ScHoolboy Q has been on a helluva run since he dropped his solo mixtape Setbacks back in 2011. While Q was cut from the mold of the 90’s west coast gangster rapper, he had some stories to tell and some great lyrics to go with the loccs. Songs like “Cycle” showed me Q’s range. He had a great presence on the mic and whenever I saw him live or in videos he should seemed to have that star quality. Kendrick would get all of the shine but it was Q’s albums where you felt you might get a hood banger.
On his 2nd release, Habits & Contradictions, we see Q hit us with some different styles starting with the woozy “Sacrilegious” and then right into the ALC produced banger, “There He Go”.
His 3rd project, Oxymoron shows us that he can stay in his lane while having a commercial hit on his hands. Q even brought BJ the Chicago Kid to get his shine. This could get play on the radio but then right in your whip as well because it knocked.
On his 4th project, Blank Face LP, ScHoolboy Q hits us with what I feel is his best project. The whole project goes and tracks like “That Part” with Kanye stay in rotation today. Songs like “Kno Ya Wrong” showed that Groovy Q could talk his Suga Free type shit over some beautiful Alchemist production. And then we got “By Any Means” which every time I spin it I feel I’m on the block in an old school bucket just mean muggin people.
ScHoolboy’s 5th project was CrasH Talk and while it didn’t hit me like his other albums, he was still doing Q and exploring different styles and waves. Songs like “CrasH” that take a Royce and Preemo sample and Q rides the beat perfectly.
CrasH Talk dropped in 2019 and since that time, Q has been golfing while being a great father to his 2 daughters. Hearing him reference golf and his daughter’s soccer games in rhymes show and tell me that Q is growing up and realizing that parenting is way important than this rap shit.
I honestly didn’t know if we would ever get another project from ScHoolboy Q but here we are in 2024 with his new album dropping in days. The rollout this month has been amazing with content dropping from every angle. All of the songs have been refreshing and any fan can see that this Q project will be different than the rest. I almost don’t want to listen to the various songs coming out because I want the new album to be fresh to my ears. But these videos are all fire so I can’t hold back. A track here like this one “Cooties” is simply beautiful. The beat doesn’t conjure up what you think when you hear “rap song” but then again, does ScHoolboy Q ever stay in one lane? Hell nah… “Cooties” is a special track that requires your attention immediately. Give it a spin and let’s all get hyped for Q’s new album, Blue Lips dropping on 3/1/2024.