Sylvan LaCue

When I started asking questions, that’s when I realized what her legacy was about. She had three daughters; all the men in their lives abandoned them. She said, “No matter what, I’m gonna keep my daughters together. I’m gonna dedicate my life to keeping my family together.” I didn’t get to say goodbye to her, and that was my peace. I’m gonna start with this, this is the first place that I could think of that I could keep together.

Had I gotten any monetary success early on I wouldn’t have known what to do with it and I would’ve sabotaged myself as an artist. I’m grateful that God really allowed me to fail the amount of times I failed so I could learn.

The storytelling and narratives have been compared to Kendrick Lamar’s debut good kid, m.A.A.d city and classics from Masta Ace and Prince Paul.

Sylvan stated at a young age he heard the Nas song “You’re Da Man” off of Stillmatic and "just connected to it". He also says that he was a fan of Big Pun, Canibus, Lupe Fiasco, Common, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers and R. Kelly. Previous influences included Childish Gambino and his Camp album, as well as Kendrick Lamar.

Apologies in Advance was released on January 12, 2018.

LaCue began teasing upcoming music in early July 2018 on Twitter, eventually releasing Florida Man on Monday, July 9, the title track to a mixtape that released on July 13, 2018. LaCue dedicated the project to his late grandmother, with a goal of inspiring unity within his city, as his grandmother did for his family.

In an article released the day before the release of Far From Familiar, LaCue explained his ambitions in an interview with The Fader. He explained that the final track of Far From Familiar, "At What Cost?", was him finally obtaining peace with himself, stating, "I chose to close out with this because it's also the title of my next project". LaCue also said that he was focused on expanding his brand, WiseUp & Co., and that he planned to go on tour in 2016. Following the release of At What Cost by fellow rapper GoldLink, LaCue announced that he had abandoned the idea, and on May 8, 2017, announced the album would be titled Apologies in Advance, via Twitter. From March 3 to April 4, 2017, LaCue toured with Saba on his Bucket List Tour, in an effort to support Saba's Bucket List Project.

In anticipation of the new project, Sylvan released Fall From Grace, the first official single on February 4, 2016 via Complex Magazine. The song was originally titled So Help Me God before being renamed the night before in response to Kanye's indecisiveness over his album title. Sylvan revealed the inspiration behind the song on his Twitter following its release.

In June 2015, Miami New Times listed Sylvan as one of 5 Miami Artists You Should Know, stating that "he’s been taking Miami by storm since 2009. It's 2015 now, and he’s still going strong."

On September 2, 2015, Sylvan released a statement on his website which announced how he has dropped QuESt as his stage name and will go by his birth name. The statement was accompanied by a featured journal on VSCO which detailed what he had gone through in the past year, such as finding himself as an artist.

Sylvan also announced that he would be dropping a project titled Far From Familiar. The album is a direct sequel to "Searching Sylvan" and is produced by WiseUp's in-house production team, The Marvels. In November 2015, he released The Watcher 3 to herald his return and offer an unapologetic and observant report on the current state of the industry. A little over week, Studio City appeared. Both were received well by fans and blogs alike.

On December 15, 2015, Sylvan announced the EP Evangeline, which was scheduled to be released for free, on December 18, 2015. The EP is a "love story" according to Sylvan, that takes place after the events of his upcoming project, Far From Familiar.

In March 2015, Sylvan was nominated to be on the XXL annual Top 10 Freshmen list, which features artists to watch out for and that are on the rise which are shown on the cover of the "Freshman Class" issue of XXL.

On September 2, 2014, Sylvan released the Searching Sylvan mixtape. Following its release, The Huffington Post named Sylvan on their 11 Artists You Need To Know For The Rest Of 2014 list, with The Huffington Post stating “[Sylvan] is about to prove himself one of the most promising storytellers in hip-hop" and that Searching Sylvan was not "just one of the best mixtapes or hip-hop releases this year ... [it] is one of the best albums all year". Near the end of 2014, The Huffington Post again placed Sylvan on a list, placing Searching Sylvan #6 on The 15 Most Underrated Albums Of The Year.

In December 2014, Sylvan announced that he had decided to leave Visionary Music Group due to differences with the management, stating that there was "no ill will towards them". Weeks after separating from his previous label, Sylvan created the WiseUp music collective. He returned to Florida to reconnect with friends and family, speaking on an industry panel in the spring before heading to Orlando to prepare his next body of work.

He previously signed to Chris Zarou's Visionary Music Group record label (2013-2014) before forming his own collective, WiseUp & Co.. In 2016, he signed a distribution deal with INGrooves, his first as an independent artist.

Sylvan moved to San Diego, CA feeling he needed a "change in scenery" after experiencing his hardships. Deciding to take his time, Sylvan decided to tour with rapper Logic on his Welcome To Forever Tour in early 2013. After building a relationship with Visionary Music Group president Chris Zarou, it was announced in August 2013 that Sylvan joined Chris Zarou's record label, Visionary Music Group (VMG).

Six months after giving his father responsibility of the finances, Sylvan and his father were evicted on May, 10th 2012. Following being evicted, losing his job weeks earlier and giving his father his car, Sylvan almost decided to quit rapping. He also had doubts of success after not getting recognition despite releasing works, contacting individuals in the music industry and performing independently. He decided to speak with his A&R representative where she told him to take his time and not to do anything.

Into 2011, Sylvan was living independently and was working full-time as a janitor. In late 2011, Sylvan's father moved in with him after being released from jail and convinced Sylvan to allow him to take care of financial responsibilities.

Sylvan LaCue began his music career in 2009 under his then name, QuESt, after taking inspiration from Canadian rapper Drake and his sudden success following the So Far Gone mixtape. He chose the stage name "Quest" but stylized it as "QuESt" after rapper Nas' uppercase "S", saying "Quest is a common name, I wanted to differentiate myself in some way, shape, or form."

In 2009, he was the champion of Jermaine Dupri's "Survival of the MCs" competition, beating 660 other hip hop performers and earning a deal with Dupri's newly founded TAG Records. However, months after Sylvan won his deal with TAG Records, the record company folded. Subsequently, Sylvan began releasing content online following the era of the online mixtape circuit, building a solid following under his then name "QuESt'.

Sylvan LaCue, formerly known as QuESt, (born September 2, 1990) is an American hip hop artist originating from Miami, Florida. He began his rapping career in 2009 with several releases, including the critically acclaimed Searching Sylvan mixtape. In April 2016, he released his debut studio album, Far From Familiar, and on January 12, 2018 he released his second album, Apologies in Advance.