As one-fourth of Black Hippy – along with Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul – ScHoolboy Q’s position in the cadre has always been a bit nebulous. Not quite the frenzied lyrical gymnast Kendrick is or as gritty as Jay Rock, Q floats somewhere in the middle of the gamut and that’s exactly where his sophomore solo effort Habits & Contradictions lies.
There’s no shortage of the requisite Hip Hop fare – drugs, crime, hustling – on Habits, and Q does a fine job of espousing it as his own. The grimy “Oxy Music” 
oozes with tales of peddling pills and heroin while the standout “Hands on the Wheel” with Hip Hop’s reigning king of the ‘purp A$AP Rocky is a delicious mess of weed, shrooms and getting all-around fucked up; the stuff frat boy anthems are made of. Produced by Best Kept Secret and featuring a sample of Lissie’s rendition of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” “Hands on the Wheel” is folksy Hip Hop eclecticism. “Life for me is just weed and brews/see the hos flock to you when you’re name is Q,” Q raps while ASAP adds in his two cents “Got the purple drink/ got the yellow drink/ and we mix it up / Call it Pikachu.” Hilarious, or just plain faded? These two make an entertaining pair.
“Raymond 1969” is a dark, downright scary ode on Q’s life of crime while “NigHmare on Figg St.” produced by ASAP TY Beats flips an interpolation Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Niggas in Paris” into a menacing gangster cut. “What’s 50 grand to a motherfucker like you / You still need a reminder?” Q asks his prey. “Yeah I thought so.” There’s a lot going on here and at 18 tracks, oversaturation is the album’s key malaise. The lackluster “Sex Drive” featuring whispery crooner Jhene Aiko falls flat and compared to the duo’s sexy previous collaboration “Fantasy” on Q’s debut Setbacks, it’s doubly disappointing. “Grooveline Pt. 1” featuring Curren$y and Dom Kennedy is another hackneyed love cut further torpedoed by a slowed down Lex Luger beat.
Q explained his hopes for the album earlier this year to DX, “I’m working on this project. What it needs to do is take me to the next level.” Habits & Contradictions may be no follow-up to fellow Kendrick Lamar’s Section .80, but ScHoolboy Q definitively shines through as a formidable rapper with immense future potential.
Classic.
Not really feeling this review, but definitely feeling the album.
I agree with this review, this was a great album, but there way to many songs that just feel like they were thrown on there for the sake of adding tracks to the album, other then that this is a solid album.
I personally feel this guy is WAYYYY better then Jay Rock, obviously not as good as Kendrick, but i like this guys flow
Jay Rock needs to step it up a bit. Dude’s comin’ like the Craig Mack of Bad Boy. First don’t always mean best.
Its AIIIGHT
It was alright of an album
#HnC
Shit brackin
Unbelievably overrated. This album was as predictable as a full moon.
LOL
4/5?
try 0/5
fake ass del the homosapien that stinks
west coast fell off as did rap as a whole
this guy is about as interesting as fresh paved asphalt
anyone of age feeling this album lost at life, rap is for kids (really dumb kids)
What the fuck this dude has absolutely nothing in common with del, not comparable whatsoever. You and everyone else who keeps saying shit like that are just promulgating the death of hiphop. If you’ve given up go elsewhere, but all of you need to quit with that ‘hip hop is dead’ bullshit. Nobody wants to hear you say the same shit every other hipster wannabe hip hop head has said a million times since 2008. Its getting worse than swag. Seriously just stop you aren’t cool or ahead of the times because you gave up on an amazing culture. If anybody that says hip hop is dead actually cared as much about hip hop as such a statement infers you’d do something about it. Fuck, just buy an album to support whatever hip hop you do like these days. Jesus, shit is exhausting
@anonymous shut your gay ass mouth the fuck up.
^^ hey look 2 kids not of age that caught feelings
ill be at the bar laughing at you faggot kids dressing like night at the disco circa 76 in 2012 thinking youre cool and im not
This album was dope, as well as the setbacks album consistency is definitely key. TDE
#HnC
This album is sick, i listen to this all the way through!
Better than section 80 in my mind, mainly because it was just more entertaining.
dope album
Good slbum just kinda incosistant. 3/5 woulda been more understandable.
Black Hippy!!!!!!!!!!
So what DX is saying is that this was as good as Section 80? I think not… Should this have got a 3? or Section 80 have gotten a 5?
this album is 3.5-4 imo. Section 80 was a 4.5-5… such a good album.. liking this black hippy movement
FCK it imma go head and say it, HnC is better than Section .80 dont get me wrong KDot is the truth, the best lyrically in the black hippy. but damn, Schoolboy Q did his fcking thang on this album, straight FIYAH!!!! best album so far this year
Better than Section.80? hell no. what u smoking nigga?
Your opinion sucks…
stop comparin other ppl to Kendrick Q and him aint nothin alike
Awesome Album …Good to ride to…Chill to. Pretty well-balanced. Not everything has to sound like Below The Heavens or some Half-ass blu project. This is his lane. & Q is doing well in that lane. Heavy rotation over here. Now let’s see how Ab-Soul does.
