NEW YORK (Qwilite Entertainment) - In launching his own independent label after years of writing and/or producing hits for Luther Vandross, O Town, Allure, Babyface, Usher, Joe,
Olivia and The Temptations, veteran R&B songwriter and producer
Quincy Patrick was looking for the perfect name that would fit his desire to take urban music above and beyond its current, corporate driven level.
Calling it Qwilite Entertainment is not only a play on his first name, but is also a throwback to the classic Twilight Zone TV show, which took viewers to another, deeper dimension of sight and sound experience. Patrick also remembered the show's memorable, outer space intro sequence.
"It's a place where stars are, and our goal is to create the next stars of R&B, hip-hop, and rap music," he says. "Our goal is to discover and develop some diverse music that's closer to what the people out there want than big labels seem able to deliver these days. The label is both people and consumer oriented. I've worked in the industry a long time and it's my belief that somewhere along the way, as record companies became obsessed with the bottom line, they lost sight of the consumers. The idea of spending 18 dollars for a CD with a few hits and a lot of throwaway material seemed wrong to me.
"Time and time again, I observed A&R guys making faulty decisions, choosing songs to be covered that I didn't have a good feeling about, and vice versa," Patrick adds. "By creating my own label and developing my own stable of artists, I can stay connected with the public by putting out music that I would want as a fan. It's all about giving those who support this music what they want, and this perspective is crucial to achieving that."
The first two artists being aggressively promoted by Qwilite Entertainment reflect Patrick's philosophy perfectly. Ranjini, a Virginian born female R&B singer of Indian ancestry, trained in the Indian dance form of Bharatanatyam before becoming a vocalist; she brings an incredible touch of exotica and Middle Eastern/Asian flavor to the traditional mold. While Qwilite is currently dropping her video for "This Guy" to MTV Asia˜where it's meeting with across the board raves˜Ranjini's official first single is "Music Box," which is being promoted to Top 40 pop and urban stations. A marching band version of the song is also being made available for high schools and colleges to use.
Aside from being an incredibly insightful writer and rapper, Hyphen 1, dubbed H-1 for short, is also a gifted DJ and graffiti artist. His emotion driven lyrics tell his life stories in addition to covering sociological ideas and abstract thought in a smooth flow. "Closer 2005," his explosive new single featuring Surface, is currently being pushed to urban, R&B and pop radio. Both "Music Box" and "Closer 2005" are currently available for downloading at most major internet outlets, including itunes.
The other artists currently signed to Qwilite Entertainment are rapper The Wheelz and Dominican born singer Yahaira.
As the son of a pastor growing up in Newark, New Jersey, Patrick started his musical life in church as a gospel singer, then a bassist and guitarist in the congregation's worship bands. After touring the country and performing on several TV shows as a gospel performer, he turned to secular music and launched his career as an artist with a No 1 hit in Jamaica ("Stone Love") and an album (Lovin' Touch) that hit No 2 in Australia. As he got more offers to write songs for other artists, he moved behind the scenes, where he worked with Stu Gardner (Musical Director for The Cosby Show) and drummer Lenny White before hitting the charts via collaborations with R&B star Howard Hewett.
Patrick's big breakthrough came in the late 90s˜a song on the soundtrack for Spike Lee's movie The Best Man, and his first gold record, When The Shades Go Down, by Allure. Patrick also had a song on the Grammy Award winning Irresistible album by The Temptations in 2001. Which led him to work with some of music's top performers, including Babyface (who recorded Patrick's "Reason For Breathing" on his Greatest Hits album), Usher, Joe, Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross and many more. Patrick was instrumental in the launching of Clive Davis' J Records by writing and producing the label's first two gold singles the Billboard No 1 hit "Liquid Dreams" for O Town (from Making The Band) and "Bizounce" for Olivia (the first artist signed to J Records).
While Patrick easily could have opted to continue expanding his career as a writer/producer, he's focused purely these days on building Qwilite Entertainment into an indie powerhouse where creative freedom of expression and the desires of the consumer are cherished core values.
"I have surrounded myself with a small team of talented and dedicated people, who are committed to plugging away 24/7 to make this company a success," he says. "We're keeping it small for now, but very consistent. For me personally, it's exciting to expand beyond the realm of making records and learn about arranging things like photo and video shoots and doing web design. I'm currently looking for artists from around the world to add to my stable, including those from places like Israel, Malaysia and Brazil. We're taking a global approach to artist development and intend to be here for the long haul."
