ZDF. Online: Who are your musical or personal idols?

TQ: In the music my idols are Dr. Jack as producer and Prince as artist. But the biggest example in my life and in my environment is my dad. He’s the most hard-working man I know. He always did everything he could and because of him I didn’t have to go to a poor school. Because of him I grew up in a nice little house in the neighborhood. I believe I have to thank him for what I am today. I love him therefore, eventhough we don’t have a very close relationship. He always worked a lot, most of the time he wasn’t home and when he came home it was so late, I was already asleep. Now I understand him, because I see things in me that I also see in him. He wanted to reach his goal, and so do I.

ZDF.online: What does TQ stand for?

TQ: Those are my initials. My real name is Terence Quaites, but ever since I was young, my friends call me TQ.

ZDF.online: Does your father understand that you’ve become an artist? What does he think of your music?

TQ: He’s my manager. He’s a very important person in my life. He settles the financial things and he makes decisions for me. But he’s not really involved with my music. He listens to my music with pride and also plays the cd. Even the really old songs I made years ago he listens to.

ZDF.online: Are you happy that you’re in a position that you can thank your parents for what they did for you?

TQ: Absolutely. I always had the choice between two ways: the good one and the bad one. At any time I could have chosen to turn around and go the bad way, but my parents stopped me from doing that. I had a solid situation in my life: a father and a mother. A lot of children tell things about a father who’s in jail, or a mother who’s always drunk. I’m happy this didn’t happen to me. I grew up in a little house with a garden, and the neighborhood wasn’t that bad. My parents are from the South and over there it’s usual that the whole family sits together at dinner. It makes me very happy that I can give something back to them and that I can make them proud of their son.

ZDF.online: You’ve been in Germany for the last three weeks. What do you think of Germany and most important, what do you think of the German people?

TQ: I have cool relationship with the German girls. I really like being in Germany. It’s very important to me to be here and the fans are being very supportive. When I wrote the song about my neighborhood a couple of years ago, I could have never imagined how far I would come. I still can’t believe it, being here and being miles away from home. But if I could wish for something, it would be for the sun to shine more. It’s really very cold and dark here for someone who’s from California. And I would also like to say something about the musicscene: I’m very impressed about the German Hip-Hop-Scene. It’s very cool. It remembers me of the feeling I had when I first begun.

The first breakdancers and rappers, for example Run DMC or the Fat Boys, it was more about the fun than about making money and having cool cars. And even now, the young people of America and Germany enjoy having fun in the Hip-Hop-Scene. That caught me by surprise. That’s what I wanted to say.

"My life and music are inseperable because I make music about life"

ZDF.online: In your lyrics you sing about your origin. What do you want to say with your music, but mostly with your lyrics? What do you want to say to the kids?

TQ: I want to support the people, I don’t want them to do bad things to themselves. In my first song I wrote about my neigborhood in L.A. and what I saw there every day. I’ve been in a lot of different countries and everywhere I’ve been, I’ve seen things that remember me of my childhood. That’s the message I want to tell the people, I want my songs to reach lots of people, that’s the thing you have to do to become a succesful artist. I have to keep my eyes opened all the time.

ZDF.online: Do you understand the German lyrics in the songs?

TQ: To be honest: no. I don’t have the time to learn other languages. Of course I understand some things, but especially German words are very hard for me to prenounce.

ZDF.online: What do you want to do? What do you dream of?

TQ: I want to keep making music forever. Maybe not as an artist on stage, but writing new songs. That’s what I love doing-that’s what I live for. Writing new songs makes me very happy. I want to keep on doing it for the rest of my life and maybe even when I’m an old man.

ZDF.online: When are you coming to Germany to do a Livetour?

TQ: I’ve made two albums in the meantime, which are absolutely worth listening and playing. In the summer I’m first going to the USA for performances, but maybe later in the year I’ll come to the rest of the world and of course to Germany.

Nominated in the catogory "New International Artist", TQ follows the tradition of the American Hip-Hop scene. In a interview with ZDF.online he confesses who his biggest idol is: Hip-Hop legend 2pac, who was shot in his car after he went to a Mike Tyson fight.

ZDF.online: TQ, at your appearance in Cologne (Germany) there were a lot of German rappers. Do you know any of them?

TQ: To be honest I'm not really familiar with the German Hip-Hop scene. But when I'm in Germany I meet alot of German rappers. I think the Hip-Hop scene is going to become very big of here.

ZDF.online: The hip hop from the states is spreading across the entire world. What's your opinion on that?

TQ: Hip-Hop was born in the States, but meanwhile it has become a worldwide culture. It's music for the youth and these live across the entire world. They all have experienced things that they recognize in the hip-hop music. Some of the youth can express themselves better through the hip-hop music. And that brings the people together.

ZDF.online: Are you working on other projects with fellow rappers at the moment?

TQ: Yes at the moment I'm working on my next album. I'm trying to work with a lot of different artists on that album, with Dr.Dre for example.

ZDF.online: Is there someone special who you would still want to work with?

TQ: Yes, but unfortunately that isn't possible anymore because that person has already died: 2pac. He's my favourite artist. The greatest rapper of our time. I had the satisfaction of working with his material which he had recorded before he died. I have made a couple of tracks with that material. I'm very well aquinted with his mother, but unfortunately it isn't possible for me to work together with him anymore.