From a drug dealer on the streets of Los Angeles in the early 2000s to a top dawg rapper. As if that wasn’t a success story enough, Schoolboy Q signs to the same label as Kendrick Lamar and Jay Rock, where he quickly sets himself apart from the newcomers. He let us wait five years for »Blue Lips« and now releases an album into the musical cosmos on which he serves up pretty much every hip-hop attribute. And the fact that this comes from Schoolboy Q, who has been more restrained on his recent releases, makes it all the more worth listening to. Every track is spot on. The beats, hooks and samples—everything comes together to form a great whole. Tracks like »Movie« and »Ohio« start off with quiet, contemplative soul melodies that are then shaken up with deep, bass-heavy beats. This is a theme that runs throughout the album. Each track has at least one moment of the unexpected. Either the sound changes suddenly and Q surprises us with jazzy interjections, or he combines tender psychedelic moments with the tradition of gangster rap. These different elements of the album make you want to pause after each track and start again. The unpredictability of the soundscape remains, making the album incredibly vibrant.
In Lists
GERDA pick their 10 Vinyl Records of the noment
List, Portrait
The 50 best records of the first half of 2024
ListRelated Features
Rappers aged 25 and under – 10 favourites – Special
List
Blue Lips
