“When it comes to music, I don’t look at it as like, ‘Oh, you have to drop every year,'” ScHoolboy Q said during an interview last year. “As an artist, if I bring nothing to the table that comes from my life, I don’t feel I should put it out.”
As luck would have it, a lot has changed in the life of the Los Angeles native of late, and thankfully for the better. The infamous bucket hat, which in hindsight turned out to be emblematic of a lifestyle he has no desire of going back to, has been replaced with a golf cap indefinitely. This real-life metaphor perfectly illustrates the many different roles he currently plays as an artist, borrowing from the past while craftily negotiating his future.
Given the circumstances, it took the Top Dawg Entertainment MC exactly one month to secure his spot back at the center after nearly five years of inactivity. Whereas most succumb to a reset of trends in that amount of time as excess continues to be one of the last remaining formulas to hold the public’s attention, Q announced plans for his next full-length venture on the first day of February 2024 and previewed it two fragments at a time every week until the entire Hip Hop community was staring in his direction.
With one of the most effective rollouts in recent history already in his favor, the 18 tracks that make up Blue Lips unfolded entirely on March 1 to unveil an anatomy that is sustained in equal parts by old habits, contradictions, clarity and discernment. That said, it harbors no regrets, almost as though the rapper’s bygone instability is an impetus for his progress. Golfer Q doesn’t seem to be running away from his demons but instead proactively keeping them at bay — the memories clearly persist, now serving to remind him of his advancement by contrast.
The optimistic and self-assured transparency of the LP is fueled by a controlled dramatism that allows the West Coast barman to sustain the fervor that made him a key figure in the game throughout the 2010s while also giving him the space to look ahead with caution. Despite the absence of a defined theme, the project is held together by a patterned cohesion that distinguishes it from a compilation of singles bundled together and passed off as an album.
The hypnotic and carnivalesque intro “Funny Guy” typifies the dominant side of the package, steered by ruminative lament and awareness. A few cuts down, this trope takes on a more complete shape in the form of the symphonic “Blueslides,” featuring Q contemplating the 2018 passing of Mac Miller and how it nudged him to clean up his act with: “Lost a homeboy to drugs, man, I ain’t trynna go backwards.”
Likewise, the record climaxes with another tune on the same wavelength as the 37-year-old shares the lessons he’s learnt in recent years with bars like “Death and beauty all alike” and “First we gotta learn how to fail/ We all seen Hell” on “Lost Times” — sure enough, it was produced by The Alchemist. Other tracks like “Cooties,” “Nunu” and “Germany 86′” add to the whimsical and soul-touching glimmer of the most praiseworthy moments on Blue Lips.
On the flipside, a select few numbers build on the trappy vigor that made ScHoolboy Q one of the brand ambassadors of Hip Hop’s party circuit a decade back. Considering the depths this LP traverses, “Yeern 101,” “Back n Love” and “Pig feet” make for its most avoidable joints even though they aren’t without purpose.
Add to those templates some fizz and soot, and you get “Pop,” which not only boasts one of the most absorbing beats on the record but also a prizewinning feature from Rico Nasty (tied with Ab-Soul a few tracks later). It’s worth noting that her verse only comes on in the last 15 seconds, setting a key precedent for the remainder of the album early on: make sure to see each installment through to the end because rarely any of them remain the same from front to back, and this is precisely what makes the project unputdownable for the duration of its 56-minute runtime.
It is loaded with one curveball after another, such that certain cuts are made up of two or more songs, like mashups that shouldn’t work in theory but still do — “THank god 4 me,” “Love Birds,” “Movie” and “First” all fit this description. Most notably, the Freddie Gibbs-assisted “oHio” has three separate parts that fuse into one another in tandem, transitioning from ’70s porn theme to a quivering bassline to the closing credits of a noir film.
In other cases, the contrast is even broader, yet Q’s flexibility combined with his aptitude for making every word count like Pusha T and continually recharging his voice in a manner reminiscent of Yasiin Bey makes each passage harmonious.
An orderly union of sunshine, overcast, rain and starry skies, Blue Lips switches from bouncy to sedated to lit to pensive with a consistency that prompts an involuntary submission to its charmingly erratic rhythm. The rare instances wherein the production stagnates are compensated for by lyrical matter and vocal merit, with cameos coming from Lance Skiiiwalker, Jozzy, Devin Malik and Childish Major; and vice versa.
Whereas a lot of listeners might be tempted to ask themselves if ScHoolboy Q’s latest offering was worth the wait, his remarkable growth also suggests that years of experience is perhaps what births the richest music, especially in a word-heavy genre like rap.
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2024
RECORD LABEL: Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope
Listen to Blue Lips below:
BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bro were 1 months into the year…
We’re literally in march though
Cut the guy who said “1 months” some sack please.
@Lol I’m not in USA, time zone difference. It wasn’t March 1st when I commented.
Schoolboy Q album is fire!!! Very unique sounding album!
typical TDE trash album that only gets a good review cause it’s trashboy q
you are a gay f@66ot
Not sure what everyone’s listening to hear, productions cool but Q has nothing to talk about, no substance after 5 years away.
No real replay value , nothing is catchy you can vibe too.
Concepts call and plays out alright as a full run through, but nothings bringing you back time and time again.
