Quincy Isaiah: First Semester in Public

TORONTO, 2026
WORDS + DIRECTION: LINCOLN BLACHÉ

Beginnings rarely announce themselves clearly. They happen gradually, between classes, unfinished records, changing relationships and the first real decisions about who you intend to become.

Quincy Isaiah created The Freshman across his years at Toronto Metropolitan University, while school, independence, relationships and music were beginning to occupy the same life.

The title holds two beginnings at once. It speaks to the period in which the songs were made, and to where Quincy stands now: entering the music industry with his first complete body of work.

THE FRESHMAN, 2026

New to the public.
Not new to the process.

One beginning is personal. The other is public.

The project captures Quincy from inside the transition, not as a retrospective on youth, but as a statement made while independence, confidence, relationships and ambition are still taking shape.

VISUAL REFERENCE / 01
CALVIN KLEIN UNDERWEAR, 1993

The reference was not a template to reproduce. It was a principle: remove what is unnecessary and place the emphasis on the subject.

A first introduction should leave room for what follows.

QUINCY ISAIAH
THE FRESHMAN
2026

“SAY LESS”

Directed by Lincoln Blaché
Director of Photography: Chris Morsby
Production Manager: Vivien Csere
Creative Direction: Karl Campbell, Vivien Csere and Alina Awan
Styling: Donovan