Hannah Burton
Staff Writer
Passionate, goofy, outgoing and genuine are all words to describe the members of The Quad Gang – University of La Verne’s very own rap crew.
Senior psychology major Khaneal Mason, senior communications major Tony Warwick, junior criminology major Corey Redeaux and hometown friend DJ Greene have combined their talents in pursuit of their dreams.
The Quad Gang, originally created by Warwick and Greene, was formed in 2013 at St. Anthony High School in Long Beach.
The group name originated from the number of members and the fact that they used to frequently hang out in the quad on their high school campus.
In addition, a group of basketball players at Warwick and Greene’s school used to call themselves “the big three,” so they wanted to come up with a name for themselves too, partly as a joke.
Three years later, the group only gets better with time. Although original members are said to be involved under the radar, Mason and Redeaux joined the group in college.
“People have priorities and we understand that, so we just had to make adjustments,” Warwick said.
In their first year at La Verne, Warwick and Mason met on the University’s basketball team. During orientation week, Mason bragged to his teammates about his ability to sing. As a result, he participated in karaoke on campus.
“Honestly, I didn’t think he could sing, so why not get humor out of it?” Warwick said.
From that point on, the collaborations began.
With the original intent to make music for fun, the group gradually turned their hobby into a lifestyle.
They now have the desire to wake up every morning and create music for the rest of their lives.
“I’m in love with making music and more than that, I enjoy doing it, it’s fun,” Mason said.
The group has created individual stage names to be known by while performing.
Warwick, also known as Tone Provo, was given this name by a friend in high school who compared him to provolone cheese.
“Anything that’s ‘provo’ is smooth. So, I guess I’m a smooth guy,” he said.
Greene, more commonly called D1, drew inspiration to his artistic name from his love of sports.
He said that division one is high up and a priority, so he wants to be the best he can be.
Mason goes by Khaneal, his first name, because it is unique enough on its own.
Redeaux also takes elements from his given name and is known as C-Red. It is a combination of his first name’s initial and the first three letters of his last name.
Each member brings their personal style and talents to the table as they write, sing, produce and rap.
“We all, in a way, piece each other together,” Greene said.
With various tastes in music, the group draws inspiration from the Temptations, Michael Jackson, Drake, LL Cool J, Hopsin, Lil Wayne and many more.
Warwick said that their style is a mix of new school rap with old school elements.
“We like to switch up our sound and try to be diverse with it. We don’t like to stick with one thing, we like to try out different sounds and see how people like it, and we just go from there,” Redeaux said.
The Quad Gang said they write about their own life experiences.
“We talk about what we know,” Warwick said. “We never branch out to talk about gangbanging or anything that we don’t do. We try to keep it in our lane just because that’s the people we want to reach out to with our music.”
They commit as much time as possible to their music, but understand the process of give and take and the sacrifices that come with it.
“Creativity doesn’t have a time scale,” Warwick said. “You can’t control creativity.”
When tracks are finished, they realize the hard work pays off.
The Quad Gang is motivated by the opportunity to be a positive influence.
“All I really want is peace, love and positivity, that’s really it. That’s my focus,” Greene said.
Mason said he feels that as young black men in today’s society, they are seen in a negative light and because of that want to spread a positive message through rapping and excelling in life.
Through his music he is able to have a good look and a good sound, Mason said.
The friends are thinking about the future while working on new projects and building a fan base.
Creating a new song is a gradual process. Warwick usually produces the beat, since he has the equipment, and he forwards it to another group member.
Then, the member raps on it and sends the file back to Warwick, who puts the final touches before it is ready.
Mason has recently received airtime for his single “I Saw You” in San Diego. He was also featured in Result and No Hype Magazine and will soon release “Til 2,” a full length project of his own.
The Quad Gang was also featured on SoCal Radio, an online radio service, and had performances over summer at small venues.
They also look forward to getting more support from students on campus, and dream of one day being considered to perform at LaVernapalooza.
“To the La Verne students out there, we just want your support. Take the time to listen to a song, take the time to check out all the stuff,” Mason said. “Take the time to do that, and I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. We got good stuff, you’ll leave a fan.”
The group is now looking forward to releasing a mix tape in the near future.
“Oceans” has been in the works for over a year.
“We mostly just want to send good vibes through our music. Let the beat, let the waves flow,” Redeaux said.
For updates on the group visit quadgang.com.
They can also be found on Instagram @thequadboys.
Hannah Burton can be reached at hannah.burton@laverne.edu.
