Taylor Listens: Qing Qi's "Emotionally Intelligent"

2020 was full of surprises, not even your tarot reader could’ve given you a heads-up on! Last year brought us more lows than highs, giving us all a craving for balance. I’m wishing all readers (and your loved ones) a transformative new year, because that is all we can hope for, change. As a music enthusiast, 2020 gave me plenty of time to deep dive into a musical ball pit. Granting me new artists to become acquainted with.

In October 2020, a fly, light-skin, tooth-missing with the gift of a gab rapper popped up on my instagram feed. The instagram reel was the music video of Qing Qi’s single, “IDWIW (I Do What I Want)”. Dapped up with flower hat pieces and popping two piece outfits, while rocking her house arrest anklet, matched with greenery background, gives this track all the more flavor and sass. Scrolling through Qi’s music videos, you can not deny the loyalty to her crew, Putang. Putang Clan is a collective of Bay Area creatives (rappers, producers, directors, etc.) but also friends turned to kin and actual kin of Qing.

Listening to Qing Qi, one can’t help but hear the Bay influence. She comes hard with her clever bars, while telling her narrative over bass driven beats. Her music is authentic and uplifting. Lyrically, Qing represents women of color, single mothers, feminine hustlers, and survivors. This is especially true on her 2020 album “Emotionally Intelligent” that dropped last October.

The 2020 album Emotionally Intelligent came just in time to revive our survivor and hustler mentality. That doesn't mean there aren’t songs to bop and dance to. For a whole month, I would start my day off listening to the album getting ready for work and my bike ride to work. The album just made me feel invincible during a time that I actually found myself feeling quite vulnerably tender. Tracks like “Hope”, and “Love & Happiness” gives listeners that tender side of the hustler behind the mic. Qing raps and sings on “Hope”, giving listeners lyrics that reflect family inspiration. And how that can be turned into fuel for your crafted daily actions. Then there are singles like “Goin’ (Perseverance)," Qi presents to you that aggressive rap side while spilling her narrative. The production for Qi’s tracks are hands down crisp, putting a fresh spin on samples, like tracks “Talking On The Phone Is Cancerous”, (bring back that Ciara Goodies’ type-beat!) or singles like “Tangy” giving us Kelis “Bossy” flashbacks.

Qing Qi and Putang Clan are on the up and up. Stay tuned to new music and videos via these links: