undervalued in the game?

Yeah, but I feel a lot of that is individual producer’s faults. I came up with one artist, but a lot of producers just chase placements with artists who are already big. Every artist I’ve worked with, I’ve built up a relationship with. There are producers with way more streams than me, but no one knows who they are. For me, it’s about building a legacy. I want to leave the game and people be like “he did something for the genre”.

Your beats have such a strong focus on melody. Is that something you’ve always gravitated towards?

I love melodies, bro. I listen to a lot of beats that don’t even have drums. I’ve always been fascinated with melodic instruments; how a flute can add a whole different layer and dynamic to a song. The drums are important but the first thing I start with is the melody.

Your relationship with M Huncho has defined your career, but also his as well. I know you knew each other before – is that why you work so well together?

We’re friends first; music is secondary. When we first started, we weren’t linking up directly to make music. He’d just be going to the studio and ask me to come too. Obviously because I made beats, I would always have beats on me. Those nights would turn in to us making three or four songs a night. That was because there was no pressure – we were just in the same room. 

What would you say M Huncho’s best musical attribute is and what would M say yours is?

M’s is Melody. There’s no one that sounds like Huncho. It’s because his melodies are very Arabic focused. You won’t catch anyone that does melody like he does. M would probably say my drums. A lot of times he’ll be with a producer, they’ll have the melodies down, but they won’t have the drums down how he likes them. I know certain spaces or pockets that he likes to hit. If it’s too much it’ll throw him off when he’s writing. I just understand the kind of bounce that he likes.

Having Max B on the intro was a nice nod to the heritage of the wave genre. What does he mean to you?

Getting Max B on the tape was surreal because, to me, he’s the father of wave. Obviously, he’s incarcerated so to be able to get that was unreal. Like how does some random producer from England have Max B bigging him up on his tape?

Burning is one of my all-time favourite UK rap songs. When you made that beat, were you consciously trying to do something that hadn’t been done before and blend drill and wave?

I remember saying to my management at the time, I’m never going to jump into another genre and not make it my own thing. I could have just made a dark drill beat, but I had to make sure that I kept my identity. So, I implemented the wave thing with the flutes and guitars but used drill drums. So that was a conscious thing that seemed to work out.

You’ve spoken a lot about the difficulties of collaborating in the industry. Do you think money takes some of the joy out of music?

In England, it seems way more difficult to get business sorted than anywhere else. In America you can charge like ten or five grand a beat, and you’re making money off shows. In England, it doesn’t work like that. If you’re not getting paid from radio or streams as a producer, you’re not really getting paid. So, you’re always on this consistent grind of trying to get your next cut or trying to work with a certain artist. But once you get your foot in the door and you sign your deal, you’re good. But working up towards that is just a bit difficult■

Quincy Tell Em’s project, Make Wave Great Again, is out now on all platforms.

Words by Charlie Edmondson