At Last! The album is finally here. This is Schoolboy Q’s third album and first album on a major label.
Gangsta
My momma said don’t be that, that little nigga that sold crack
Gangbanger that street jack, always trying to figure where the beef at
Knock-knock your brain on the doormat, bitch nigga, what you call that?
The album kicks off with an intro from Q’s daughter, Joy and then the beat kicks in. The beat is both dark and moody and likely to get your Head bobbing all at once.
The lyrics on the other Hand paint a picture of the environment He was brought up in. AHmean, you know sHit is real when He said “My grandma showed me my first strap” but at the same time, he juxtaposes this with the words of advice he got from his mom.
Los Awesome ft. Jay Rock
Groovy nigga, jumped off of the peg
Forced by my third leg
Plead the fifth, no L’s, no whips, backyard full of Crips
Barbecues and county blues, this Hoover gangster be the shit
It ain’t much up on our list, shoot the killer and hit the licks
– Schoolboy Q
Handle bars, ever swing, guns blow like dusty wings
Spend a band, push his wig back whenever revolvers spin
Toe tag ’em, floss flagging like its all good
Tell niggas tee off like Tiger Woods, where you from?
We never heard of ya, walking with the murderers
Niggas that’ll murder ya, steal you like a burglar
– Jay Rock
Not really feeling this one. The beat has that new Neptunes feel to it and instead of it being a good thing, the beat doesn’t even mesh. The synths, noises, drums and everything else they threw into this just didn’t come together to form anything solid. Ahmean, the beat actually distracted me from the verses.
while Q usually sounds cool as fuck wHen He gets all playful on a track, it just doesn’t work here. The chemistry between the two rappers is almost non-existent on this one. Jay Rock’s verse was alright tho. Rock’s verse is the highlight of this one.
Collard Greens ft Kendrick Lamar
Kush be my fragrance, we love marijuana
Function on fire, burn the roof off this mothafucka
Psych ward is balling, go craze like no other
Weed steady blowing, pass the blunt to my momma
Runs in the family, puff-puff keep a nigga fiending
Faded, faded-faded right
– ScHoolboy Q
Let’s get it
Nights like this, I’m a knight like this, sword in my hand, I fight like this
And I’m more than a man, I’m a God, bitch, touché, en garde
Toupee drop and her two tits pop out of that tank top and bra
And when I say “Doo-doo, doo-doo,” bitch, that be K. Dot
She want some more of this, I give her more of this, I owe her this
In fact, I know she miss the way I floored this, I’m forgis
– Kendrick Lamar
Do we need to go over this? It has been out for ages and if you haven’t heard this already then you prolly shouldn’t be on this site. Q’s verses on their own are just straight fire but then Kendrick came in with that Español shit and just killed this. He renegaded Q on this for sure. This is my best track on the album so far and with what I’ve heard so far, it just might be my best at the end of it all.
What they Want ft 2Chainz
Misses Piggy want a piggyback
Rock cremation then called it crack
I’mma keep on eating till my ankles fat
Sell that fix, throw it cross the map
Push my penis in between her lap
Put my semen all down her throat
Till Tito kilos come off that boat
– ScHoolboy Q
I put everything over yellow rice, graduated from hella ice
If I stand on my bank roll, nigga, I’d be scared of heights
And I’d be dodging the po’ lights
When I was poor with no lights, when I was poor with potential
Watch my flow in four inches, oh lord she in Christians
All gold on my Adventist, pull it down and she kiss it
– 2chainz
Bounce! Bounce! Woo!
The album started out all dark and shii but all that has changed since the last track and it continues with this one. The lyrics are lighter but the beat is darker now. Think black horror movie or Quentin Tarantino directed version of Afro Samurai. That is the feeling this one brings. 2chainz isn’t even half bad on this one although Q’s verses kick him around on this. The first time I jammed this, I wasn’t impressed with 2chainz verse but after listening some more, it has grown on me.
Hoover Street
We wasn’t thinking of getting money then
Nor did I wonder why my uncle done sold his Benz
Cause he been tripping now, he sweats a lot and slimming down
I also notice moms be locking doors when he around
But anyways, he wife done left him and now he living with us
My bike is missing, grandma light a hotter chick every month
My uncle’s nuts, he used to give me Whisky to piss in cups
Damn!
This is that shii..this song right here just canceled out the previous ones. For like the first minute, Q was rapping with this stuttering flow over a guitar loop (just the same “twang-twang” sound over and over again) with some mean sounding drums and as if that wasn’t good enough, the beat changes to a slower one. The second beat draws more attention to what he is saying as he raps about life on Hoover street, his thieving uncle who can’t be controlled, how his nigga Tone showed him his first AK-47.
