Quality Time
Editorial Magazine / / Issue 3
January issue 3 Welcome to the third issue of Quality Time Radio’s online magazine. We wanted to give another medium to promote the artists on our show as well as just have another way to exhibit our art. This issue features the very talented singer Iman Europe, as well as producer Ashton McCreight. Tune in next week to hear more rad Long Beach and Los Angeles artists.
- your hosts, Riley Donahue (@rileyjdonahue) , Dominic Colangelo (@coldasdom)
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Index 1. Ashton McCreight (pages 6-11) 2. VNNYL (12-15) 3. Iman Europe (16-21) 4. Nikolas Schitz (22-27) 5. Tyler, the Creator Does Whatever the Fuck He Wants (28-31) 6. Soundcloud Picks (32-33) 7. Staff Social Media (34-35)
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Ashton McCreight Genre: Hip Hop, Rap, R&B Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Instagram: @AshtonGotBeats article by Noelle Valencia photos by Dominic Colangelo Ashton Mccreight is a producer from Los Angeles putting his touch onto soulful hip hop, rap, and r&b tracks. He became interested in music in middle school where his principal made it a point to create opportunities for students to cultivate their love for music through after school sessions, which is where Ashton began to learn production and beat making. Growing up in this sort of open minded, explorative musical environment in Los Angeles gave him that same type of mindset with his music. He says he has his middle school friends to thank for bringing him to SoundCloud where they would dig for the “weird stuff ” aside from the mainstream type of music at the time. This influenced him to create while thinking outside the box from the very beginning. His family also sparked his love for music. Early on he was exposed to different types of music his sister played around him like The Neptunes, while his father brought him to love classical jazz. “My pops used to play smooth jazz alot, the chords Pharrell would use resonated with that and I pulled a lot of inspiration from that,” he explained. He started playing the piano in the eighth grade becoming inspired by Bill Evans, learning to play the beautiful piece “Blue and Green”. The producer continues to work with live instruments in his music, avoiding quantizing to keep an organic and fluent sound. Ashton hopes to be the type of artist that not only builds himself up to success but builds up other artists. The same way Pharrell builds up artists, he wants to be able to develop and see their progress playing a role in their growth. He loves music because it takes his mind off real life. “It feels good because i could just release all of me, it’s therapeutic in a way to me because i can get all my emotions out and share it with the world”, he tells us.
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(continued) Ashton’s advice to other creative minds is to “take, take, take” and use your inspirations as a resource to build off of and make your own art. “I came to the conclusion that nothing is really original you’re always gonna do things your way. You can’t talk the same way somebody else talks or talk the same way somebody else talks... every time you do something it’s your own way.” He explains that no one should be afraid to take ideas that already exist because in the end your own touch will make it original. “Put them all into one and be you..be free.”
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VNNYL article by Sofia Amburgey
Meet Anne Marie. I always explain her as the girl with a camera glued to her shoulder and the loudest person in the room, but as she is screaming a dirty joke across the room, she is also grabbing everyone’s attention with her selfless personality and intelligent mind. You can’t help but smile and be overjoyed by her awesome way of making you feel comfortable and on your toes simultaneously. One day Anne pulled up to my house in Encinitas and told me she had disenrolled from San Francisco State. Before I could get upset with her decision, she told me to open the trunk of her car. In the back of her Jeep, I saw at least a hundred screen-printed t-shirts. That day was just the beginning of the entrepreneurial journey of Anne’s company VNNYL. There was no half-assing here; since she had made the big decision to not go to college, she did everything whole-heartedly. As described by Anne: “VNNYL is a clothing brand curated by friends, inspired by art, photography, videography, and more”. Across men and women’s tees, there are the motifs of stripes, ringer styles, and raglans; something everyone can find themselves wearing due to the timelessness of the styles.
