Tue 9/26 @ 7PM
Quill the Messenger has been an MC/educator for two decades, mostly based in Wisconsin but working around the Midwest, carrying his message of using hip hop for personal growth. Recently, he moved to Cleveland and became the Director of Hip-Hop Pedagogy at Cleveland’s nonprofit Refresh Collective, which draws on hip hop to offer youth pathways out of negativity to success.
Now Quill is releasing an album called Midlife Crisis. Its seven tracks address his real-life situation as an artist, educator and family man as he approaches middle age, as well as the health of hip hop as it turns 50, with violence and death celebrated by movements such as Chicago drill.
“This record has been a long time coming,” says Quill the Messenger. “I’ve been doing this for a while and I find myself exploring what I still have to give the rap game as an artist, while also working to teach the next generation of aspiring musicians as an educator.”
The album will be available on all streaming services on Friday September 22. Quill will host a release concert with special guests at Forest City Brewery on Tuesday September 26. The event will also include a panel discussion with local artists and members of the Refresh Collective on the topic “Hip-Hop at 50: Where do we go from here?” It’s also a fundraiser for Refresh Collective.