Online: Spectrum 360 Broadcast Check out stories on the SA election, Sanjay Gupta, reviewing the men’s basketball team’s season and The Spectrum’s new editor in chief. THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
ubspectrum.com
Monday, march 31, 2014
Volume 63 No. 64
Jordan Oscar, The Spectrum
Quinton Brock is one half of the rap duo Network with his counterpart Derek Sullivan. The group has helped Brock focus on his music and play with popular artists like Pusha T, Mike Stud and Wale. He uses interesting soundbytes, sci-fi effects and lyrics to differentiate himself from other artists in the Buffalo scene.
HIP-HOP ARTIST BROCK HOLDS ONTO DREAM UB JUNIOR AIMS TO ESTABLISH BRAND WITH HIS GROUP, NETWORK JOE KONZE JR
Senior Arts Editor
At Trattoria Aroma, an Italian eatery and pizzeria in Williamsville, Quinton Brock knows what it’s like to be under pressure. Whether he’s grilling vegetables and meat or placing pizzas in the oven, Brock is constantly multitasking. In his mind, there’s nothing he can’t handle; he has performed in front of a crowd of 2,500. Pizza making isn’t his primary focus. Brock, a junior English major, is an up-and-coming hiphop artist. Instead of sausage, onions and dough, Brock works with 808 drums, sci-fi sounds and lyrics in his home studio. “Working at restaurants is cool because it forces me to constantly challenge myself,” Brock said. “I constantly have to think. I’m multitasking. I have dough in the mixer, a pizza in the oven.”
Courtesy of Austin Martinelli
Brock applies the same logic to his music. He has to find the right ingredients to separate him from others and give listeners a product they will enjoy – just like his pizza. Rapper Brock and producer Derek Sullivan, a UB alumnus, make up the rap duo Network. Brock has a sense of quiet confidence – until you get him talking about his music. “If music was an organized thing at UB, I [would be] Khalil Mack,” Brock said. “I am the No.
1 draft pick. That’s what it is. I have the productions to prove it.” Others believe in Brock’s talents, too. Jon Bap, his older stepbrother, is Network’s sound engineer. He’s confident in his brother’s talent. Brock’s confidence is something that was embedded in his DNA at a young age. When Brock was 5 years old and visiting New York City, he walked through Times Square with his family and was approached by a homeless man.
Courtesy of Austin Martinelli
The man stopped Brock and his family and said Brock was “blessed.” Brock believes it happened for a reason. He feels that he is destined to become a wellknown recording artist. Many artists have modern musical influences they idolize and aspire to become, but for Brock it’s a bit different. His musical influences aren’t the latest artists many of his peers listen to or rappers from the ’90s and early 2000s. Instead, he has two radio stations programmed in his car:
XMU – an indie station on SiriusXM Radio – and ’80s on 8. These two stations help make up his musical Rolodex. “I listen to a lot of different music all the time,” Brock said. Brock uses current chart-topping rappers like Kanye West and Drake to stay “in tune” with today’s generation of hip-hop. He wants to make people think – something he says he didn’t do in the past as “Scooter” Brock, his former emcee name from his freshman year. During his freshman year at UB, Brock played a show with wellknown local rap artist Chae Hawk and dubstep recording artist Grabbitz at The Vault in Buffalo. Hawk invited who he thought was the next up-and-coming generation of performers to participate in the local showcase. Brock’s second video, “What You Want From Me,” had 125,000 views, which put him on Hawk’s radar. SEE BROCK, PAGE 2
Spectrum elects 2014-15 editor in chief The Spectrum’s editorial board unanimously voted Sara DiNatale as next year’s editor in chief Sunday. DiNatale, a junior English major with a media study minor, is currently a managing editor for the newspaper. She started as a staff writer in the fall 2011 semester and in three weeks was promoted to assistant news editor. The following year, she earned the position of senior news editor. “I’m honored to be elected as The Spectrum’s editor in chief,” DiNatale said. “I’ve been working toward this position since I joined the paper as a freshman. I’m looking forward to next year
and will continue the newspaper’s upward trajectory. The Spectrum is capable of so much, and I’m excited to grow the organization alongside the 2014-15 staff.” DiNatale plans to improve The Spectrum’s video presence by creating a new position of video producer/editor. She also plans to increase the newspaper’s online presence, especially in the area of social media. Over the past three years, DiNatale has interned at Artvoice, a Buffalo newsweekly, and at The Buffalo News as a business reporter. This summer, she is temporarily moving to Portland, Ore., to be a reporting intern for The Oregonian.
“Ever since Sara started at The Spectrum, it hasn’t been a matter of if she will become editor in chief but when,” said current Editor in Chief Aaron Mansfield. “She has shown immense promise in her first three years here, and I couldn’t imagine handing over this organization to anyone else. I have the utmost confidence she’ll take the newspaper to a new level of greatness.” DiNatale said she’s “excited to keep The Spectrum on pace with the changing world of journalism” by focusing on the paper’s multimedia presence in addition to its print edition.
Jody Kleinberg Biehl, The Spectrum’s faculty adviser and direc-
tor of UB’s Journalism Certificate Program, pointed out that DiNatale is the first female editor in chief since 2009 – and also the first editor in chief in five years not from the sports desk. “Sara is as talented as she is dedicated and has proven herself repeatedly as a reporter and editor,” Biehl said. “She also has a quiet determination that distinguishes her and that, I think, will make her a tremendous leader. I look forward to working with her and to watching her grow.” email: news@ubspectrum.com
YUSONG SHI, THE SPECTRUM