They talk about building a community that values what different people bring to it, being ok with being vulnerable, self-reflecting, growing as a person and learning how to feel emotions and face them. Quez also shares how playing football prepared him for being on stage, but it was music that helped him deal with and process his brother’s murder. We dive into his writing process, influences, and how they both want to know the backstory of how a song comes together.

Quez shares some of the challenges that he’s encountered growing up Black in Nashville and trying to build a career when you’re not a country music artist. They talk about how they met (it all started with an NPR article about the Nashville Hip Hop scene that came out during the pandemic) and Quez’s unconventional journey that led him to put his brutally honest music out into the world. In this episode, which is part one of a two-part series, Monica has a profoundly honest and deeply vulnerable conversation with Quez Cantrell, an artist, MC, producer, and web designer from Nashville, TN. The Brave Musician podcast is a part of BraveMusician, which includes a variety of workshops, a blog, and other opportunities to connect within this community. To support Brave Musician, including the production of this podcast, please visit for information on our Pay-It-Forward model and how you can help. They talk about the importance of trusting people and letting them do what they do, learning how to say no and be told no, motivation and inspiration, setting intentions, and Quez answers the “Behind the Curtain” questions. They share their mutual respect for Rakim and Kendrick Lamar, being unconventional, and making sure that the things you do are sitting right with your spirit. They talk about collaboration, lifting up others, being sure of your story and figuring out what a moment sounds like.

They talk about reading and sharing books they have found helpful and figuring out how to rest when needed. They dig into their personal experiences with isolation, emotional incarceration, self-guilt, forgiving, and moving through deeply painful experiences. In this episode, Monica and Quez Cantrell ( an artist, MC, producer, and web designer from Nashville, TN) continue their conversation where they left off in Part 1.

The brave writer podcast