Rapper Rich Homie Quan reaches out to become a part of Michigan State football's Spartan Nation

EAST LANSING -- Rapper Rich Homie Quan can't wait to be "getting out of 285'' and head to the Rose Bowl before the Jan. 1 game kicks off.

Quan, a 24-year-old rapper from Atlanta (which is encircled by the Interstate 285 beltway), is the artist who wrote and performed the "Type of Way" song that has become the anthem for Michigan State football's magical 2013 season.

A plan to join Quan with the team and the coaching staff in Los Angeles is in place, all indications being that he'll be present and a part of the Spartans' Rose Bowl journey some type of way sooner than later.

"I want to be out there in a green jersey and feel a part of Michigan State,'' Quan told MLive.com in an exclusive interview. "I want to be at the game, I want to be out there with them. I feel a part of Michigan State now, and you don't even know what it means to me.''

Quan said he was watching the Big Ten championship game when Spartans coach Mark Dantonio gave him a "shout out" during the post-game interview on Fox.

Dantonio, a players' coach who is far more in touch with the younger generation than his media image might suggest, has pushed for Quan's presence with the team for more than a month.

"Coach said my name twice, and it sent chills through me,'' said Quan, who played football through his youth. "He could have mentioned anyone in the whole world. I mean, a man 57 years old liking me and doing that. I truly appreciate that from the bottom of my heart.''

Quan, whose booked appearances have prevented him from attending any games to this point, said he first saw that Michigan State had adopted his song two months ago via a Twitter feed.

The more he learned about the Spartans' coaches and players' post-game ritual of dancing to his song, the more it gripped him.

The whole concept of "Type of Way,'' Quan said, was to find a phrase that would leave a mark in the music industry. The song, released in August, peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard charts.

"I wanted to come with a phrase I know that will last forever,'' Quan said. "I wanted to have a song that would stick in people's head forever. I'm so glad they picked my song to get turned up to.''

Quan said he had become a fan of the Michigan State football program even before the team had adopted them.

"They go out there with swagger, to bust people in the mouth,'' Quan said. "I know win or lose, people are gonna feel some type of way after playing them.''

Quan was excited to learn that a fellow Georgia native, All-American cornerback Darqueze Dennard, was in part responsible for triggering the "Type of Way" craze that swept through the team before the season and has carried through the Big Ten championship game and into the Rose Bowl.

"I kind of pushed it towards the team probably this summer, telling guys to listen to him,'' Dennard said. "But I can't take credit for that. I think the team just made the choice about the song and everybody just rolled with it.''

Quan said the jersey he's requesting is the No. 31 of Dennard, though he's a fan of the entire team.

"Connor Cook is another favorite player,'' Quan said. "I played quarterback and cornerback when I was little, but in high school I stopped playing.

"Baseball was my ticket, it was my key, but I got a little unfocused, and once I started reading I wanted to be a rapper.''

Quan said he's been working his rap craft the past three years, since getting out of prison.

"I got out with a new plan, so I been taking rapping seriously for three years, and everything is happening in a good way, and it's all because of God, and God is giving me a chance,'' Quan said. "Now it's about knowing the game's not over. You're gonna throw some interceptions and fumble, but you can't let that throw your mind off or take your focus.

"Type of Way, like a lot of my music, it's about real events.''

Quan said he took Michigan State football's interest in him as a sign from God that bigger and better things are ahead for him to accomplish.

"You don't know what that did to me; that made me take my music a whole lot more seriously,'' Quan said. "They helped me out in a way I would never know. It's something I'll never forget.

"There was an interview on (ESPN) SportsCenter, and they had Type of Way playing, and it shows me it's solid gold, now,'' Quan said. "That shout out Coach D gave me felt better than me performing on BET (Network) for the first time ever this year. That had been the biggest event before. This is a feeling I can never get again.''