Despite pushing 40, Q still has incredible energy to give, and arguably the best ear for beats in the game.
10 years ago,
I reviewed Oxymoron, and concluded that it was fun, but a little too
dumb for my taste. Fast-forward to the present day, and Schoolboy Q’s music sounds
sophisticated – if not borderline high brow - compared to the shit being
churned out by upcoming rappers today. Just take a listen to the string of recent Carti singles and then listen to Blue Lips, and you’ll instantly
see what I mean.
Sure, Q’s
lyrics are still very dirty, and sometimes outrageous (the line ‘around nine,
I was tryna have sex (I did)’ is absolutely insane). ‘Pop’ also has way too
many aggressively yelled n-words for a white guy like me to feel comfortable
listening to. But when it comes to Q’s flow, it is so tight and varied and energised
that it makes him such a breath of fresh air in todays’ hip hop scene. He does
also briefly dip into introspective topics on tracks like ‘Blueslides’ and the
end of ‘First’, that shows he has the ability to get deep if he wanted to.
Of course, Q
is able to bridge the gap between old and new hip hop listeners a lot better
than artists like J Cole and Kendrick, because he’s able to flex his talents
while still putting the focus on making his music fun. He’s always had a good
ear for beats, and here the production is constantly thrilling. I particularly dig
tracks like ‘oHio’ in which there are multiple sharp beat changes – cycling
through g-funk, trap and jazzy pianos. Although very diverse, the production
does seem to lean more towards a jazzier sound than on previous albums. In
fact, I was convinced Tyler the Creator produced some of these tracks (he has
produced for Q before), but he isn’t credited.
Personally, I’d
rank this album on par with Blank Face right now, but time will tell if
I return to it as much. I’m not sure it has the hooks to rival Blank Face.
The flows and the beats certainly slap though.
★★★★☆
TRACK TASTER: