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A prolific MC that has the sheer talent to combine innovation, philosophy, and that necessary bit of arrogance? Hip hop has never seen the likes of Qwel, and it will not be the same hereafter. Add the music of Meaty Ogre and the chaos of DJ White Lightning, and ... > More

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A prolific MC that has the sheer talent to combine innovation, philosophy, and that necessary bit of arrogance? Hip hop has never seen the likes of Qwel, and it will not be the same hereafter. Add the music of Meaty Ogre and the chaos of DJ White Lightning, and you have a truly groundbreaking album. As a member of Typical Cats, Qwel was able to introduce to the world his amazing skill, and with this solo release on Galapagos4, his newborn legacy continues. If It Ain’t Been In a Pawnshop, Then It Can’t Play The Blues is a window into Qwel’s soul, and if you’re not careful the glass may shatter.

(from dustedmagazine.com):

"It’s a lesson we could all stand to learn, and one that Chicago’s Qwel holds close to heart over the course of If it Ain’t Been in a Pawnshop’s 66 minutes of mind-splittingly introspective music. Qwel’s previous work on the Typical Cats debut album was highly acclaimed in the underground hip hop community, and especially amongst fans of the Galapogos4 collective. Particularly impressive on that album was Qwel’s "Manhattan Project," an opus of a journey through a graffiti artist’s head anchored by references to spray paint colors. Qwel returns to that theme on the second verse of "brick walls" on If it Ain’t Been in a Pawnshop in a presumably imagined dialogue with a father figure about the merits of rap music and graf writing. However, If it Ain’t Been in a Pawnshop is much more than a mere reprise of themes. Qwel takes both himself and hip hop to new planes with songs like "$19.99 A.D." (produced by DJ White Lightning), which espouses an unabashedly unpopular stance on abortion. The beautiful Meaty Ogre track "The Highest Commitment" is another gem, with its anthropomorphization of weed in the form of a lover. The album’s best moment comes on the title track however, in which Qwel’s "dreams of seeing Jesus at the Wilson stop" drag the listener through a post-sacred quest for religion and self-knowledge."