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Because of our background of growing up in a small beach town, a family-like community between all of us is very prevalent, and I’ve noticed over the years that as our group grew older, we willingly joined forces and collaborated with what each of us brought to the table. I have watched VNNYL expand a great deal because of this. Anne has collaborated with friends by putting their drawings on her tees, and is constantly inviting others to get involved. The brand’s goal is to convey a lifestyle, and what better way to do that then to incorporate a tech savvy guy to help with the website, the friend with dirt bikes for pictures in sand dunes, and the local photographer who knows of a perfect location to shoot with a model willing to join. The list goes on, but to make my point clear: VNNYL is about building a story and involving you as a character. It is built off authenticity and consistency. This is what sets Anne Marie and her company apart- the continued motivation and strive to generate something bigger than herself. It has been a great motivation to watch such a close friend utilizing her creativity and innovative mind to create something she is truly passionate about. It is a reminder for all of us with the intention of reaching our intended destination and dreams, that we must start somewhere. Anne plans to take VNNYL to local and northern surf shops and boutiques, and eventually overseas to Australia. For now, sales are all online at vnnyl. com. As I said previously, Anne Marie always keeps you on your toes, so look out for whatever she is brewing up next for good ol’ VNNYL. And hit her up if you want to join her endeavors at sales@vnnyl.com.
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Iman europe Genre: R&B, Neo-Soul, Hip Hop Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Instagram: @ImanEurope article by Patrink Ong photos by Riley Donahue
Balance has always defined Iman Europe, a singer, songwriter, and rapper who operates out of Los Angeles. Her music style ranges from jazzy, soulful vocals to diverse, intricate bars that you can rock with. She has two projects out: Hello, Mellow EP from 2014 (in collaboration with ContraBAND) and Caterpillar EP from last year. In these two EPs, she gathers inspiration from both east and west coast but has a style that is entirely her own. Both projects are great displays of her immense talent and intense passion towards her work. Born in New York, Iman moved to Los Angeles for the majority of her upbringing. In her interview with Quality Time Radio, she explained that she spent summers on the east coast with her father’s family but ultimately “grew up in South Central...in the jungles” with her mother. Apart from bouncing around LA, New York, and later Pasadena, she credits her musical distinction to living in multiple environments, “it just all led me to be a little more balanced…and having a lot of diversity in my music and the things I talk about.” Growing up with artistic parents (her father was a bassist and mother a poet), combined with her creative writing degree from UC Riverside, Iman has been molded into the perfect singer-songwriter. In addition to making music, Iman is a multi-platform content creator. Looking at her website (www.imaneurope.com), her blog is riddled with original poems and insights to her creative mind. She focuses on making music that influences people, the same way music influenced her because, at the end of the day, her “main focus is philanthropy.” Impressively enough, Europe’s time spent as a substitute teacher has inspired her to build a music school.
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(continued) By using her past knowledge of how schools operate and experience with kids, she aims to spread her love of music. Europe also stated that “winning a Grammy or two” would be nice. In the new year, Iman has many projects on the horizon. Caterpillar EP was the beginning of her Evolution trilogy, while the next installment (Cocoon) is coming soon. She also has a new Valentine’s Day project that will be released in the next few weeks. Additionally, she is slated for shows out in Los Angeles, New York, and even one in Long Beach. She often performs in Oakland too, so catching a show is very possible for Quality Time readers. Stay tuned for Iman Europe, because this year seems to be hers for the taking.
