Rapper Mr. Modest is 'oldest rookie' in game

"I ain't no young buck, but I can hang with the young bucks," says Quincy Ross, aka rapper Mr. Modest.

At 36, Quincy Ross, who raps under the name Mr. Modest, is at the age when most artists matriculate out of the hip-hop scene, segueing into artist development or producing instead of haunting the clubs to hone their craft. But this latecomer is just hitting his stride, and his experience and maturity are quickly earning him attention on the local underground rap scene.

"I ain't no young buck," says Ross. "But I can hang with the young bucks. I consider myself to be the oldest rookie in the game in Memphis."

"I ain't no young buck, but I can hang with the young bucks," says Quincy Ross, aka rapper Mr. Modest.

After years of rapping in obscurity at clubs like Club Chill, Ross makes his big move Saturday with a headlining appearance at the New Daisy. The show, which also features appearances by Ross friends and cohorts like Pat 24Seven, Snyper, Truth Be Told and Blow, is a launch party of sorts for Ross' new label, Idify Entertainment, and its Web site, idifyent.com, which went live this week.

The show will also feature a preview of Ross' upcoming mixtape compilation, I Do It For You (the title, in acronym form, is the inspiration for the new label name), which is scheduled to drop a week later. It is Ross' fourth mixtape, following Mean To An End, (Expletive) Like That, and Ode To Hip Hop. Little heard by most Memphis hip-hop fans, these hard-to-find collections have nevertheless caught the ears of the scene's taste-makers.

"He's one of those unsung heroes of the hip-hop scene in Memphis who has been around for a little while now but hasn't played a lot of shows," says Cameron Mann, a former member of the rap group Lord T and Eloise and now director of the Memphis Music Resource Center. "Lyrically and delivery-wise, though, he's very impressive. He's one of those guys who doesn't posture or pose. He speaks from the heart, so he just comes across very real in what he writes and when he performs."

Ross' journey toward a career in hip-hop began when he started writing poetry as a student at Hillcrest High School. He would write poems for his girlfriend and friends, one of whom suggested his verses would make good raps. Without any experience on the mic himself, at first Ross would write for others, but when an artist would miss a recording session, he would lay down the track himself.

"I didn't tell people it was me," he says. "I'd just hand people the CD and say, 'Here, check out this new artist of mine.'"

For years, however, Ross' music remained a hobby while he worked as a medical assistant. Then, five years ago, he began meeting people who encouraged him to make a go of it, including Matt Mages, a former rock musician who now produces hip-hop under the name Matt300.

"Matt was road manager for Lord T and Eloise for a little while, and when we were in the van, he would always play artists that he was working on," says Mann of his first encounter with Ross' music. "The one he played most frequently and with the most pride was Mr. Modest."

Mages, who appeared in the MTV series "$5 Cover" playing the deejay for Muck Sticky, had helped engineer and deejay most of Ross' recent work.

"From that day I haven't looked back since then," Ross says of the pair's first teaming. "It just seems like I'd been taking baby steps until a year ago when me and him were in the studio making my first mixtape; and a year to that date I'm performing at the New Daisy, and it's my show."

Mr. Modest with Pat 24Seven, Snyper, Truth Be Told and Blow

Saturday at the New Daisy Theater, 330 Beale St. Doors open at 8 p.m. Admission: $10 at the door. For more information, call (901) 525-8979.

© 2010 Go Memphis. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.