Peeeaaaccceeee GOD….
why are bringing up Blu??? anyway this album is dope, nice way to start off 2012.
good album.. some tracks on here get HEAVY rotation .. hands on the wheel, blessed, niggaHs.already.know.davers.flow, gangsta in designer, my homie, sacrilegious
dont forget nightmare on Figg st. he kilt that shyt… “whats 50 grand to a nigga like me can you please remind me….shyt i remind ya”
black hippy all the way! k.dot, schoolboy q, jay rock, ab soul are all great rappers:) cant wait for their project together:D
i give dis nigga a 5. its a classic.
pick a new name bitch, Fish is my tag!!
fuck u two. Fucking gay fishes
BasedGod for president! Swag.
come on, don’t even try to be a troll with something like that. If your going to do it, do it like all the other ones do it. All caps, some creativity, and a comment that although is annoying a little entertaining and funny to read. You’re the worst troll i’ve ever seen on this site. Of course i’m just assuming your a troll because you end your comment with “Swag.” and your name is “BasedGod” but I think it’s pretty obvious.
5/5 GREAT ALBUM BLACK HIPPY COMING OUT STRONG THE OTHER TWO NEED TO STEP IT UP THO
Ayo Texas fag, take ur cock off the caps-lock
Fire
Kendrick’s verse on “Blessed” is prolly the illest shit ive ever heard…. fuck!
I feel lucky when I hear artist like this!
fire
this album is fire , B
lack hippy , the future of hip hop .
forgot to vote
Dope as hell. Next up, this is Q’s Section.80
a 4 outta 5 is fair i guess since he’s not the most lyrical but that’s literally the only thing you can pick at on this album. shit’s just incredible. 5/5 in my book
Schoolboy Q is fucken legit recognize that
This dude is the truth.
3.8 in my opinion. Dope but no where neat Section 80. in my opinion and since Section 80 got 4.5 this does not deserve 4.5 but SchoolBoy Q has a lot of potential and the album is dope as fuck now compared to the wack shit coming out now I’m waiting for the Ab-Soul album he’s improved a lot since the last time he released his mixtape
I agree. good album but no Section80
tde
I agree that there are some tracks that could of been left off but compared to anything played on the radio in VERMONT this is a million times better. big ups 2 BLACK HIPPY!!
Sickkk! Black Hippy! TDE! HiiiPower!
Definitely gonna be one of the best albums of the year. Hands down.
is that a girl or guy on the cover kissin the dude
Its a chick
http://www.2dopeboyz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/HnCBK.jpg
Yessurrp! Ish’s Dope
HARD
BANGED THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH
Hey where the hell that new Krs One album review at, dont tell me hiphopdx has forgotten where it came from…. The BDP Album! back with Dj Kenny Parker, come on man…. dont fuck around.
TopDawgEnt is the shit!
Schoolboy Habits & Contradictions 4.5/5
Fucking shit article. Bawss mixtape though #TDETakeover #BlackHippy #HNC
All you muhfuckers better recognise, ‘Blessed’ is one of the freshest songs of the 2000s. BLLLACK HIPPY, sticky in the peace pipe. Smoke weed everyday. RIP Nate Dogg, 420 erryday.
I fuck w/ ScHoolboy Q, but ASAP killed em on the track… Found a new artist thats killn the game and he’s just heat’n up!
http://www.thesurface2012.com
Solid. Don’t get gassed
this ish goes hard
this shit is fire. I’d recommend this to any “real” hip hop fan.
kendricks verse on blessed >>>>>>
Top Dawg is killin the game for real 5 stars
great
cali rap has steadily been putting good shit out.pacdiv,fashawn,blu,kendrick lamar,absoul,jayrock,nipsey hussle,dom kennedy,etc…BLACK HIPPY!
His a nice contrast to Kendrick. Shit is absolute fire, 5 stars.
this shit straight fire. gonna be one of best albums of 2012. blessed, sacrilegious, hands on the wheel, druggys wit hoes again are all fire. the whole tape is fire. 5/5
nothing special
Im a new artist from colorado if you get some time check out my stuff on youtube.
-Reliant Giant
ScHoolboy Q fell of, god to hear some new stuff
YO REAL TALK THIS SHIT WAS PRETTY HOT BUT REALLY THOUGH IS HE FUCKIN WITH BASED GOD? HOW YOU GONNA GIVE THIS A 4 BUT RATE IM GAY SO LOW LOL THIS SITE IS WACK AS FUCK HARDEST SONG WAS SEXTING THOUGH IM OUT
————————-
DON’T HATE ON MY OPINION
Section 80 is a near classic! This one, not so much. Some of these raps are sloppy. Songs like “How We Feeling” are just fillers. Should of been like a minute long interlude but instead they drag the shit out way to long for 3 minutes. “Hands On The Wheel” with A$AP Rocky is the best track on here in my opionion, shits fire! Idk if I can rate this album, its hard for me to listen all the way thru.
PS KRS! I’m still dissapointed in the BDP album.
this cd is dope niggaz
love Q
Well written review, haven’t gotten around to DL’ing this tape yet but surely will. Check out what I’m doing at http://rapreads.blogspot.com thanks!
This is one of the best albums I’ve heard in a long time. TDE FTW.
Sowmya Krishnamurthy?
That’s a first.
Black Hippy/TDE/Aftermath….
another dope project from tde
No mention of the Kendrick Lamar assisted Blessed, that’s an amazing song and Druggys Wit Hoes Again featuring Ab-Soul is also a super dope song, there isn’t really a song I don’t like. Expecting Q to produce something like Section 80 is dumb, that is the best album I’ve ever heard. Nas Ilmatic is second. fire from TDE Constantly
one of the best
Dope
This was best album of the year for me ….. until Kendrick dropped Good Kid M.a.a.d City. 5/5
so