Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron - Album Review By: Parufka
Schoolboy q - oxymoron - ALBUM REVIEW
By: parufka
Known for smoking blunts and wearing bucket hats, ScHoolboy Q
cooked up one of the best albums of 2014.
Artist Profile
ScHoolboy Q
Quincy “ScHoolboy Q” Hanley (shown below) is a
member of the iconic rap group, Black Hippy, which features artists Jay Rock,
Kendrick Lamar, and Ab-Soul. Every member of Black Hippy is also under the
world-renowned record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), which is ran by
another southern LA native, Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. Oxymoron is
ScHoolboy’s third studio album with TDE and his debut under the large record
label Interscope Records.
Q grew up with the other members of Black Hippy
in Southern Los Angeles, and became intertwined with the gang life after
joining the Hoover Gangster Crips. ScHoolboy often raps about his life as a Crip,
which solidified his persona as a gangster in the rap game.
The closing track “Tookie Knows II” off his most recent project, Blank Face LP portrays some of ScHoolboy’s Crip life and facing legal troubles with his two gangster aficionados, Traffic and T.F who also have verses on the track.
Oxymoron
This album is a remarkable example of LA
gangster rap. It takes influences from the sounds of earlier works from
California’s legendary gangster rappers like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and N.W.A. ScHoolboy’s
bars take you into his day-to-day life, and his delivery creates an abundant
mix of comedy, lust and straight thuggin. Even the cover art with Q in a ski
mask is intimidating.
Various artists handled the production on
Oxymoron but the most prominent of the group is Sounwave, who is TDE’s main
producer. Sounwave along with THC, Pharrell, The Alchemist and others, was able
to help produce the back to back, hard hitting, slapping bangers on this album that
made it Q’s best album to date.
One of my favorite elements of Q and the rest of
Black Hippy’s rap style is their delivery and ability to display the style and
life of a gangster. Both Kendrick and Jay Rock’s features on this project match
the thug tone that Q gives off, which shows the incredible synergy Black Hippy
has on the mic.
Favorite Tracks
“Collard Greens” – This lead single is
one of many party bangers to come out of TDE and incorporates a poppin
California beat produced by THC and Bunn, as well as a catchy verse from K-Dot
who even spits part of it in Spanish.
“Blind Threats” – This sleeper track
produced by Sounwave and LordQuest features one of the smoothest overall sounds
to come out of the West Coast. Q delivers real verses on why he lives as a
gangbanger and Raekwon sends off the track with his killer flow.
“Break the Bank” – The second single
from Oxymoron, produced by The Alchemist consists of a sinister beat and bars
that go into Q’s transition from dealing drugs to blowing up in the music
industry.
Overall
Opinion
An A1 summer album to cruise and smoke to with
the homies. While I didn’t enjoy most of the bonus tracks besides “Yay Yay” on the Deluxe Version, the original
version still offers heavy bangin production and raunchy bars with an overall
California gangster sound. One of the many amazing projects to come out of the
West Coast and TDE. Oxymoron solidified my appreciation for ScHoolboy and
continues to be one of my favorite rap albums today.
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| Habits & Contradictions |
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| Alternate Cover for "Blank Face LP" |
For more of my thoughts, follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat - @parufka
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My favorite ScHoolboy Q project behind Oxymoron
would be his previous album Habits & Contradictions,
which features a similar sound to Oxymoron and is recommended for anyone
that bumps the gangster rap and party bangers on this project. Q is currently
working on a new project to follow up his 2016
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