The NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award is given to the player who has been the most important over the course of the season, while not being part of the starting lineup.  They usually move to another team to be the main piece, “a smartass pawn/James Harden”, and can then potentially compete for MVP. During an interview in October, shortly after his 2-Chainz featured single, Que says after great deliberation that he feels he hasn’t made it, before he concisely settles it with ‘Made what?’.

The 6th Man is Que’s third mixtape post “OG Bobby Johnson”, following the 2014 Who Is Que EP which was released on Atlantic. He sets the tone of the mixtape early, his voice strained through a megaphone-like filter which he continues to utilise intermittently throughout. The intro track also has a simple 8 bar loop that never fails to momentarily halt me from typing; as to only mime the melody a couple inches over the trackpad. ‘First time picked up a mic was in 2011, when I got kicked outta school hoopin‘’. He hasn’t been around for long, relatively speaking, and plays around with a few different flows from the animated, OZ conjured “Games” to a Gucci drawl on the closer “Type of Party”. However, it’s the DJ Mustard clone “Emotions” that ends up being the standout track. ‘Playin’ with my money is like playin’ with my emotions, I just want them dollar signs money bag emoji’ is perfect, and Que may have wanted to save it for the inevitable LP, if not for his proven record in hook writing. He continues this on The 6th Man, and it’s this skill that fills us with promise for the upcoming year, perhaps in the hope of more varied features. It’s clear Que is here to move past his earlier hits as soon as possible, even if social media is doing him no favours. 

Que’s The Sixth Man Mixtape is out now on DatPiff.