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At just 21 years old, Q has already started carving out his own lane in the alternative R&B space. The Broward native doesn’t complicate his sound with excess noise. Neither does he get caught up in overcompensating for his identity in either the how or “[ The Shave Experiment] means something to me, but it also feels like I was going with the flow,” he says of his debut EP release on Columbia Records. On a serene Saturday afternoon, he maintains his relaxed mien during an interview with New Times. Throughout the conversation, his candor reflects the type of emancipation conveyed in his music. He’s OK not having all of the answers. ....
The Shave Experiment is just as elusive and stripped down as its name suggests. In keeping with his shirtless pose on the EP’s cover art against a smoky backdrop, holding a Fender Stratocaster so it obscures his head Q works in sync with his instruments, allowing his electrifying, 70s-inspired production to tell as much of the story as he does. “I was just floating, existing in it,” he describes the songwriting process for the EP. Unlike the ambiguous aliases of R&B cool kids, Q (real name Q Steven Marsden) was given his mononym by his musical parents. His father Steven “Lenky” Marsden is the famed Jamaican producer who created the popular dancehall Diwali Riddim that was sampled in early-2000s hits like Wayne Wonder’s “No Letting Go,” Sean Paul’s “Get Busy,” and Rihanna’s “Pon de Replay,” while his mother worked with Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. ....