Quinn XCII Does it Again With “The People’s Champ”

Image Courtesy of themudmag 

By Ryn Cole

On midnight on January 27th, Quinn XCII released his fifth studio album entitled The People’s Champ. He announced this album on Instagram on November 16, 2022, and the post gained attraction from thousands of people, including rising star and “Stick Season” singer Noah Kahan who said “Let’s goooo” in response to the announcement. It is safe to say that Quinn XCII has an extremely supportive fan base and continues to create music to satisfy his wide audience. 

Mikael Temrowski took Quinn XCII as his stage name when he started writing and recording his own music during his time in college at Michigan University. His first EP, A Change of Scenery, was released in May of 2015 and he has had immense success since. His music is inspired by numerous genres including pop, hip-hop, reggae, and rock. His sound is unique to any other singer-songwriter, and has not been duplicated. 

Quinn XCII explains how he settled on this new album name in an Instagram post where he wrote, “Don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself – you are your own People’s Champ.” The album focuses on finding peace within yourself, with the ups and downs in life, and finding “TRUE acceptance of everything that that life throws” at you. While he has continually and openly grappled with anxiety and depression, he is learning to accept these struggles along with the joys that life has given him. 

The People’s Champ includes twelve new songs, all written by Quinn XCII himself. Four of these have been released as singles with corresponding music videos: “Common (with Big Sean)”, “Let Me Down (with Chelsea Cutler)”, “The Lows”, and “Backpack.” These songs generated a good amount of hype for his album, especially “Common”, which gained traction as an upbeat, fun single about a couple and their budding love. This music video currently sits at 856,000 views and showcases Quinn XCII and Big Sean goofing around in a gymnasium with a hilariously inaccurate stunt double playing Quinn XCII.

He performed “Lows” on The Late Late Show with James Corden on January 23 to promote his new album. This song encompasses his worries and insecurities revolving around his life during the time of writing this album and how he is learning to cope with the lows in his life. The hook goes, “my highs don’t stand a chance without the lows.”

Along with these four singles, eight new songs are on the album and their messages and vibes vary. Some of the more upbeat songs include “Bartender” and “FOMO (Don’t Do Cool Shit)” where Quinn XCII described his fear of missing out and wishing his friends only did fun things when he is around so he can partake. However, “Black Porsche” focuses on his guilt of accepting his financial success in the past years. Perhaps the most moving song on the album is the final one entitled “All That You Need” which closes the album with an inspiring message to his fans saying, “All that you need is what you can’t see, but you’ve always had it.”

This album, like many of his others, has numerous collaborations with other prominent artists, including features from Big Sean, Adrian Cota, AJR, and, one of his longtime friends, Chelsea Cutler. Their song “Let Me Down (with Chelsea Cutler)” describes a couple with disconnected communication coming to terms that their relationship is unsustainable.

Cutler and Quinn XCII have been creating music together for years and have even toured together. In an interview with Variance, Quinn XCII described his relationship with Cutler saying, “After putting out our sixth collaboration over the last five years, it really never gets old working on music with Chelsea.” He also voiced his excitement about hopefully working with her on future projects. 

The People’s Champ is full of new music, new duets, and new music videos. Quinn XCII has created his fifth album, and with his growing popularity, it may just be his most successful. His listeners gain insight on how he copes with struggles in his life and how he basks in his successes in a relatable, yet deeply honest way. He summed up this album best in an Instagram post where he says, “I realized every emotion, feeling, thought, etc. are just waves in the ocean, but I’m not the wave, I’m the whole ocean.”