Oxymoron - Schoolboy Q Review

Yoo, what’s good?

It’s finally here.

Oxymoron - Schoolboy Q

Schoolboy Q graced us with his album last month. I was so excited for this album to come out. I’m a huge Schoolboy fan and honestly I personally like him more than Kendrick or anyone else on TDE. But more to that and my thoughts on TDE later. Just remember it’s personal preference but I have some solid reasons for this.

I have to go straight to typing this review, because I’m on a greyhound bus while I’m writing this, but I will still take my time and make it as good as I possible can.

Anyways, let’s get started. This is gonna be a good and long one. 

Gangsta

His daughter is on the beginning of this song and I think it’s super funny. She goes:

“Hello…Hello? Fuck rap, my daddy a Gangster.”

Lots of people are gonna think that this is wrong, that she cusses or whatever, but lets be honest here. Her dad is Schoolboy Q. It was bound to happen and I’m sure he doesn’t let her talk like that all the time. He actually tweeted about her cussing on the intro. 

So as you can see, he is all gucci. He also seems like a pretty funny guy if I may say so myself, even though he’s a gangster too.

Back to the song though. This song is the perfect intro for his album. He’s bringing Gangsta rap back, while putting his own special spin on it. It’s as he says in ‘Collard Greens’, another song from this album:

“Baller futuristic groovy gangster with an attitude” 

That fully describes Schoolboy Q. But more to that when we get to that song.

The hook is basically just straight up saying that he is gangsta and that this is what the people want from him. I know some people hate this song because of this, but I think it’s dope. It’s catchy and it makes the song unique. 

Schoolboy’s ‘Yawk’ is supposed to his version of gunshots, so what he’s saying in the part with knock and yawk is that he is knocking on someones door and shooting them. That’s already a crazy beginning and we haven’t even started the first verse of the song yet.

He starts his verse off by saying what’s up to the youth. Most people that listen to Schoolboy are younger, so it fits pretty well. He talks about how he’s famous now and finally made it. He talks about his come up as well, when he was poor and got a gun and started doing criminal activities. He even talks about taking your girl and making her a hooker and him being her pimp.

He brings up the fact that his grandma showed him his first strap. I watched an interview with him, where he talks about this song and this is what he had to say about it.

“When I first made [‘Gangsta’] all I wanted to say was that my grandma showed  me my first strap. That’s all I wanted              to put in the song. I just thought that was so  gangsta. It was kind of weird, too, now that I really think about it. She used to  take her bullets out of the gun and leave the clip in her room and let me play with her gun. I was an only child so I probably got on her nerves that much that she finally gave me her burner, like, ‘Here, get the fuck out my face.’ [Laughs] I just wanted to say that so bad.”

That is amazing. He’s right, that is kinda weird but kinda gangster too. His grandma must have been a thug. This song is pretty much just about what made him into what he is now. 

The beat of this song is so dope though. It fits very well for the feel of the song. His flow is also very good in this song, in typical Schoolboy fashion. This song hypes me up a lot. Like I said before I think this song is the perfect intro for the album. 

Los Awesome feat Jay Rock

First off, this song is produced by Pharrell, so that’s dope. Usually I don’t care too much about who produces what, but ever since that Major Lazer song with Pharrell, I pay extra attention to him.

So I was wondering this whole time why this song sounds completely different from every other song on the album. It sounds completely different, especially compared to the first song. I found a quote from Q about this song, but I’m not gonna put it up. He basically says that this song is something he made for the homies he used to gang bang with. He even says that it’s not supposed to be like the other songs. His flow is perfect on this song and the beat is also trill. The beat makes me happy and I honestly don’t really notice the lyrics that much when I listen to this song. It’s one of those songs that for me are more about the feel/vibe you get from it than the content. Jay Rock also goes in on this song and sounds pretty good. I also like how the beat changes at the end of the song for the last 30 sec. It does a really good job for setting up the next song and also gives the album more flow.

Content-wise this song is just about typical gang life that is often time the subject matter of Q.

Regardless of who this song was made for or the subject matter, I think it’s a really good song. It sounds dope. I like it because it sounds like Schoolboy is trying new things. He’s kinda showing growth in a way and I like when rappers show growth. 

Collard Greens feat Kendrick Lamar

I adore this song. This song gives me such positive vibes and no matter how many times I listen to it, it never gets old. The beat is just so upbeat and I wanna say mesmerizing. It reminds me of summer time and happiness. I mean I’m in a bus driving through some hick PA town and this song makes it seem not so bad. 

The lyrics are just super sick in this song. It’s basically just a song about drinking, drugs and sex and I’m fully ok with that. His flow is crazy on this song as well. I really like how he describes himself in the line: 

“ Baller futuristic groovy gangsta with an attitude. “

That is one of my favorite lines ever and I stole it as a description of myself even though I’m not that gangster. I mean not even close to Schoolboy’s level. 

