
K-Quick Talks: Opening for Legends, Building Legacy, and Staying Rooted in the DMV
Kicking off my first interview is DMV based rapper K-Quick
J-Stylz, formerly of the legendary group Blackstreet, gave fans a wonderful holiday slow jam last year with “Christmas Without You.” The song starts with J-Stylz professing his intentions for his lady love but simply stating that all he wants for Christmas is you! Hearing the song, we can tell that J-Stylz is writing about a man who has learned from past mistakes and needs his woman back.
The message continues to the second verse, where Stylz has a line about “Shopping for gifts just isn’t the same without you.” I am sure many fellas can relate to that line as, for whatever reason, gift-giving reason seems to approve when you are in a relationship. The first Christmas I spent with my wife, I always remember my late grandfather saying, “Ever since you started dating her, your gift-giving skills have improved.”
Stylz avoids over singing and using autotune instead of letting his smooth voice speak for itself. I sincerely hope the right people hear this song as “Christmas Without You” is another song that would feature significantly in a Christmas rom-com as part of a montage scene. Furthermore, J-Stylz is a heck of a writer, and I would not mind a full-on Christmas album or EP in the near future.
Final Grade: A
“Christmas without You” is available on all streaming platforms
Be sure to follow J-Stylz on the gram @jstylzmusic and on his website
For more with J-Stylz, check out my in-depth 2020 conversation with him

Kicking off my first interview is DMV based rapper K-Quick

On the morning of February 8, 1977, Tony Kiritsis walked into a mortgage office in Indianapolis convinced the system had finally turned on him. What followed was one of the most unsettling media spectacles of the decade: a 63-hour hostage standoff in which Kiritsis literally wired a sawed-off shotgun to both his victim’s neck and his own chest. It was desperation theater, broadcast live, raw and ugly, and fueled by a man who believed grievance was the same thing as righteousness.

Eric Benét’s holiday album, “It’s Christmas”, finds the four-time Grammy nominee embracing comfort rather than challenge. He delivers a collection that is impeccably sung and tastefully arranged, though it ultimately feels a bit too cautious for an artist of his talent and history.