Damn. The picture he paints on this one is both vivid and compelling at the same time. Solid!
Studio ft BJ the Chicago kid
You need a real nigga shorty so come in
Throw that pussy shorty, see I think you and me can make it
This little verse to get you naked
See your heart ain’t meant for breaking
Cupid’s never been mistaken
See, I been caught up in the moment
Shit, my type ain’t quite her type
But now this gangsta nigga on it
Uhm…not really feeling this one. It is a good romantic track and shii but having it here on the album just feels weird like Angelina Jolie’s black kids. This just isn’t supposed to be here. I’m not saying it is terrible. It just doesn’t fit.
The beat is subtle and chill as fxck and has BJ doing his thing with the hook while Q spits about love.
Prescription – Oxymoron
Prescription drugs, show me love
Percocets, Adderall
Xanny bars, get codeine involved
Stuck in this body hot, can’t shake it off
I’m falling off, I can’t hold a thought
What’s wrong with me? Now the pressure creep
I’m stressing deep, even in my sleep
My mommy call, I hit ignore
My daughter calls, I press ignore
My chin press on my chest, my knees press the floor
I’m blanking out, woke up on the couch
Dinner on my shirt, my stomach hurts
The first part of this song sort of flows from the previous song. While Studio was about Q falling in love with pretty ass females, this one has him rapping about falling in love with prescription pills. No moment on the song is wasted. Even his daughter’s voice trying to call him back from a drug-induced stupor serves its role in painting the picture of a dude addicted to prescription pills.
The second half of the song has him rapping over a trap-like beat about how he sells drugs to provide for his daughter. This track is basically the essence of the album. The oxymoron being that he does bad (drug pushing) for good reasons (his daughter’s welfare).
The Purge ft Tyler the creator, Kurupt
As this G shit begin, put this product placement on your chin
The realest nigga breathing, y’all pretend
Real crippy since I hopped off the swing
With my strap, that’s my peace offering (Yo, yeah, uh, yeah)
Five shots get rung out, five bodies falling
Come put your lights out, I spark your apartment
Deadline my clothing, don’t fuck with Pink Dolphin
Strap on his hairline, his forehead gets softened
– Schoolboy Q
Yeah, it’s Kurupt young mothafucking Gotti
Still rolling in a six, I don’t fuck with the Bugatti
Come up in this mothafucka looking for a bitch
Probably sucked on my dick then you kissed it on the lips
– Kurupt
Naaaaah. Not feeling this one. Q spits some good shii over this weird beat (It is one of dem regular Tyler beats) but his flow never picks up. His flow is off on this as he seems sort of lost on how best to violate the beat and in the end he just ends up patting the beat on the head and leaving. Kurupt, on the other hand, was able to work this beat thru well placed pauses.
Basically, the highlight here is Kurupt.
Blind Threats ft Raekwon
Dreaming I don’t live up on the block no more
Trapping trying to make it out this obstacle
Life on the edge, hell a block away
Pretty Snow White turned eight today
Selling that base, no Dr. Dre
Uh, guess who in the building?
Bucket hat with a strap like a pilgrim
Uh, kneeling down with some questions to address like
Why the ones who commit the worst sins live the best?
-Schoolboy Q
Black Lincoln, burgundy Mac, I clap a king-pin
Caught me in the airport gust that I was thinkin’
On how to stay rich and get bills with my acquaintances
Yeah, money is the issue, I diss you
It’s no problem at all, yo, the bunch on the pistol
Cause I’m a suit case king
Cooling at the gambling spot with a screwed face grin
– Raekwon
this jam right here has that bible story feel to it as Q and the Chef trade sober verses over a hazy beat that samples a Cypress Hill song.
don’t let the fact that i summarized the track in just two lines fool you cos this is one of the best tracks on the album. if you’ve jammed Blessed off Habits and Contradiction then you’ll be familiar with the vibe on this song.
Hell of a Night
Then them hoes gon’ jock, ain’t no telling how my night might end
Night life in the bright lights, swagging hard in my Concords
You at the bottom, we the Top Dawgs, we get high as them elevators
Take a sip with me, now move your hips with me, now make it dip for me
Now will you ride for me? Will you die for me?
Will you jump off a cliff and hit the sky with me?
Uh, ménage á troìs, four titties, no bras and no flaws
The sampling on this one is just unreal and it adds to this ill ass instrumental that combines bellowing kettle drums, synths and either cymbal/hi-hats to create a track that will surely have white folk jumping and screaming at concerts.
As this is a party track, Q doesn’t say a lot as far as hard hitting lines go but this is another good jam.
