Yup. It’s true.

I was about 5 minutes away from pulling the plug on the whole thing. I even texted Kno & Pack to tell them I was “done”. It’s kinda like hearing about all those near-launch nuclear missile scenarios after the fact from the Cold War.

Just know that when you’re sleeping at night, the gears at QN5 are always turning in order to bring you the most engaging hip hop music on the planet. Decisions and consequences are made and lived through while you go to the ball game, head out for vacation or rent a tux for the prom. CC bills are incurred and personal lives are on the line while you’re living yours. It never stops for us. The truth is, I’ve nearly given up multiple times, but moreso from the sheer weight and sacrifice that I was taking on - and I held steady without much comment - but this time it was out of my hands.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED?
Doesn’t matter. Just know that we were doing fine till last week…but this time we got caught in a mega-fucked situation I can’t really get into - but it really puts us over the edge. The QK10 Plan is all types of fucked right now - so I’m not entirely sure how we’re going to pull off the rest of the year’s releases.

IS THERE A SOLUTION?
• Dunno, but after 10+ years of trying to convince people to buy good music, I’m convinced there’s no magic bullet.
• Selling way more Paleo Packs and a slew of digital albums this month would help IMMENSELY. (It’s really unfortunate that most of you are sleeping on an amazingly talented artist).
• Pray for a YouTube miracle and hit an Antoine Dodson level view-count.
• Selling a lot of “ASTERISK 1-4” and ‘non-CunninLynguists’ QN5 releases would also help IMMENSELY. (But y’all knew that already, right?)
• Sell my porn collection. (Some things are sacred).

HEADCOUNT: BLUE SCHOOLERS
See, Blue Schoolers (and I mean…the hardcore blue schoolers that go out of their way for us) are BY FAR the most loyal, thoughtful, witty, enduring, patient and supportive fans on the planet (and I mean that with 100% sincerity) - an absolute RARITY in Hip Hop. Granted, y’all are hella spotty on show-attendance, but y’all generally DO support us. Problem is, there aren’t as many of you as there could be.

I guess a large audience with the smarts and musical appreciation to digest what we do as a collective is a tall order in today’s society, but y’all have always made the effort worth it. But in light of this latest development….it’s come to a head and WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT ON THIS RELEASE MORE THAN EVER.

But hey, fuck a sob story. I figured I’d share this little slice of my life with y’all, cause…I figure if you already know what my living room looks like, why the fuck not? With any luck, a potential bootlegger will think twice before hitting rapidshare, missing a show to watch Monday Night Football or ignore releases from our less-popular artists.

PARTING THOUGHTS:
• a) Why do I keep doing this to myself? *plays “Masochist”
• b) It could have been worse, right? We’re still in business. (Barely). *plays “Optimist”
• For the love of god, buy Kokayi’s album. It’s an AWESOME fucking record and well worth your support.

In the meantime, I’m going to keep pushing forward and ride out the year - and hopefully grow the fan base via all the releases. If we can’t do that…then I guess I’ll need to figure that out when the bell tolls. No quit in this heart, y’all.

So…tell a friend about QN5, eh?

Hollerate,
Tone