ScHoolboy Q may not be T.D.E.’s franchise player, but quiet as kept, a lot may be riding on his new Blank Face LP. Crewmate (and co-executive producer for Blank Face) Kendrick Lamar has already proven himself as rap’s new messiah, but what about the rest of the squad?
The success of good kid, m.A.A.d city opened the floodgates for them to further show and prove, and they did exactly that. But To Pimp A Butterfly catapulted Kendrick to a different stratosphere —from the rest of the rap game in general, and from his T.D.E. counterparts. Jay Rock’s underrated LP 90059 came and went, and Ab-Soul’s These Days was critically-panned. It appeared that the house Top Dawg built was slowly losing some of its foundation. But ScHoolboy Q never lost his standing: His 2014 Interscope debut Oxymoron earned him a Grammy nomination and an expanded fan base while keeping his sound intact. Two years later, Blank Face LP continues his progression and provides another feather in T.D.E.’s cap.
At a late June listening party, Q said Blank Face LP is what he would have made early in his career if he had more resources. He hasn’t forgotten his roots as a Hoover Gang Crip, and the memories are stark and clear. While Oxymoron balanced chutzpah and remorse with the maturity of a gang banger who has made it out, Blank Face LP sees Q almost fully immersing himself into his old world, brazen and remorseless. He rarely tells full linear stories, instead opting for a gallery of vivid snapshots, using his seesawing delivery and scornful singing to develop the images.
“JoHn Muir,” named after his Los Angeles elementary school, recounts a teenage Q toting a gun and checking three pagers for dope sales while shooting a pair of siblings on their mother’s porch. The Anderson Paak-assisted “TorcH” envisions his grandmother sweeping gun shells out of her driveway while he and his homies squad up to take out enemies at a Martin Luther King Day Parade. He goes into full storytelling mode on “Tookie Knows II,” where childhood friends Traffic and TF join him to weave a tale of co-conspirators caught after a heist.
Guests zone in similarly: Vince Staples straps up and lends a memorable cameo for the boisterous “Ride Out,” and Anderson Paak steals the show on the title track. The thoughtful songs on Blank Face LP are earnest but, feel so hopeless that Q doesn’t believe them himself. He pleas for Bloods and Crips to “put the rags down and raise our kids” on “Black THougHts,” but onbut on “Neva CHange,” he grows defeated while speaking about the endless cycle of police brutality and poverty. “Shit, no wonder we riot,” he laments. “Shit, no wonder we bang.”
Blank Face LP gets more interesting when Q experiments with jazz and blues-flavored sounds that wouldn’t be out of place on Kendrick’s Butterfly. On songs like the title track, he lets Anderson .Paak takes the lead for two of his own verses, while Q’s signature off-kilter flow stands tall among bass guitar plucks and winding pianos. The brilliant “Kno Ya Wrong” pays off twice, as Q effortlessly alternates between woozy rhyming and bluesy crooning to sink his teeth into a pair of melodic instrumentals by Alchemist and J.LBS. Most of the album’s production captures the despair and chaos of gang life, but Blank Face LP has its slivers of joy. “Str8 Ballin” references Tupac’s “Picture Me Rollin” while enjoying the spoils of his hustling, “THat Part” sees him boasting with Kanye West, and Tha Dogg Pound guest on the bouncy “Big Body.” A pair of woman-aimed songs—“WHateva U Want” and “Overtime (ft. Miguel and Justine Skye)”—sound like pandering, but they’re still good songs, and they don’t disrupt the rhythm. None of the upbeat songs merge street and party as brilliantly as Oxymoron highlights “Man of the Year” and “Break The Bank,” but they certainly don’t disappoint.
Blank Face LP could’ve cut some fat from its 72-plus minutes and 17 tracks, especially since some songs cover the same ground. However, as a whole, Blank Face LP is a victory not only for ScHoolboy Q, but for a T.D.E. crew that had seemed to lose momentum outside of its star player.
T.D.E has done it again….. Boy Q represented, great album!
This album is straight-up fire!!!
Q never disappoints!!! Worth the wait.
Pltting in the driveway while his grandma sweeps up bullet shells? All sounds like a bunch of made up bullshit! You know damn well he aint do none of shit he raps about or dude would be under the jail. Im so sick of these wanna be hardcore fake ass people
drake dick sucker detected.
drake dick sucker detected.
who u listen to fuckboi?
