“Y’all know what the fuck goin’ on.”
I wish I did Quezz. “Y.N.S (Deluxe)” is an updated version of an album I didn’t know existed from a rapper I hadn’t heard of until I wrote this piece. I tried the cliched “Google and Wiki” method of learning more about him and very little popped up. The one thing that does come up is people consistently asking if Quezz and the late Big Scarr are related. Nope. They’re not. They were just childhood friends, which is why Quezz recorded a set of “Big Scarr Flow” tracks paying tribute to his homie. I respect him for that.
It turns out the most you can find out about Quezz comes from an interview with DJ Smallz Eyes where he reveals his age (22 at the time) and birth date (he’d be 23 now). If someone does create a Wikipedia entry for him in the future that would be a good place to start. If I can tell you one other thing about the Memphis rapper other than his age or friendship with Scarr, it would be that he’s a big enough fan of N.W.A to have done a song by the same name — or maybe he just wanted an excuse to spit the bar “I know these niggaz don’t like me, I say what I want, I’m a Nigga Wit Attitude.”
Quezz Ruthless is an interesting crossroad. He’s a young man in the rap world, his name is starting to bubble up (to the point “Y.N.S (Deluxe)” got my attention), and he’s from one of the most competitive scenes in the United States. Breaking out in Memphis isn’t easy. There are thousands of rappers vying to be heard and (sadly) far too much jealousy of anyone who is. The problem is a lot of people can’t distinguish between the act of flashing a big wad of cash in a video like “Jackpot” and actually walking around in real life like that praying not to get jumped. I don’t think Quezz is that foolish but I’d be wrong to think somebody wouldn’t test him. Nipsey Hussle and PnB Rock both got got that way. “Niggaz talkin’ killer in they song, knowin’ damn well they ain’t on shit” quips Quezz, seemingly oblivious to the potential of creating haters he hasn’t met.
You can’t fault Quezz Ruthless for following in the footsteps of his mentors and his peers. You can absolutely fault a “crabs in a barrel” mentality that won’t let anybody come up without someone dragging them back down to hell. With respect though I don’t think Quezz has (yet) differentiated himself from the Memphis scene to reach superstar status. He’s got the accent, the nimble tongue, and the lyrical bravado for his bio to be somewhat evident even without a Wiki entry. I listened to the nearly 39 minutes of this “Deluxe” version thinking about what merited a re-release with new or enhanced tracks, and I’m forced to say there isn’t a good answer. He’s “okay.” He’s not hard to understand, he’s not AutoTuned constantly, he’s not lacking in confidence. Other than that he hasn’t said enough to stand out from his peers regionally or nationally. Unless someone tries to take his “Jackpot” from him there’s still time for him to grow — I sincerely hope he does.