QuESt – “How Thoughtful” (Mixtape Review)

How thoughtful of him to take a picture of himself looking thoughtful for his mixtape...

More importantly than ANYTHING, I finally got the spelling right (Q-u-E-S-t). That’s an accomplishment for me… Ok, let me stop joking. On to the review.

The last time I covered QuESt, I said something to the effect of “I would pay for music like this…” I think It always surprises me to see an artist develop and grow like he has from his last project to this one. “Broken Headphones” was a great project, but “How Thoughtful” is by far my favorite project I’ve heard from homie.

The Good:

“I like the fact that QuESt has punchlines, but CHOSE to stay on topic and go all in on whatever he was talking about at the time. You can tell he has lines on the outro song (“See What I See”) when he goes into something like a mini-rant during the second verse…” (K1ng Eljay, via “Broken Headphones” review).

That’s what I said last time. This time, it’s a different story. This whole mixtape is basically QuESt flexing his lyrical muscle and showing how easy it is for him switch and flip flows. The punchlines, metaphors, similies, and just CLEVER lines are all throughout this project, and you might not even get all of them at first. I was still catching some of the slickness on my fifth and sixth play-through.

“#HowThoughtfulFacts The mixtape is nothing more than a showcase of my skills.” (QuESt, via Twitter)

The selections of beats were good as well, although I REALLY, REALLY wish QuESt would’ve went in on that “Forever” beat / outro. His rhyme schemes actually made me like a couple of instrumentals (I didn’t like the Diddy – “Dirty Money” beat until now. And he DESTROYED the “Exhibit” beat from Just Blaze). DJ RTC also did a GREAT job on making this mixtape blend together, and even though a couple of traditional mixtape elements are in place (verse-snatchbacks, RTC shoutouts, etc) it never detracts from the main focus of the mixtape: QuESt.

However, that’s not the most impressive thing about this mixtape. I’ll get to that later.

The Bad:

There’s only a slight problem with this, and it’s not really a problem to me as It might be to other people. If you want cameos and guest appearances, that’s something that QuESt doesn’t believe in.

“#HowThoughtfulFacts There are no features.” (QuESt, via Twitter)

It’s all him, the whole time. In this way, it’s similar to Bun B’s “No Mixtape” mixtape… I still love the irony in that title, by the way. If you want features, then be prepared to be disappointed.

Also…he didn’t go in on Lupe’s “I’m Beaming” instrumental, or Drake’s “Forever” instrumental. I’m slightly disappointed in that, but hey…

The Introspective:

The one thing that impresses me most about this mixtape is how DEEP it is. I’ve honestly never heard a rapper mix punchlines, similies, metaphors and personalize it to the point that by the end of the song, you feel as if you learned something about him. There are songs and lines on this project that is more enlightening than anything, but yet it never comes off as corny, or superficial. It’s sincere. It’s real. It’s the type of lyricism that builds your fan base.

Yes, QuESt gets arrogant and brags on himself. Then he tells you why. Yes, QuESt says flagrant lines. Then he shows you the mindstate he was in to the point that same flagrant line suddenly makes perfect sense. It’s crazy how a clever, punchline-filled, lyrical muscle-flexing mixtape can double as an education class concerning the rapper’s mind…

The best way to explain it is that last project, he chose to SEPARATE the introspective statements and punchlines, and this project he decided to COMBINE them…

How Thoughtful…

Bottom Line:

This year has been strong so far for the mixtape game (excluding, of course, Curren$y’s mixtape “Smokee Robinson”…but that’s a different review), ad QuESt easily has one of the best ones to be released so far.

In short…this mixtape is dope. It is somewhat bitter-sweet though…

“#HowThoughtfulFacts After this mixtape you will NOT hear me rap on another industry beat.” (QuESt, via Twitter)

I’m secretly hoping we can change his mind on that one. Check out “How Thoughtful” for yourself. It’s dope. Nothing else needs to be said.

Eljay’s Favorites

• “Exhibit Q”
• “Just A Little Closer”
• “Elevator Status”
• “Still Calling On Them Angels”

(Download “How Thoughtful” Here)