Nigga the westside the bestside bitch
Torch sounds like some Lil Jon knock off from 02′
Album nice but who wrote it tho??? Lol oh wait that’s I say when a drake album come out.
This album is for sure one of my favorites this year. Fuck with it heavyyyyyy
Come real with it bro! Dude got hella money he isnt in the streets like that. Go rap about all the money you got and how you dont do shit all day but sit in your house and record. At least thats honest. YOUR NOT STRUGGLING! We dont belive you! Im sure Q just did a drive by in Compton lol what the fuck ever!
The album is about his younger years… he’s explicitly stated this in his interviews. No major label rapper is struggling… get over yourself.
The album is about his younger years… he’s explicitly stated this in his interviews. No major label rapper is struggling… get over yourself.
The album is about his younger years… he’s explicitly stated this in his interviews. No major label rapper is struggling… get over yourself.
The album is about his younger years… he’s explicitly stated this in his interviews. No major label rapper is struggling… get over yourself.
The album is about his younger years… he’s explicitly stated this in his interviews. No major label rapper is struggling… get over yourself.
Oh it is? Im pretty sure its all fictional dumb ass. Thanks for replying 5 times also with the same comment. Moron
Who do YOU listen to? Taylor Swift? Katy Perry? Iggy Azealia?
Maybe you should actually pay attention to the songs or artists you are attempting to wrongfully critique so you understand what you’re talking about. Try listening to the interviews so you can see what Qs been thru before you make stupid assumptions about his life. Have you even watched the short movie that Q made with 3 of the videos off the album? Q ended the movie with videos from Tookie Knows 2 and Black Thoughts to portray his arrest and jail time 10 years ago. So no it’s not fictional
Just because you pour your heart out on an album, doesn’t make it a dope album. This year Q made a poor album. So far, he consistently made strong projects, but not this one.
Where did I say it was a dope album? Just because I said it was not fictional? Reading is fundamental.
Maybe you should actually pay attention to the songs or artists you are attempting to wrongfully critique so you understand what you’re talking about. Try listening to the interviews so you can see what Qs been thru before you make stupid assumptions about his life. Have you even watched the short movie that Q made with 3 of the videos off the album? Q ended the movie with videos from Tookie Knows 2 and Black Thoughts to portray his arrest and jail time 10 years ago. So no it’s not fictional
5/5 AOTY hands down.
5/5 AOTY hands down.
Reply 0
some good songs, but overall it’s pretty boring
Sick
Nice
Oxymoron+good kid, m.A.A.d city+My Krazy Life+Summertime ’06+The Documentary+2001+Doggystyle = Blank Face LP
Delivered
One the best albums i heard in a minute i actually prefer this over TPAB the replay value on that cd aint much. No mention of the Jadakiss track Groovy Tony that shit was classic grimey street music kiss bodied it
That’s fire, if you don’t like it, sorry but you don’t know real rap of nowadays
I really didn’t expect such a great body of work (i mean both the album and review). Many moments in the lp surprised me. I heard Kendrick’s voice every now n then. Jadakiss’ verse was fire and the whole album’s production was on point. I’m a bit overexcited cuz it’s the first time schoolboy-q didn’t disappoint me. Worthy listen.
okay okay okay OKAY!!!
???? af
Solid throughout, this is easily one of the best releases this year.
What happened since Habits & Contradictions?
3 to 4 real nice tracks on this, but overall its an average body of work. Production couldve been way better, most of this consists of filler tracks.
Groovy
Seems like it’s over for coloring book and tlop (unless kanye changes the whole album this time)
Amazing body of work. What I thought was very unlikely is happening, Schoolboy is becoming my favorite TDE rapper.
crcazy
This is album is excellent
THIS ALBUM SUCKS!!!
names appropriate cause I had a “blank face” the whole time I was listening cause its garbage
Best Q body of work
Ya’ll people on TDe nuts so hard anything they put out people automatically call it “classic” cause it has played out Kendrick’s name on it. Wtf ever! Dude could be rappin over a guy banging on a trash can lid, but if TDE put it out its a “classic” ya’ll just hype up anything you promote that shit like you gonna get a cut of the album sales you look like some fan boy biitches
drake’s #1 fan
straight garbage one of the worst albums this year! unlistenable!
