Today we’d like to introduce you to Gerald Yusuf, Nick Steele and Steven Kubie.
Gerald, Nick and Steven, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Hey, I’m Gerald Yusuf aka Tag. I started rapping at the age of 13 and originally born in Queens, New York. Moved to South Florida at the age of ten born to Guyanese West Indian Parents. I starting the engineering and producing around 2005 when me and several friends started a studio business which unfortunately went under in 2010. Around that time, I was just freestyling, battle rapping, and doing anything musically I could get into. I started interning at South Beach Studios where I met Nick Steele and Steven Kubie in 2012. From there, I’ve engineered and produced at several studios from Miami to Ft Lauderdale working with many major artists, producers, and engineers. My biggest song right now is “Arms Around You” which went platinum earlier this year. Nick and I kept in contact with communication making music and working at several of the same studios. We eventually ran back into Steven Kubie and formulated QST, after seeing our chemistry was one of a kind.
Hey, I’m Nick Steele aka Steele Risin’ I was born and raised in Macon, Georgia. I began playing drums for my family’s church as a child. The name, Steele Risin’ was acquired when I began producing beats in high school. My talented skills lead me to the Great Bethune-Cookman University where I performed with the Marching Wildcats for 4 years and graduated with a Bachelors’ degree in Music Technology (2009). During my years there, I collaborated with many local artists and musical classmates. In 2012, I moved to South Florida and started interning at South Beach Studio, This is where I met Gerald Yusuf and Steven Kubie. After the internship process was over I began assisting and producing for clients that booked time there. Gerald and I started working out of other studios before we ran back into Steven. Once we were back together we started collaborating on different projects and notice that the vibe was dope. So we establish a production team labeled QST LLC. The title reflects our merged partnership by utilizing our name initials. We have a great deal of new projects on the horizon; adding to our impressive resume of hits.
Hey, I’m Steven Kubie a.k.a. Steven Q-Beatz! I was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to South Florida in 1994. I started getting into making beats when I was in middle school. After high school, I made my own company (Steven Kubie Productions) where I produced and engineered for a handful of local artists. I then studied music production and audio engineering at SAE Institute in Miami. As soon as I graduated, I got an internship at Circle House Studios where I learned more about how major producers, engineers, songwriters, and labels all worked together to create a project. I met Miami producer Bigg D in 2010. Not too long after we started working together, we got a placement with Chris Brown on his song “Wet The Bed”! I met Nick and Gerald at South Beach Studios when I was working there on some other major label projects. After one of my sessions, Nick and Gerald let me hear some crazy beats and songs they were working on at the time. After South Beach Studios closed its doors, we all linked back up and the three of us finally started to collaborate together. We each have different strengths and bring something dope and to the table. It took us a minute to figure out the name of our collaborative group we have formed, but we decided to call it QST. We each have our own individual successes, but when we combine forces we are unstoppable!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It’s always been a tough road, with no pain there’s no gain. We interned and worked for free at South Beach Studios. Coming from Ft. Lauderdale, it was a long drive, and having to juggle jobs that would work around it was tough. Family and friends won’t believe in you and you got to have the self-confidence to keep pushing. Also, opportunities that you’re hoping for don’t fall through or someone screws you over…it can fuck with you and make you quit. You got to have the heart for this industry and true love for music if you’re doing to make it.
Tell us more about the business.
QST is a production team that can do everything that needs to be done in the studio. We can engineer, produce, mix, master, and songwriter the entire song. We have a certain sound that we’ve developed and our quality is unmatched to most producers and engineers in South Florida. We put out music almost twice a month and have more music on the way.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Consistency has always worked for us. Through the good and the bad, you have to be consistent. When you stop…that’s when it all ends.
Contact Info:
- Email: qstmusicgroup@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/qstmusicgroup
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/qstmusicgroup
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