Recently I was listening in my car to that track entitled "Don't Try" from the female emcee Quannie and off of the Nick Wiz's Cellar Extras (Part One) CD.
I didn't make the connection before that, but I realized that I was listening to Quannie Quan that day !! Does that name speak to you ?
If you're fond of New Jersey hip-hop, that name should remind you something... Quannie Quan a.k.a Quannue Quan is a female emcee from East Orange New Jersey who is an original member of Gee Rock's crew... Tha CND Coalition with N.I.G Dee, Skee Love, Skully, Sarge Roc, Da Mad Artist & Punkincee. She featured on some tracks released by Gee Rock & Tha CND Coalition in the mid/late 90s. Some of them were also re-issued on the famous "Tha Untouchable" album in 2019 on Heavy Jewelz Records.
She also features on 2 other joints produced by Nick Wiz, from the Cellar Selections compilation series. The tracks were recorded in 1994 and one of them features the group Lyrical Strong Demonstrators (Asiatic Dramatic RIP & Buddha Black) who were also from East Orange, NJ.
Gee Rock & Quannie Quan - Photo courtesy of Gee Rock
Gee Rock : " In 1994, I met Quannie at her job one day by a friend of mine who knew I was looking for a female who could spit and said he met a female who could rap, so we went to the Diner where she worked and she dropped a little something on the spot, and I told her to come to my house later that week for an audition, she came and ripped it… Long story short she became my first female MC and First Lady of Force One Networkz. "
The Force One Networkz Family - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
In 1994, Gee Rock produced her debut EP titled "Every Which Way But Soft", but unfortunately it never came out. The last track "Straight Off Da Dome" from Gee Rock & Tha CND Coalition's "Tha Untouchable" album is off of this unreleased project.
Gee Rock : " The EP was not meant to be released because of the timing…we did those songs to get to know each other better, when we first met she didn’t have any material… So 'Every Which Way But Soft' was born… after that project we got serious about her career and the rest was history. "
Her Rap name at the time was Quannie Quan, She later became TreAzure. In 2001, she dropped her debut 12" (What's My Name? / Playin' With Me) on Echo International. I don't know if the tracks are dope because I've never had the chance to listen to them.
Quannie a.k.a TreAzure - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
Quannie a.k.a TreAzure & Percee P - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
Quannie a.k.a TreAzure & Big Daddy Kane - Photo courtesy of Quannie Quan
"Double LP with 21 assorted tracks from Gee Rock's 90s archive. The majority of these joints are from his unreleased Untouchable Project from '96. This compilation comes with a gatefold cover with liner notes and artwork from Spek Da Architek, Protective outer sleeves and polylined inner sleeves, 2 stickers." - HJR
"In this episode I talk to Gee Rock. One of the earliest rappers out of NJ Gee Rock makes his own beats writes his rhymes engineers and produces videos. Gee let his heart make the decisions for him instead of chasing the dollar. What he has now is a long standing body of work that he can be very proud of." - Jeff Woodard,The Street Report
The album "Straitouttajerzee" from Gee Rock & Tha Cnd Coalition , originally released on tape in 1993 and reissued on vinyl in 2013 by Heavy Jewelz Records , is now available on CD.
