Hip-Hop artist AJ McQueen turned out the Dark Room last Saturday, opening the show in his signature black Dickies jumpsuit, with his black bandanna tied around his waist-length locs and his black Chuck sneakers. His ornate gold jewelry brought his look to a completion.
The Dark Room in Grand Center served as the perfect set-up for the rapper, as he walked onto the stage yelling out “St. Louis, I’m glad to be home.”
He gives a disclosure and says ‘If you listen to Blueface, DaBaby, then this show ain’t for you’. The crowd claps their hands and snaps their fingers in agreement as if they were at a spoken word show.
The Wellston native is an artist, activist, and writer, and he jumped right into it with the first song of the night “Routine.” As soon as the background music started to play, the concertgoers started cheering him on. Folks were bopping to the song, singing the lyrics with him. If I had to describe his talent I would say, if Common, Kendrick Lamar, and ‘old’ Kanye West had a rap baby it would be AJ McQueen.
Being in that concert you were going to leave with some life lessons, whether that was between his songs or in his lyrics. “I make music for the soul,” said McQueen.
His lyrics in ‘Elderberry’ talk about battling depression, and feeling lost. He tells the crowd he wrote the lyrics while drinking elderberry tea. McQueen describes his music as holistic, music that is good for healing. But he is now wasn’t who he was back then.
The rapper says he was a misguided teen, who was pridefully ignorant, meaning he was confident in what he didn’t know. An unfortunate shooting incident at 16 is why he moved to Houston. However, the artist says his journey to becoming a better person started with him getting to know God and that’s when his music started to make sense.
“It’s been a beautiful journey, and I’m so glad to be coming home in this fashion,” said McQueen.
And people are feeling his lyrics. Laree Webb said, “I love seeing him perform, and rap about things that uplift us.”
John Redding caught on to his music through Instagram and has been following McQueen ever since. “I am looking forward to seeing how he performs and hearing ‘Sway’, ‘Routine’, and ‘Unsung’.
McQueen says he was filled with so much gratitude when he was performing at the Dark Room, he has recognized his growth in music and now has confidence he didn’t have before.
“I don’t follow trends in the music industry, I’m not into commercial rap,” said the rapper.
He says that he creates evergreen music that will stand against the test of time. The talented artist rarely writes down his lyrics, once he hears the beat, they just start flowing. One of his all-time favorite artists is Lauryn Hill,
He told the St. Louis American that he has Lauryn Hill’s silhouette from her “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” album tattooed on his chest. He says that even though he was a child that album just did something for him. He likes the way Hill raps about love and heartache.
“That album hit my heart,” said McQueen. Besides listening to Hill, McQueen also listens to a lot of reggae music, ole school rap like Nas, and loves R&B greats like Anita Baker.
McQueen said that his shows are an experience. “If people give my music a chance, give my artistry a chance. I believe I can make an impact, like Bob Marley did,” said the rapper. believe I can make an impact like Bob Marley did,” said the rapper.
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.
