Local rapper Quincy Thompson has ties to Texarkana, ties to Compton, Calif.
With roots in both places and a newfound look on life, the longtime hip hop artist is set to release more music in September, a new album of rap beats. He's been promoting singles in advance and will appear Saturday at Club Primetime here in Texarkana.
Preparing his new CD has the rapper feeling thoughtful. It's been a while since Thompson released a new album. Back when Texarkana had Sam Goody and CD Warehouse stores, you could find his CD "Mobbalous" there.
Also known as Teezi Mob and Q-Teezy, he'll release the new work on his label, Cash Block Music Group, under the name "Quincy Jamal" as a self-titled album. He'll be pushing it on social media.
"Since then, I've matured a lot. I had to mature as a person. I had to mature as an artist," said Thompson about his growth since "Mobbalous."
He's raised kids, graduated from barber school and studied the music industry in college. The everyday struggle of life inspires him to persevere with music.
"A lot of my songs come from a little hurt, a little pain, little bumps in the road that you have to go through in life every day," Thompson said.
He's been working with producer Sonny Boy Dillard, among others, on his new music. They've worked together a long time, the rapper crediting Dillard with pushing him and getting him in front of the keyboard to write music.
Also an inspiration to Thompson are his Compton roots. He's mindful of the hip hop legacy there, including, most recently, Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar.
This inspires him and gives him confidence, although he admits that as an artist he's been his own worst critic at times. Still, he appreciates the examples others have set.
"I'm around people successful in the business," Thompson said, noting he and Lamar had the same El Camino College instructor. His music professor lived near his grandmother, too. To him, these little signs add up to let him know he's been where he's supposed to be.
Thompson admires Lamar. Of him, he says, "He's hitting every corner, and he broke the diversity-he broke it as far as hip hop." He watched Lamar grow from underground to mainstream.
Thompson also reflects on his own journey with this release. He's touching bases on all parts of his life, he says, noting with a comeback album he knew it had to be better than his crowd-pleasing first CD.
"Everything I've been through in life, you know, I've got to give it to them. This is how it is," Thompson said, noting his album will drop Sept. 11.
"The thing I think about this album and it being so different is because I was young, wild and free," Thompson said about his first full-length album. Now, though, he's grown and matured. He's taken losses and endured things that could have set him back.
"I did a lot of soul searching, I had to," Thompson said, citing the loss of his grandmother as something that helped him turn on the light and move forward. He's worked hard at it all. "You have to put in to get results."
To hear where he's been and where's he's headed, be on the lookout for Thompson's new album in the coming months.