Danny Brown said its some next level shit… it is indeed, some next level trash right here
TDE been on a roll since this decade. Outside of These Days, they haven’t dropped a subpar project. This is one of the best TDE releases ever. Now we just need great offerings from Soul, Isiah and SZA and it will be lit
So you just said tpab wasnt subpar? yeah they havent dropped subpar projects, they have dropped garbage projects, now we dont need any more garbage offerings from Assoul, Isaiah whatever and the ugly ass freckle faced bitch who cant sing.
So you just said tpab wasnt subpar? yeah they havent dropped subpar projects, they have dropped garbage projects, now we dont need any more garbage offerings from Assoul, Isaiah whatever and the ugly ass freckle faced bitch who cant sing.
TDE is so overrated it is crazy! this is no exception! it is so bad but still better than To Pimp A Recycle Bin!
to pimp a recycle bin! LOL!…good one there young douche nozzle…zee winna iz ova heeah
to pimp a recycle bin! LOL!…good one there young douche nozzle…zee winna iz ova heeah
straight flames best q album for me and best album of the year so far the people hating probably haven’t even listened to it
I love it! ‘Groovy Tony/Eddie Kane’ & ‘JoHn Muir’ are just on another level for me! I think this album has more room to grow on me even though I already think it’s great.
It’s a solid album.
Who told schoolboy q he could rap? garbage raps garbage beats
Average raps with some of the best beats of the past couple of years
Average raps with some of the best beats of the past couple of years
schoolboy’s beats top almost any other rapper’s in the games lmao what type of beats u lookin for?
Str8 ballin is a fuckin gem
Meets expectations without fully exceeding them, 4.3 is a perfect rating!
This was dope beginning to end… I loved it.
Q’s Illmatic
Dope album
Very dope album
More TDE garbage
Dope
a 4.3… really? mfs giving this 5’s… this album is hot garbage juice. mfs just be doin wayyyy to much to try and be different. this shit is wack as fuck!!!! i wish i could give it 0/5…
Blank Face gets better with each listen. Easily 5 stars for me. Fuck the haters.
Lived up to the hype.
That shit goes hard
Very dope, very impressd. His last album was dope too. SchoolBoy is underrated
Q raps like he’s about that life. But we al all know he ain’t bout it like the emperor is.
Umm, yeah he is. He was a Hoover St. Crip.
SCHOOLBOY Q NEEDS TO CHANGE HIS NAME TO TRASHCAN MCGEE. NEGATIVE 5 STARS
4.5/5 Really close to being a complete body of work. If youre in doubt, just listen to Tookie Knows II, perfect cap to the album.
tookie knowssssss
also john muir was his middle school & not elementary. points for being close tho
Love this Album!!! Although it doesn’t have any classic tracks like Oxymoron(Man Of The Year & Break The Bank), it also doesn’t have any terrible ones(Collard Greens & The Purge). Habits & Contradictions is still his best tho. Best album since Jay Rock’s 90059.
No classics, a bit early to say you think? But I believe Groovy Tony, Lord Have Mercy, Neva Change &Black Thought’sall have staying power
pretty dope didnt expect it to be as good as it is review the maxwell its banging
Not bad bit better than expected Q nailed this one
I’ve been playing this on repeat all day. TDE is all about quality over quantity. The rest of the game needs to take notes.
Garbage
this album was boring as fuck, who the hell rates these things?
Lmao Exactly!
It got better on the third listen like all good albums should. Solid, definitely not a classic
Just finished fire play through..
I like the album, so far I cant put it over any of his other albums tho. A 3/5 for now. Alot of soft tracks that just dont work for Q generally
This whole album overall I feel was better than oxymoron. Ride out, Str8 Ballin, John muir, Dope Dealer and Tookie Knows are all bangers. E-40 ruins the beginning of dope dealer for me but schoolboy’s verse makes up for it. The more I listen, the more I like this album; the beats used in every song are original and sick as fuck. Even the slow songs I can jam to. Track for track, this is definitely a top album. The sound is much more mature than schoolboy’s past releases but he’s still the same old gang bangin self in the music as well – that and the beats is ultimately why I love this album so much. It was well worth the wait.
Schoolboy Q def showed himself as a TOP DAWG NIGGA, my mans finally proved what I knew he was capable of all along
Jay Rock’s last LP was my 2015 top, Q’s Blank face LP is going to take the same way for ’16
Q definitely dropped his best body of work, he showed up and showed out. If you’re gonna drop shit like this every two years then i don’t mind waiting two years!!
Holy shit, this is so much better than Crappymoron ever was! I like it. Mostly bangin’ production and he actually sounds hungry. More of this, please.