I didn’t forget about the fact that Kendrick is on this song. I was just waiting till I finish the rest of the song before I talk about him. So he fits incredibly well on this song, him and Schoolboy have a great chemistry. The thing with Kendrick is this though. I think he’s overrated to be honest. I mean don’t get me wrong, but he isn’t the greatest or anything. He’s a highly skilled and technical rapper, who can paint perfect vivid pictures with his songs and I can honestly say that I haven’t fully listened to his whole album yet. I don’t know why, I just can’t get through it. It has good songs on it but other ones are just I don’t know. Yes, I believe he was robbed by Macklemore. All of the other rappers that were in the grammys were greatly slacking on their nominated albums. I don’t even understand why people think that his ‘Control’ verse was so groundbreaking and whatnot. I mean yes, he did go in on that song, but all he really did was call out a bunch of rappers and claim that he was the king of New York. I like what he did for the rap game, he basically called out all the mainstream rappers and made them get their shit together. He especially inspired New York rappers to do better, but that’s pretty much it. That’s my thought on that whole thing. I like Schoolboy better than anyone else on TDE, because he appeals more to me. If you follow the blog, you should know my music taste and I shouldn’t need to explain to you why I like Schoolboy better. Schoolboy and Ab-Soul are my favorite rappers from TDE. I know it’s not popular opinion or whatever, but I really don’t care. Everyone has their opinions, ya know?

What They Want feat 2 Chainz

I was expecting this song to be like an upbeat hype song because 2 Chainz is on it. Instead we have this mellow sounding song with Schoolboy sounding intense on this song. 2 Chainz and him have this grimy flow on this song. It’s like rough sounding, which is an interesting sound for the song. This song sounds completely different than the last few, which is cool. We are getting to the more serious part of the album. 

They both talk about selling drugs, getting money and girls, etc. Schoolboy knows no boundaries with what he says on a song anymore it seems like. He gets like really explicit with some of the things he says. Not saying it’s a bad thing or anything like that, it just caught me off guard.

It’s a solid song regardless though, it’s a nice break on the album and 2 Chainz actually sounds really good on this song.

Hoover Street

So on this song Schoolboy takes us back to his youth. I honestly don’t like this song that much. I understand what he’s doing on this song and why he’s doing it, I just found that after I listened to this song it wasn’t that interesting anymore. He talks about him growing up and joining his gang. I think that at this point I’ve reached the point where I’m tired of hearing him talk about it. This might be because I just reviewed his last album last week, but I don’t know. The beat is perfect on this song and I like how there is like 2 parts to the beat, but the song just bores me. It’s also too long.

Studio feat BJ the Chicago Kid

This song caught me off guard. I didn’t expect Schoolboy Q to have a song like this on his album. This is sorta a love song and it sounds amazing. It’s like Schoolboy went Drake, but he isn’t a whiney bitch. There’s more of Schoolboy’s explicit descriptions on this song as well. His flow is so sick on this and the beat is perfect. This song really grew on me and I like it a lot.

Prescription/Oxymoron

This song is insane. It’s split into two parts just as the title says. In the first part he is slipping in and out of a coma due to drugs while his daughter is there. The second part is about how he used to sell drugs. 

The first part is super depressing and although his verses are really vivid and good, I don’t like it. It just makes me super sad. Everything about this song is depressing, even the beat. I have respect for him that he is so open about all of this though. He even said in an interview that he was a shitty dad, who always kept messing everything up.

The second part of this song is more upbeat and it’s about how he used to sell drugs. I think that the hook is really catchy and the verses are again very well made. I just don’t like this song that much though. If it was two separate songs I would enjoy them much more. I understand what he was doing with all of this, I just don’t like it.

The Purge feat Tyler, The Creator & Kurupt

Another intro by his daughter. I don’t like this one as much but its still good.

I like that this is Tyler’s first time having a hook only part on a song and he actually does a really good job. I like the beat in this song. It’s a dope beat. 

This song sounds amazing, it really does. But content-wise it’s just about shooting/messing people up so it’s nothing too special to me.

Blind Threats feat Raekwon

I think that it is amazing that he got a member of the Wu to be on his album, but I have to say I don’t really like this song that much. He’s praying to god that he can get out of the life he is living (gang life,drug dealing, etc). To me this song isn’t anything special. It’s just an average song. These last few songs have been a little bit ehhh for me. The album started getting a little bit stale at this point, to be honest.

Hell Of A Night

I like this song a lot. It comes in at the point where I was starting to get bored by the album. I like the reason that I started getting a little bit bored by the album was because he has those 2 songs that are over 6 minutes each so close together.

This is a really refreshing song on the album. It’s like a hype pre-party song. It’s perfect for the beginning of a party or the pregame, since it hypes up the rest of the night. This song just makes me want to get up and go rage. I think that Schoolboy Q just excels at making these feel good songs, although he is also very good at painting vivid images of depressing situations. 

Break The Bank

This song is amazing. This is one of my favorite tunes off of the album. As you guys know I really like it when songs have piano intros or pianos on the beat. This is because my mom plays piano and whenever I hear a piano I just think of home. So like I said, the beat is super trill, it’s energetic and the piano sounds perf on it. His flow on this song is bonkers as well. This is something that I really like about Schoolboy, his flow is always changing and that’s dope. It makes him so interesting. In this song he sounds so aggressive when he raps, it fits so well. 