Break the Bank
Fuck rap, my shit real, came up off them pills
Hustle for my meal, grindin’ for my deal
Love how I’m doing, long way from grooving
Bitch call me 2 Chainz, units be moving
Go hard for my Joy, so she don’t need no boy
Smile stay on her face, big room with her own space
Up all night, the hard way, don’t care if it take all day
Niiice
This is the kind of song that gets stuck in your head cos of the way the verses flow into the chorus and flow out to begin the next verse. Even the instrumental here is nice as fxck with the playful keyboard tune playing in the background whiledrums clash over it. This song has Q rapping about money and getting to the money by any means necessary. Highlight of the song for me tho was when he said
“Tell Kendrick move from the throne, I came for it
I hope this fuckin’ hit arrange for it, cause Goddamn”
Man of the Year
I see hands in the crowds
See whites, blacks blazing a pound, jumping around
Tits, ass bump out her gown
Bounce from the ground, hype for the sound
This verse straight from the morgue
This album is on a fxcking roll. I can’t remember the last wack track I heard. Shii feels like I just heard 7 badass tracks in a row. Another tune that can get stuck in your head but that is prolly cos this one was made for mainstream audiences. It sounds that way anyway.
His and Her friend ft SZA
Then I’mma heal your soul like
I could make you feel good your skin, baby
I’m the blood in your heart when it pump, baby
I’mma be there with you till you turn 80 and I know
Uh, your family got so much to say, baby
Iono mahn. This is too much for me. I’m too used to having wack tracks in dope albums but I’m still waiting for that here. The last wack track I’ve heard on this album was The Purge and to prove that my reason for hating that track wasn’t cos it sounded different….wait. Let me just stop the story. I love this track.
Ahmean. The vibe on this track is different as it has this mellow vibe to it. It is just Mellow as fxck. The track has Q using personification here as he spits from the perspective of an Oxycontin pill.
Grooveline Pt. 2 ft Suga Free
Hope your lips in shape, cuz you worked yo feet
As you stroll them streets
Beeper checkin’, hope no cops arrestin’
Girl, I told you them NARCS be pressin’
Better act you a pedestrian and don’t mention my name
My pimpin’ is game
Cold limp with my cane, got gold on my chain
Come pinky my ring, it’s so blickety bling
– Schoolboy Q
See ho you like a brain aneurysm
Want two heads with the same dandruff in ’em
Only to scratch the itch with baby rattlesnake fangs
No Head and Shoulders or anti-venom
Yea P, this is gentlemanly leisure, the oldest game left to play
And the hard hed that make a soft ass played out
– Suga free
This beat here has a druggy feel to it with slow drums and a guitar loop. The verses here just have Q and Suga Free spitting pimp shii. Ahmean. Even the chorus asks if she is willing to sell that puss for him. Q’s verse is the highlight on this one as he goes into detail about sending women out on the street to play their part in the continuation of the world’s oldest proffession.
A good jam but it might sound better if you’re on some drug trip. Just saying.
FxKk LA
Groovy Q, murk the judges crew, fuck the jury too
Bang the set, rep my 52, young hog down to shoot
I keep a Glock or get razor sharp, bitch, get left with Pac
My Biggie knock, he won’t know who shot, fearing down the block
Or serve this work? Lay back close the curt, pop my collar first
And blew my trees, put my nerves at ease, ’til my trigger squeeze
My heater heat, still I’m high off weed, bitch thats high degrees!
A smooth way to end this album with a stuttering beat that just screams darkness and horrorcore and this is despite the fact that it has this trap feel to it with the hi-hats and keyboard playing off in the background.
CONCLUSION
I will just go straight to the point without embellishing sh!t and say that this is one dope ass album. I had to stop myself from calling it the best album of the year, fxck what is to come. Anyone expecting socially conscious lyrics a la Ab-soul or story telling a la Kendrick Lamar or long winding verses filled with metaphors a la Jay Rock should not buy the album but if you are prepared for party rap in its least formulaic form or gangsta rap in its most appealling form then this is the album for you.
This album has Q trying to paint a picture of Crip history, life as a gang member, life as a father, life as a father doing all he can to make sure his daughter enjoys what he didn’t while at the same time doing the same things he is trying to shield his daughter from. With another rapper, this issues would have given rise to a complicated album but Q simplifies it for us.
But while that is a good thing, it is also a shortcoming. Q doesn’t really delve into these stories like he should. Instead, what we have is just a couple of tracks (2 or 3) that fully adress this issue while the rest just touch on it without ever fully dragging us into the story. If the whole album had been made in the same vein as Hoover street then I might be sitting here telling everyone that this is the greatest album ever but it is not.
I’m going to have to give this a B+
Tha Report Card 