Great album. Why is there so many haters in this comment section? Drake fans? Young Thug fans? XXL Freshmen fans? GFOH!!
You dudes gotta stop lying, this album can’t compare to Oxy. There are no tracks better than the following:
Collard Greens-Studio-Man of the Year and Break the Bank.
I won’t even spend my time mentioning other standouts from Oxy
Oxymoron is easily qs worst album. You havea tastein hip hop every song you mention are all literally club songs that don’thave any kind of substance. You have an ear for what will play on radio, but you don’t have an ear for true rap. From songs you listen it seems like your taste confirmedto more pop with rap influenceinfluencr Not gangsta rap like schoolboy puts out. BTW, Torch, Lord Have Mercy, John Muir, Groovy Tony, Know Ya Wrong, Ride Out, Dope Dealer, and Big Body are better than every song you named from a gangsta rap perspective. I seeyou are a fan of club music though, and those songs you named are better radio songs
*Amazing album. Kinda reminds me of TPAB, but witH more understandable content and overall more enjoyable tracks. Great album opener and also closer, tHe only song i don’t really like is Overtime, but I can tell wHy it’s on tHe album, of course because of Miguel, tHey probably tHougHt it would boost sales if tHey included pop artists. Hooks are dope, beats are Hooooooooly sHit type of dope and Q is way more lyrical on tHis project tHan Oxymoron. I can’t really compare tHis to Oxymoron, because tHe content is totally diffrent. But botH albums are great and for me, Blank Face LP is along witH Denzel Curry’s Imperial best Hip Hop project of tHis year so far. Played it about 12 times and loved it, also, it just grows on you, tHe more you play it, more you fuck witH it. Would give it 4.8 just because of lame and dumb hook on Overtime, but I tHink tHe rest of tHe album makes up for it. THose who say it’s trasH don’t understand real art of Hip Hop or are Future, Desiigner, Young tHug or Lil uzi vert fanboys, so fuck em. 5/5 from me, Quincy did a great job
Whoa whoa whoa , I would give this album a five also aand it bangs all way thru but don’t hate on thugga thugga or more importantly future. You kno your wrong .
this album had TPAB all over it. I can tell there are songs and beats made for Kendrick’s album that made it on here. Kendrick has background vocals on like 5 songs is my reason for saying that. You add to that terrance martin is involved in both projects I’d say their alleged fight was over which person gets which song. I’m not saying Q copied Kendrick but they definitely were in the studio at the same time some of these songs were constructed.
Q my favourite rapper right now. Just booked tickets to his New Zealand show today and have relentlessly banged this album. Couple of boring songs but the good ones are straight fire #dickrider
AOTY.
Flames.
Q did it again. Classic.
Great album!
This and Still Brazy best albums of 2016
Production is top notch on this – Q gets a chance to paint some vivid pictures on most of these songs so I appreciate that. The album actually sounds like the album cover looks so that was really important for me – LOL. This, Untitled, Malibu, Kirk Knight, Joey Purp might be the best of 2016 for me.
hating ass ni**as
After a short hiatus from the Rap Game..doing something that most wouldn’t even consider…it was very admirable to hear that he wanted to raise his daughter and be there for her in the younger years..Maximum Respect!
I was excited to hear new material from Q..Oxymoron was an album I bought on a whim and it was one of my better music purchases, so I was more than ready to get down and listen to another glimpse into the life of ScHoolboy Q..
his beat selection is for me one of his best abilities along with touching you with his stories, so after a week to digest this material I have to say that quietly, Blank Face LP is a refreshing body of work and Q is doing his part to represent the new generation as he should and I hope to be here again in 2018!!! Money well spend on this album!
another 5 STAR album from ScHoolboy Q!!! NUFF SAID!
Beats arent anything more than some random noises… production is so bad my ears are bleeding, recycle bin classic.
Damn you need to respect the art of the album
I have no idea how you come to this conclusion
straight Fire
By far Q’s most complete and artistic work to date. As a follow up to 2014’s Oxymoron, Blank Face is better than anticipated. Each track on the album serves it’s purpose and it is an easy play through. This gangsta rap epic details life in the streets. Definitely best album of 2016. See you again in 2 years, Q.