This wouldn’t be in your 6 disc changer if it was early 2000s nothing to write home about
Not one of my favorites but that’s OK. The problem is I enjoyed the album in shuffle mode then listening to it 1 through 18. Some tracks had me shaking my head but it’s Q. Please don’t wait five years for another release. Carry on!!!
Yes. He can rap. There is good production. It’s just weird and not entertaining. Not one track that slaps in a system. TDE dudes are trying to take me on a walk thru a museum. No thanks. I want Hip-hop that I can blast in my jeep. This shit is boring. I’m trying to read a comic book, not admire fine art. Dude, you’re a Hoover Crip. Stop trying to win a Pulitzer and make music for Hip-hop heads. This is weird white folk pandering shit. Hence the above review. Ain’t no one in L.A. bumping this shit in a lowrider.
This muthafucka thinks LA is loweriders and shit….. smh
L.A. is lowriders and shit. Idiot. I’m from L.A. specially dudes from neighborhoods like Hoover. Dumbass. You’re from a city made famous by Nelly and Sexy Redd. Your famous for copying our shit incorrectly. Talking about bloods and crips. Idiot. We started this gangster shit…
You’re not from LA kid. Just stop talking, you look stupid.
Calm d0wn bUddY…it ain’t that deeP…I’m sure he doesn’t give a fUck about either of ya
You are 100 percent white mate and probably English, living in a small village town. “Slaps in a system” haha.
You ever think people just make the type of music they wanna make?
Wrote you off as a try hard mong as soon as you tried to use skin colour to bash an album.
I could never undestood the hype. Hipster music except it is gangsta so it is even more hipster
Good album not what I expected though. Very experimental, but I think that’s where rap / hiphop is going towards now. If you listen to vultures which I didn’t enjoy, it had similar sounds. In any case blue slides has gotta be one of the dopest songs I’ve ever heard.
By far his album to date. Five years may seem like a long time for a casual music fan, and outside of SZA, who’s been dominating heavily since the release of SOS, Q can help carry the torch of TDE.
By far his album to date. Five years may seem like a long time for a casual music fan, and outside of SZA, who’s been dominating heavily since the release of SOS, Q can help carry the torch of TDE.
Q is that dude but this ain’t topping blankface,Habits,or Oxymoron…It sounds all over the place…I like it but it’s a very chaotic listen with unorthodox song structures … Definitely better than crashtalk tho…
Q is that dude but this ain’t topping blankface,Habits,or Oxymoron…It sounds all over the place…I like it but it’s a very chaotic listen with unorthodox song structures … Definitely better than crashtalk tho…
AOTY
rap audience needs to listen more genres outside of hip hop
This album is a testament of taste
Just a few tracks…but I can’t riDe to thishit…shoutout 2 School though
As a LA native, I always rocked with SchoolBoyQ. Consistently puts out good music, but objectively the best West Coast album this year is still Paisley Dreams. Game and Big Hit meshed perfectly and HitBoy came through with the production. Best Album of of 2024 is YE and TY Vultures. Personally I’ve given this album about 50-60 listens, NO SKIPS. We gotta start talking about YE as the Greatest Producer Ever
Garbage. How does anyone find enjoyment or even vibe to this? I cant even nod my head, drive, or even smoke to this. This album is the audio equivalent of pulling teeth.
Had to break up my first listen into 2 sessions and ended up stopping at Nunu. So far it’s a snooze fest. As corny as some of the things “nah this ain’t it” said are, he’s got a point about the album- it’s no banger. The beats are nice but that hungry, aggressive Q from Blank Face and Crashtalk is not there. I get it, artists mature and whatnot. But there are plenty of artists who evolved their subject matter and style with better results.
Anyway, I’ll probably give it 1 more listen, but if nothing really catches me this won’t be in rotation.
Definitely not his best album, but it has moments. Thank god 4 me, Blueslides and Yeern are up there with his best shit, but they also come in a row early on, nothing else on the album sounds as good.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE WHATSAPP CHANNEL “Ninho de la Calle – recensioni drill/cassa dritta”.
IF WE GET TO 20 SUBSCRIBERS WE WILL MAKE THE AMERICAN VERSION. IT COST YOU NOTHING, IT MAKES A LOT OF DIFFERENCE TO US. 1 REVIEW EVERY 2 DAYS!
Link: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNPp3S7z4kXuGa6wX2E
THANK YOU
SUBSCRIBE TO THE WHATSAPP CHANNEL “Ninho de la Calle – recensioni drill/cassa dritta”.
IF WE GET TO 20 SUBSCRIBERS WE WILL MAKE THE AMERICAN VERSION. IT COST YOU NOTHING, IT MAKES A LOT OF DIFFERENCE TO US. 1 REVIEW EVERY 2 DAYS!
Link: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaNPp3S7z4kXuGa6wX2E
THANK YOU
idk why this getting hate, this easily his best work maybe ever atleast since oxymoron – 18 tracks no skips ain’t easy – imo most tracks are 9’s there are 3 I’m not nuts about and even they’re like 7.5’s – its unique and not as spoonfed but I love it, people that hate this prob hated Scaring the Hoes from Peggy/Danny last yr and missed a banger too – oh well, keep hate y’all missing out and I ain’t even really follow Q like that he’s maybe top 15 for me rn
laaaaaaaaaaame