“my main focus is philanthropy at the end of the day.” 018
Artist Profile Favorite Movies: Lion King, Enough, Jungle Book (2016) Favorite Artists: Notorious B.I.G., Marvin Gaye, Al Green, 2Pac, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Outkast Favorite Song She’s Made: Rocket (off Caterpillar EP)
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Nikolas Schitz ( Shitmaster420 ) Medium: Photography Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Instagram: @shitmaster420
Model: Ruby McGinn
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photo by OJ San Felipe
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Tyler, the Creator Does Whatever the Fuck He Wants written by Patrick Ong
bring back the horns (please???) I don’t like my writing to get stale and follow the same formula but here comes another anecdote regarding the artist I will be writing about this month: Tyler, the Creator. Let’s begin with personal facts from high school that still ring true to this day 1) I did not have a car and 2) I was a loser because of it. I would spend a lot of time with my then-girlfriend (shout out hope you’re doing well) and she would drive me home late at night all the time. One night, we were making out in her car before I left because she was about to leave for vacation. Tyler would usually be in rotation and “Tamale” suddenly blares out of the speaker and it’s not exactly Usher or Ginuwine. We’re trying to keep it somewhat romantic until Tyler deeply yells “here, take a goddamn picture, and tell Spike Lee he’s a goddamn nigger” and we both burst out laughing. The moment was most definitely lost. Besides that, Tyler has never failed me. Quite the opposite, he continues to impress his fans with a constant flow of new media that continues to build his brand. can we add some more color? Tyler has journeyed from the boy who told indie artists Tegan and Sara (protesting his use of homophobic and misogynistic language) to contact him “If [They] Need Some Hard Dick” into a mature positive figure. His early music was laced with references of rape, murder, homophobia, and the like—resulting in his exile from New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and even Australia. People interpreted his subject matter as sending the wrong kind of message, attracting the wrong kind of audience. Well, it kind of worked. Naturally, him and his Odd Future gang gained notoriety and fame due to their edginess. However, it is well documented that Tyler was writing from a dark place where his creativity was inhibited.
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(continued) truly creative Let me reiterate, Tyler can pretty much do whatever he wants. A clothing line, TV show, music production, and video direction all started under his name for beginners. His multimedia approach reminds you that he’s not there to just cater to your musical tastes. He wants to make you laugh, think, and maybe give him money. Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, his annual music festival, is a growing mainstay of things to do in Los Angeles that I attended last year (and I’m really pissed that I didn’t sneak in this year). It is now a two-day event with bigger names to boast: Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, Erykah Fucking Badu, among others. He explained to Forbes that the carnival’s success paves way for him to take on other projects, “the carnival is one of those things that’s on my resume that’ll allow me to do cool shit that doesn’t have to do with the carnival or anything.” He even hosted his own fashion show, and designed all the clothing and furniture showcased. And that’s when I realized this artist has so many creative accomplishments (and many more aspirations to follow). This is why he resents his banishments from those foreign nations—like how I imagine my friend resents his banishment from our local tofu house—because not only does it hurts his reputation (like my banned friend), but it hurts his entrepreneurial chances to bring you more cool shit (unlike my banned friend). He’s trying to be more than just a one dimensional artist, but rather a four dimensional mogul. Rapping was his forte, but, now, Tyler, the Creator has his hand in every cookie jar, and he wants to share it with you.
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photo by Incase
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picks: logo by Graham Smith
Dominic Colangelo- Terrified by Childish Gambino (Zikomo Remix) Riley Donahue- Serious Drug by Flamingosis Noelle Valencia- Drew Barrymore by SZA Ian Johnson- 5 Fresh by Lil Uzi Vert Patrick Ong- Make it Work (feat. Anderson .Paak, Asher Roth, & Nico Segal) by Blended Babies
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staff Quality Time Radio Instagram: @QualityTimeRadio Soundcloud: QualityTimeRadio Twitter: @QualityTimeLive
Noelle Valencia (Social Media Coordinator) Instagram: @Raaellee Soundcloud: Raaellee
Dominic Colangelo (Host/Photographer) Instagram: @ColdAsDom Soundcloud: IAmYourStepdad
Ian Johnson (Graphic Designer) Instagram: @7thSoulo Soundcloud: 7thSoul
Riley Donahue (Host/Photographer/Layout) Instagram: @RileyJDonahue Soundcloud: RileyJDonahue
Patrick Ong (Writer) Instagram: based.pupusawilliams Twitter: omgbasedpatu
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