2.2.2022

Video: Don Q – “What Up“

The Highbridge Rapper Quotes 50 Cent and Hits Up a Local Bodega In His First New Song Since Releasing His Double Or Nothing Album

Critical Praise:

“He’s tough, funny, powerful, and completely in control. In addition, every once in a while he’ll throw in a line that will completely change the mood and make things somber (such as his note that at his young age, he’s “been to more funerals than graduations”), before ramping back up into the energetic rhymes.” – Complex

“Don Q Is The New York Rap Hardass We Need…Don Q has one of those deep, grizzled voices that communicate a whole lot just through their grain and texture.” – Stereogum

“After taking some time away from the spotlight, Don Q is back with new music and it feels like he hasn’t missed a beat…The New York native reminds everyone that his pen game can match up with the best of the best in his generation.” – Def Pen

The Video:

A master of tough-talk and street tales, Bronx bruiser Don Q emerged from a three-year hiatus and immediately reclaimed his spot in the upper echelon of the NYC rap game. Flexing his masterful pen game, Don shares a little something for his loyal fans: “What Up,” his new music video. Kicking off with a quotation from 50 Cent’s classic “What Up Gangsta,” “What Up” finds Don Q spinning harrowing stories atop a drill instrumental as he laments street violence, celebrates his exalted status, and warns young’ns not to throw their lives away: “My homie came home from a bid, tried to do a hit on his first day out/You got a family to feed my n**** you know what you’re worth, stay out.” In the video, directed by Starr Mazi, who filmed previous Don clips like “Come Find Us” ft. B Lovee (1.9 million YouTube views), Don sets a sterling example for those trying to deal with a frosty NY winter, rocking designer beanies, riding in luxury all-wheel drive whips, and posting up in a local bodega.

“What Up’ is Don’s first new release since Double Or Nothing, which released in the Fall of 2021. The long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Don Season 2, Double Or Nothing found the hard-nosed lyricist elevating his street smarts into street wisdom, painting a cinematic picture of life on the NYC streets. The project’s title, Double Or Nothing, serves as far more than an acronym, and can be seen as the rapper’s mission statement for his career from here on out: refusing to be defined by associations or comparisons, Don Q is all-in on Don Q. The project is home to recent videos like the moving “Light Today,” and the hater-annihilating “Slander,” and is currently available to stream everywhere via Highbridge The Label/EMPIRE.

The Bronx-born-and-raised Don Q grew up idolizing NYC’s rawest rhymers like Jadakiss, Cassidy, Fabolous and Jay-Z, and he modeled his style after their hard-nosed, lyrical approaches. After cutting his teeth in the battle rap scene, he made waves in the streets with his mixtapes, eventually landing him a deal with Highbridge The Label in 2016. After teaming with fellow Highbridge rapper, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, on the popular Highbridge: The Takeover mixtape, the pair’s careers took off overnight, as Don Q caught the attention of a national audience with his highly-regarded Funk Flex freestyle. With mixtapes like 2017’s Corner Stories and 2018’s Don Talk, he would continue to cement his status in the New York scene.

In recent years, Don Q blessed the streets with more high-profile collaborations, such as “Flood My Wrist,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert and A Boogie, which has racked up over 42 million Spotify streams to date, and “Legends” featuring Buffalo-native Benny The Butcher. In 2021, Don reminded his fans that his freestyle game is as strong as ever with recent appearances on Funk Flex, as well as Charlie Sloth’s Fire In The Booth. With the release of Double Or Nothing, Don Q put the rap game, in NYC and beyond, on notice that he’s leveled up in major fashion.

Stay tuned for much more from Don Q as the year moves along.

Watch “What Up”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85-1MVj_mEM

Buy/Stream Double Or Nothing: https://music.empi.re/doubleornothingdon

Double Or Nothing tracklist:
1. True King
2. Same Thing
3. Say That
4. Light Today
5. Come Find Us ft. B-Lovee
6. Slander
7. Some N****
8. Outta Here
9. Product
10. Artificial