N.A.O Quelly

N.A.O Quelly, born Myk’Quel McCoy in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn is a Self-proclaimed “rebel with a cause.” The 24-year-old rapper and visionary is no quiet joke. He’s got the concrete grit of his peers, but also an honest love for colorful imagination and vulnerability. Quelly is not afraid to move different from the rest. Living with these multitudes has given him the finesse to meditate on his troubles and communicate them to others; his life has never been short of adversity. With his father and uncle incarcerated and the early loss of his mother, Quelly lives with less fear, as his worst fears have already been actualized. He hopes that his listeners view life through his eyes, so they can live just as fearlessly.

Besides being the first signed artist on Joey Bada$$’s recently conceived label BADMIND, Quelly himself is a community creator. The N.A.O. at the start of his moniker stands for New Age Outlaw$, a brand, collective, and record label itself, started by Quelly for all artists alike. N.A.O. was activated in NYCHA’s Stuyvesant Gardens and is climbing towards Quelly’s satisfaction. He believes the voices of Brooklyn as the realest and his own, trusting those he calls family to carry the message long after he’s gone. New Age Outlaw$ is authentic, built from the ground up as a way to enhance black advancement.