NQ at five: inside the game-changing label taking Northern rap to the world

A short drive from Manchester Piccadilly station, under heavy grey clouds and sheets of rain, there stands an unassuming three-story building. Just behind its red brick walls, however, you’ll find an entirely different world. Neon signs emblazoned with the letters ‘NQ’ pave the way to plush studios filled with the rap stars of tomorrow. A grand piano in the lobby keeps watch of excitable passers-by. Already a vital component of Manchester’s creative economy, NQ House is everything you’d expect from a label writing a new chapter in the city’s historic music scene.

Leading NME upstairs, Chief Operating Officer Louis Brown proudly explains, “We take the phrase ‘keeping everything in house’ quite literally here.” Opening the door to an impossibly white studio office space filled with busy NQ House staff, he continues: “It’s like the old days of Motown, you have the engine room downstairs with a new generation of artists working, then upstairs we have the brains of the operation driving everything forward.”

Since starting out from the bedroom of NQ founder Michael Adex in 2017, NQ hasn’t just become a Northern powerhouse but also a label and management company capable of global influence. As the countless gold records dotted throughout the building are quick to suggest, the label has enjoyed rapid growth in five years, having launched the careers of flagship artists like rappers Aitch and MIST, and producer duo WhyTek.

Settling into an office filled with more awards and commemorative champagne bottles, Adex casts his mind back to the original vision for the company. He was spurred on by just how vibrant the international city of Manchester is, from its colourful nightlife scene to the football culture, which houses two giants of the game. “We wanted to build an infrastructure outside of London specifically focussing on music but also the wider entertainment industry,” he says.

A lack of opportunity for artists beyond the capital was a key driving force for NQ. Emerging artists still face financial barriers such as the cost for travel to London, which would allow them to access potentially game-changing career opportunities, from writing camps to record label meetings. “We wanted to fly the flag for artists doing things outside of London,” says Adex. “It was really about championing those people.”

These thoughts are echoed by Aitch, who NQ nurtured from a grassroots artist dropping viral freestyles on YouTube, to a BRIT-winning heavyweight capable of tackling Pyramid Stage duties. “Most of the musical opportunities in England have always been in London,” he tells NME. “NQ is a good space and platform for artists up North. Especially when people are coming from nothing, it’s not as easy as it seems to just go down to London and try to live your life over there and make a career over there. It’s good to start from the hometown.”

Although NQ have firmly put their own stamp in the history books of Manchester’s musical evolution, the city’s illustrious history is never far from sight. Adex continues: “We always pay our respects to what’s come before. Manchester is such a rich cultural place: the music, the football, the student life, the nightlife – we want to build on that history. It enhances what we do because people already know what the city is about.”

NQ have even had the blessing of the scene’s legends in their journey so far; Adex recalls an encounter with Alan Erasmus, co-founder of Factory Records, which was once home to generation-defining bands like Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays. “He came in when we were building [NQ House] to see how we were getting on and gave us an old Factory Records pin badge,” says Adex. “It’s great to see that legends like that are still involved and supporting the scene.”

Nqare taking a sense of community spirit into this bright new era of the Northern rap scene. You don’t need to look any further than last month’s triumphant Parklife Festival in the Manchester’s Heaton Park to find the evidence. Headlined by Aitch, it was a moment to saviour for the city and NQ alike, with NME claiming the rapper was “back where he belongs, striding through hits like ‘Taste’ with explosive bursts of pyrotechnics that help to create a serious party atmosphere.”

Having taken to the stage donning a jacket decorated with Manchester street names of personal importance, Aitch’s day to day manager Via Culpan says his bond with the city pulsed through the occasion. “We all know that Manchester is in Aitch’s heart so it’s nice to incorporate that wherever we can. The city is always at the forefront of his mindset,” she says. “The sky is really the limit now.”

You only have to take an hour-long drive up the M62 to Leeds to find further examples of how this collaborative spirit has expanded across the scene. The city is now home to the new label EMI North, which launched earlier in the year. A huge statement of intent, the venture marked the first major ever British label to operate a physical space outside of London. Even closer to Manchester, Liverpool boasts the independent label Modern Sky, who have achieved number one albums with Northern artists such as The Lathums and The Lottery Winners, alongside publisher Sentric Music, who empower local artists like alt-pop upstart Pixey.

Adex adds: “It’s good that the majors are thinking about investing in areas outside of London. People are moving on and working in different ways which is beneficial for collaboration and creating new pathways.” Louis concurs: “Considering the incredible heritage of cities like Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds, it’s always baffled me why there’s not more amazing music companies, facilities and infrastructure in these places.”

NQ’s Head of A&R, Dave O’Sullivan, who we meet downstairs in the foyer over a coffee, agrees with these sentiments. “You need people here on the ground that are listening to the community. It’s absolutely vital that we’ve got that up here now in the North to make sure those underground artists are being discovered.”

O’Sullivan says his role as an A&R is about much more than identifying talent; it’s about bringing them into the fold at NQ. “A lot of artists need a team around them to really help them develop – it’s really not an overnight process,” he says. “It’s about getting them in rooms, giving them that musical direction.”

That was exactly the case with Birmingham rapper MIST, an artist who has recently performed landmark sets at the likes of Parklife and Wireless. The rapper tells NME that NQ have been pivotal in helping him realise his vision. “NQ have given me structure as an artist and a new vision when it comes to my music.”

Though NQ have proved to be a vital antidote to London-focused industry over the past five years, it’s by no means a Manchester versus London affair either; after all, the company has just recently opened a studio space in Acton. As Adex is quick to explain: “A lot of the talent flow still goes through London, so if we’re able to have a facility where we can make stuff happen, then we want to do that as well.”

Though as ever, home is never far from the overall vision. “We want to do more within Manchester and we want to give back to the city as well,” adds Adex. He cites the Mayor Andy Burnham opening NQ House to illustrate the bond between the label and city. “We are always looking for new ways to help.”

As WhyTek tell NME: “NQ is a creative hub for Manchester. From a city where there often hasn’t been one, we have had to make our own; and NQ have managed to take that to heights that no one else has before. It’s been a journey being involved and seeing the growth first hand from humble beginnings.”

The company have also set up NQ Legacy, a charitable outreach which was established in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. As Operations Manager Latisha Monique, who heads up the initiative, explains: “[The protests] highlighted a lot of disparities within the industry,” she says. “We’re big believers in being the change you want to see, so we thought the best thing to do was to nurture the visionaries of tomorrow.”

Monique continues: “It really warms my heart seeing the growth in young people, when you look at the likes of Adex and Aitch you see it can be done. It’s about providing young people with the tools they need to move forward and succeed.”

The future looks just as clear for NQ as it did from the very outset, something that comes as a testament to Adex’s drive, which pulses through the company from top to bottom. What will the next five years bring, beyond many more shiny awards? Adex surveys the room and laughs, “There’s already too many to count!”

He concludes: “Five years in the grand scheme of things isn’t long. We’ve achieved so much in that time, but we’re always going to be making strides forward. In the industry, you see representation of people from different areas now which is great, so if we’ve played a small part in that, then that’s amazing.”

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