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A one of a kind Music Mondays interview is live right now and we sat down with QuestionATL. We talked about his musical upbringing, thoughts about the creative process and challenges that he’s faced from being blind and much more in this MM Exclusive article.
6/23/23
Blank Thought: What’s good man?
QuestionATL: Not much man, just chilling. Glad to be kicking it with you today, big shoutout Music Mondays.
Blank Thought: Before the interview I was reading your Spotify bio and you’ve been at it for a very long time. What started your passion in creating music and wanting to live the life of an artist?
QuestionATL: It’s a grind man. I started young; it’s always something I’ve wanted to do. I’ve been a fan of music and working on music my whole life. I really feel like I am just getting started still though, I feel like there is still so far to go on this journey. I always knew this was where I was supposed to go but I was lucky enough to have a mom that knew that as well and motivated me throughout my life to be better and reach my potential. She would facilitate a lot of things for me like getting me in studios, working through the creative process and just being around music to really hone my creative talents. Even in high school, I was already kinda checked out of school. When I got home from school, I was making beats, rapping, freestyling, recording people in my school. I went to the blind school in my local area in high school and we lived in dorms. All the artists there would always come to my room and kick it. We’d make music and I’d record and engineer it.
Blank Thought: That’s super dope. I know you had said your mom was supportive, but did you run into any doubt or concern from role models around your choice in profession? I was blessed to have a musical family, but everyone who makes their own music knows that it comes with its fair share of doubt.
QuestionATL: I mostly ran into it at school. My teachers that cared a lot about me and that I cared a lot about, felt that I should pursue a different career given the fact that artists don’t historically have a very safe income. But honestly, I’ve always been very confident in my ability to do what I do. I’m a freestyle artist, so if anyone ever tries to tell me I’m not dope, I’ll make you eat your words right then and there. I don’t really come with any falsity.
Blank Thought: So then what was the real inspiration and driving force of what you wanted to highlight on your
debut EP The Dream?
QuestionATL: I was mostly focused on just making some traditional hip hop. I wanted to give a new listener a good impression and base. I listen to and study a lot of different music and I really draw inspiration from so many different places. I got a lot of different sounds I want to showcase over my next couple projects. For those who might not have heard of me, I want to show them my writing skills and introduce them to me as an artist. I’m a versatile artist, and I’m excited to show that, but I wanted to set a solid foundation to build off with The Dream.
Blank Thought: It’s a great project. Now, I’m sure this is a question you get a lot, but what is a challenge that someone else may not imagine that you meet while being blind?
QuestionATL: I’d say really overarching stuff. Everyday stuff that I’m just not able to see. How things are being cooked, hand signs, social cues. Like 70% of communication is nonverbal, so there’s a lot of stuff that you might miss as a blind person unless you have someone filling you in, or if you don’t figure out other ways to find that out. For example, I don’t go to clubs alone that much. I live in East Point Atlanta, so I have to be careful anyway just being an artist. There’s a small group of people with just a lot of envy and greed the more you succeed. I’m not going to many crowded places alone. Though it can be done, and I know people who do it, I mostly move with my team or my people. I’m also here to advocate and speak up for all the blind people. I was just at a concert this last weekend with a bunch of my blind friends, and we were completely fine. I just normally prefer to go with my people.
Blank Thought: I completely get that. Shifting to another topic, me and Question are currently working on an album together right now. I’m curious, what has that experience been like for you?
QuestionATL: It’s been blessed man. I just got to meet you through making this. It started with a feature that I did for you on what would end up being our project. I pride myself in holding my own against other rappers with unique styles and I enjoy the process of collaboration, so it was dope to rap with Paradox King. But yeah, other than that it's been a lot of back and forth. I think we did an excellent job of dialing it in and figuring out exactly what we wanna do specifically. We have a solid concept for it, so it's just been cool. This is the first project I’ve done online. We both reached out and saw potential in each other, so it's dope to make something come together like that. That’s why I got a lot of respect in terms of what you’ve done online. With the blind community not being able to drive, social media collaboration is an important thing. I’ve made music with artists all over the world. I got a collective of blind artists and producers called Blind and Famous and one of our leading artists MattMac is one of the biggest indigenous artists in Canada right now.
Blank Thought: I’m excited for everyone to hear it. For those unfamiliar what would you say is your main attribute as an artist that makes you special?
QuestionATL: I would say my musicality. When I’m recording, I always bring my production experience to it, and when I’m producing, I'm always bringing my rapping knowledge and sense of artistry. I always produce music with the mind of an artist. So that always leads to a bunch of interesting routes like trying different time signatures and being innovative. I find that making music is a lot about the approach and the environment you’re in.
Blank Thought: Would there be anyone in our scene that you follow or know that you want to collaborate with for the first time or again?
QuestionATL: I’m excited for people to hear our project. I definitely gotta shoutout Zim. His music is really dope, I’m excited to do more with him. I gotta shout out my guy Matt Mac from BNF, he has been making big waves. We got a lot of stuff on the way. Big shoutout to Emilio Myles as well, that man is good at what he does. He and Backwood Brad are doing a lot together and I see them as a dynamic duo in space, so I am looking forward to working with them more, Preston day and I produced a track for Emilio Myles. I am incredibly open to collaboration and there are a lot of talented artists on the twitter space to name here, but these stick out particularly for me.
Blank Thought: Any concluding thoughts?
QuestionATL: Not much to be honest. Shoutout to Blank Thought. Thanks for the opportunity. Much love to this underground scene. There's a lot of genuine collaboration going on. Shoutout to the BNF crew and everyone freestyling out there. Feel free to tap in, I’m extremely interested in collaborating. Walk by the Seaside on the way soon!
Follow QuestionATL: twitter.com/questionatl
Stream QuestionATL: open.spotify.com/album/6YDZ8IlngDvUXCFJwl3KUG?si=qf1Xir24Q_Kk-0O_NfCatQ
Written By Blank Thought: linktr.ee/b1ankthought
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