Though the 17th letter of the alphabet has become problematic in recent times, redolent as it is of anonymous sowers of discord in the political realm, Memphis bassist David Parks, aka Parks David, is having none of it. Listening to his EP, The Q Tape, which dropped in May, one could even say he’s reclaimed all the superior connotations of the now-infamous letter.
“I started creating this kind of sound during quarantine,” he tells me. “And so really it was the quarantine tape. Really locking in and just creating. But then I got sick of quarantine. Like, ‘I want to go outside.’ So it morphed into this whole different thing. And there are a lot of great ‘Q’ words.”
When I point out that the letter evokes both the nickname of the great Quincy Jones, whose jazzy, funky ’70s soundtracks can be heard as influences here, and the brilliant Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Parks readily agrees. “Absolutely. I’m a super-huge Tribe fan, a huge Q-Tip fan. And also, I’m bringing that soundtrack back, reimagining the relationship between film and music.”
Parks means that literally, as the all-too-brief EP, subtitled “a cinematic experience,” has a visual counterpart of the same name, featuring the auteur driving an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme around Memphis with a mysterious briefcase, so bathed in the golden light of the “Me Decade” that one can almost smell herbal refreshments. And the music is mainly an instrumental odyssey that complements such images, full of atmospheric strings and sparse keyboard chords, undergirded with the kind of fluid basslines that are a staple of classic, old-school R&B.
“I made a conscious effort to put some real slick, Memphis, James Alexander bass on this,” Parks says. “I wanted to take my time and create some iconic lines. ’Cause that’s kinda missing from popular music right now. Great bass lines. Give me that live element! I wanted to incorporate the digital, the modern, with instruments that come from the earth, that come from the wood and the trees.”
Still, listeners shouldn’t sleep on that echo of Q-Tip in the mix, signified visually by Parks in his yellow hoodie and sonically by the exclusively programmed beats. “As much as it is Isaac Hayes,” Parks adds, “I feel like it is Juicy J as well. I wanted to put some Memphis influence and everything that I experienced and created here, from sweaty clubs to arenas and stadiums.” Referencing the rapper and producer designated by the alphabet’s 10th letter is no idle name-drop, for the group he co-founded, Three 6 Mafia, arguably did more than any other to combine the hard beats of hip-hop with the dark atmospheres of cinema. That’s echoed in The Q Tape as well.
And there’s another connection, only apparent if you reflect on the quality of the artists Parks is drawing from: If Juicy J and Isaac Hayes earned Oscars for their soundtracks, and Q-Tip had his “Award Tour,” Parks himself has joined their ranks, thanks to playing on Ledisi’s “Anything for You,” named Best Traditional R&B Performance at this year’s Grammy Awards.
“That was a big deal,” Parks reflects. “You always aim for playing on a Grammy-winning record. That’s a pretty big milestone in my career. So I’m ready to keep expanding, and just take it as far as I can take it, artistically. Honestly, it’s a bittersweet moment. Because it’s like, ‘Man, I contributed to something great.’ But truth be told, I want a Grammy with my name on it. You know? I’ve made a lot of people’s stuff sound good, so now it’s time to focus and deliver what my vision looks like.”
Parks pauses, then offers another alphabetical reference. “Quintessential. That’s a great word, right? I like helping my friends and playing on great records, but it’s time to take those talents and add them to what I’m doing for myself. You always hope that your art is quintessential.”