Some haters need to respect the artwork of this album. Those guys can shut the hell up and keep listening to their macklemore. Honestly I appreciate that he didn’t put chart toppers on this bc this album is too good to be represented by just one song. Overtime was a miss in my book, but Q didn’t even want that on the album. Interscope wanted to add more appeal to fake rap fans and they also skipped a collab with flacko so idk what’s going through their heads. Haters need to accept that he won’t put out the exact same album every time. Blank Face LP shows a more mature Q sound and sports his best work since Habits & Contradictions. 5/5 all around. AOTY and future Grammy winner. This is a big win for Q and TDE. With each TDE artist having an established discography, I think we need a Black Hippy album or EP. Blank Face has helped Q establish his position as the Pippen to Kendrick’s Jordan. Stay Ballin Q.
First 7 tracks are fire, after that he lost my interest. Why didn’t he keep building the album in this direction? Be more consistent Q. You almost had it going for being a classic in the works. Damn.
just keep listening I felt the same way but now the 2nd half of the album is much better.
Solid.
Consistent
Definitely ScHoolboy Q’s best work. I honestly couldn’t rock with him before this album. I’ve liked a few songs from his other projects but the production and concept(s) of this album are fantastic. I’m truly impressed. Favorite album of 2016 so far.
Best Hip-Hop Album of 2016 so far
I have heard the album at least 6 to 7 times by now, i wont say its bad but i would expect more from Q’s sophomore effort, 50 thousand copies first week is like a grave for him, i would expect him to be more lyrical on this one than Oxymoron, on the contrary to what i expected, that album is worth listening but at the same time some songs dont touch me, i mean you can make a couple songs with similar content but when you make the whole album like that it simply doesnt tick on the listener. I gave it a 4 because even tho i did not like it much its better than most albums this year, in my opinion, Q is not the most lyrical or expressive rapper on TDE so what could save him would me more hits on the album and songs with a melody, which i have noticed since oxymoron he manages very well and they are whats giving him strength, if this project doesnt manage to crack 100k copies sold how worse could his next project go commercially? Thats my honest opinion about this album, not bad and not very good to say the least,and believe me i have tried too much to make this album grow on me it just doesnt happen, i hope his next album grows on me as much as oxymoron did, might be because i was a teenager when it dropped..
the fact you called it his sophmore album disqualifies your opinion.
lol you didnt get the point i know he had habits & contradictions before oxymoron but oxymoron was like his debut in the mainstream scene, i started listening to q just some time before oxymoron when i saw some vids on youtube with him and kendrick, i have to say they go hard together, and also im not fucking american dont expect me to know everything and analyze everything on my comments,i just listen to american hip-hop since i was younger
This joint is better than Oxymoron, where Q sounded like he was *acting*, trying to prove he’s depressed and violent. That’s not a bad thing, but it didn’t sound honest to me. This album is about cinematic images. I have (surprisingly) left Blank Face on heavy rotation because it’s an exploration of what “gangsta rap” and real West Coast rap music sounds like when what Kendrick has learned is applied. The mercilessness and deeply critical nihilism of this record is up there with Schooly D, classic Compton’s Most Wanted, Geto Boys, pre-Murda Muzik Mobb Deep and the Clipse. Younguns gonna be mad that there aren’t more tracks like “tHat part” which is an obvious (but skilled) appeal to the trap set (listen to Kanye squawk at the end of every bar like an ATL rap cub). But some of us remember when NWA meant something more than a documentary. We know how deeply painful, deep, desperate, destructive–AND AT THE SAME TIME 100% CULTURAL–poor Black LA life can be… but isn’t always, of course. To me, Q is clearly trying to work his way toward Richard Wright and not competing with (21) Savages who have no honor, no history and rep no culture to speak of.
Too Dark 4 me,not a good a message an songs u want remember within few months
Drake’s album is still available if you want soft shit…
yeeeahhh mean
Shits a classic
Shit’s a classic
Excellent and Thorough Review. For me, this is artistic perfection. To combine this incredible and even futuristic level of production with the bar for bar strength of Schoolboy Q on this record is to create a classic in my opinion. I listen to this start to finish all day on repeat lately, it’s that immersive and excellent. A masterpiece. A classic.
Favorite album of 2016 so far
Solid album throughout. Love the use of raw sounds to go with grimy vocals. The Black Hippy crew are definitely building a avant-garde hip hop sound
My favorite album in years
Tied with 90059 for my favourite album out of TDE. Remove track 16 and it’s just perfect. 4.8/5
Why is this review back on the front page over a year after it was posted?
because this album is the shit
Originally posted on 7/11/16
Reposted on 8/11/17
Re Reposted on 1/7/19
TDE really does run ish