This song is all about how he is gonna make a lot of money due to the success of this album. I really think that he is gonna blow up a lot due to this album.

I like how during the second verse he raps half of it with a different flow and it sounds like he’s just straight up stating facts. The beat also calms down and then once he goes back to the original flow the beat follows suit. 

He also takes a shot at Kendrick, in what I think might be the best part of the song. He goes:

“ Tell Kendrick to move from the throne, I came for it.

  I hope this fuckin’ hit arrange for it, Goddamn. “

I don’t know why, but the way he says that just sounds so dope and I think that no one really expected him to come with a stab at Kendrick. It’s a friendly challenge though and it is really pushing both of the rappers to new great levels I believe. 

Man Of The Year

This song is a straight up banger. It might actually be my favorite song of the year as of right now. It just sounds so epic. I know that sounds like an overstatement, but I that is the only word I could think of that comes close to describing the way I feel about this song. This song gives me super positive vibes and fills me with joy, all while making me want to party. Just watch the music video and you will see what this song is all about.

His and Her Fiend feat SZA

First I have to say that the title of the song is indeed supposed to say ‘Fiend’ not ‘Friend’.

This song is really trippy. Schoolboy is taking the role of a drug and the SZA takes on the role as the drug addict. I wouldn’t usually like songs like this, but I really like the way how he sounds during his verse. This song just gives me a creepy/depressed vibe. It’s not too bad though, it does a good job to kinda calm things down after the previous song.

Grooveline Pt. 2 feat Suga Free

This is Part 2 of this song. The first part is found on his previous mixtape. I liked the first part much better to be honest. This one is just about girls and prostitutes. I got really annoyed by how much they say ‘Pussy’ in this song. I like the way Suga Free sounds, but I feel like his verse is just the biggest load of nonsensical bull I’ve ever heard. He’s on that Lil Wayne level of stupidity. My thoughts on Weezy are a completely different post though. 

This song is alright, it’s one of the not so great songs on the album.

Fuck LA

This song is crazy. The beat is this super aggressive sounding beat which just pounds at you. He also sounds super aggressive throughout the song, especially on the hook. When I say super aggressive, I’m not talking like Waka or DeathGrips aggressive, I’m talking about an aggressive Schoolboy Q. This is super unusual for Schoolboy, because he is normally mellow. 

I really like the line:

“ Asian Broads, cute Caucasian broads, guess I’m dipped in sauce.”

Ayyyy, everyone likes asian girls nowadays. I think this is dope, because first off I really like asian girls and because of the sauce metaphor. This is a good song and it is I believe the last song off of the normal version of the album, which is a good ending for said album. Since I always do the deluxe versions of albums though and I actually bought the deluxe version of this album the review continues.

Gravy

This song is all about how his life is perfect right now. This is another song that gives me good vibes. The beat sounds really nice and the general vibe of the song is a positive one. Schoolboy’s flow is energetic. My favorite part of the song is the first line that he says, it’s also the line that is repeated throughout the song and gives the song it’s title:

“Everything good, everything good gravy.”

What he means with this is that everything is good and I couldn’t agree more with him. 

He also takes another shot at Kendrick so I’m kinda stoked to see if Kendrick takes any playful shots at Schoolboy on any of his new stuff. 

He also calls himself the 'King Bucket Hat', which he is. He has so many bucket hats. He made me want to get a bucket hat.

Yay Yay

This song is another great song by Schoolboy Q. It kind of reminds me of ‘There He Go’ just that it isn’t about the same thing and isn’t as good. Don’t get me wrong, this song is trill, but ‘There He Go’ will always hold a special place in my heart. 

The beat on this song is really good and is full of energy, as is Schoolboy. His flow is also on point on this song. 

This song is all about him selling drugs and making money. I know it might sound crappy content wise, but I like this song a lot. 

I really like the line:

“ My agenda for today is to make bread or get laid.” 

I think that that is a clever line and it made me smile when I heard it. 

I also really like when Schoolboy has his ‘Yawk’ ad-lib in a song. It sounds dope and is like his unique thing.

Verdict

I was really excited for this album and it didn’t really disappoint me. I mean sure, there were 5 songs that I didn’t really like that much and that bored me, but I think that’s because I just recently spent a lot of time listening to Schoolboy’s previous stuff. I don’t know. I also didn’t really like that he talks about his gang life so much, but I guess he’s just rapping about his life and the gang life was a big part of his life, so there’s that. Those are the only real negatives for me though. The rest of the album is perf and I like how unique he sounds. It seems like he always has a somewhat different flow. I think that although Schoolboy excels at making party songs, he also does a very good job of making deep songs by painting vivid images with his words. I really like this album and I think that it could be one of the best of the year. I would give it a 8.5/10.

So that was my review of Schoolboy’s album. I know that towards the end it got kinda iffy. It’s because I started it off while I was on the bus over to my grandma’s house and then took a break and continued it later. I also didn’t do my usual thing of taking notes by hand before typing it up. I still did my best though and I really hope that you guys like this review. I also want to say another thank you to everyone for the support for the blog. Peace homies.