Album Review – ScHoolboy Q: Blue Lips

SOLID 7/10

ScHoolboy Q is somewhat of an enigmatic force in hip-hop. The California rapper came up in the same stylistic lane as other trip-hop and stoner anthem proponents like Mac Miller, Kid Cudi, early A$AP Rocky, among others. But he had a substantive credence and respectability that some of his peers lacked because of his connection to the label Top Dawg Entertainment. This is the same TDE that helped redefine conscious hip-hop. Conscious hip-hop used to be reserved as a stigmatized stereotype of rappers who were counter to their own counter-culture that hip-hop embodied throughout the aughts. TDE ushered in an era of hip-hop where rappers could be both mainstream, while talking about the underground; enter Kendrick Lamar, Isaiah Rashad, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q. Compared to his label-mates though, Q leaned more into the pop component. Early hits like “Hands on the Wheel” (feat. A$AP Rocky) put him on the map and set him up for what is still his most popular album: Oxymoron (2014). Q’s stylistic deviation from his peers became even more stark when Lamar dropped his magnum opus To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) and Rashad released Cilvia Demo (2014). Q responded to sell-out accusations by releasing Blank Face LP (2016), which featured the hit track “THat Part” (feat. Kanye West), but ultimately fell short in its general mass appeal. Q reverted back to tempting the mainstream by traversing into the bubbling trap sub-genre with CrasH Talk (2019), and while “Numb Numb Juice” is a personal favorite of mine, Billboard-bait songs like “CHopstix” (feat. Travis Scott) and “Floating” (feat. 21 Savage) felt disingenuous for Q. It seems that Q knew that he needed to reflect on his artistry as well, as he took a half-decade hiatus before returning with this year’s Blue Lips, his most endogenously-orchestrated and cohesive album to date.

Blue Lips is an introspective victory lap for Q and that is evident through his delivery and production for many of its tracks. Q is known for his raspy voice and his boisterous qualities, but he tones it down a lot on Blue Lips. Cuts like “Blueslides” epitomize how Q has felt like his rap career was essentially a resort for staying alive and acquiring basic means of sustenance, but it was others’ demise. Q seems to specifically reference Mac Miller, who died from a drug overdose in 2018, and was a collaborator and close friend of Q’s. Q also acknowledges how the trials, tribulations and limitations that a career in public life can entail may prevent him from being a good person in the near future, but will make him a great father and provider for others in the long run. 

Many of the tracks on Blue Lips feel somewhat autobiographical and that this album is simply another chapter of his life that is nearing the conclusion of his illustrious career. Q’s pride as a father and being adept in his personal life takes front-stage throughout the LP. On “Foux” (feat. Ab-Soul), Q chronologically jumps from his depressing, gang-affiliated youth to the true happiness that the birth of his child brought him. Getting money and accomplishing goals mean nothing to Q unless he can share the wealth with those he cares about most. A fact that is emphasized when he discusses his child on songs like “Cooties.” Q’s delivery is somewhat reminiscent of Stove God Cooks’ proclamation-singing when he flatly declares that because of his success “my kid’s playin’ soccer, ain’t shit in the way.” The warm, melodic and sample-driven instrumentation featured on this song, alongside other highlights like “Love Birds” and “Lost Times” range from soulful to eerily melancholy. 

Q still has time for bangers though. Much like the lead single for CrasH Talk, “Numb Numb Juice,” “Yeern 101” sees the California rapper spraying bars in relentless fashion. Quotables galore as well:

“Got a gray double R and it need both lanes/Got a dollar to his name, but he all ‘gang-gang’;”

“Got a brand new house, tryna avoid my hurt/’Bout six point somethin’ and it feel like church.”

The same applies to “THank god 4 me,” one of the million hip-hop odes to Project Pat and Memphis rap, but Q tastefully executes it. The song lulls you in with its wispy instrumental that Q easily floats upon until a “Chickenhead” interpolation rudely, but justifiably, interrupts this regular programming for one of Q’s more braggadocios efforts.

Some tracks still feel like they were pulled from a time capsule for this release though. In a recent interview, Q seems to back this assumption up by explaining how long of a multi-year process this album was, to the extent that the tracks vary in the recency of their production by years at times. This is noticeable on tracks like “First” and “Pig feet,” which sound like trap leftovers from CrasH Talk that were remastered for Blue Lips. While Q and Childish Major’s performances on the latter inclusion are more than serviceable, the beat’s formulaic pattern and lazy looping allude to a time in Q’s career where he was unsure of his lane in the mainstream. The repetitiveness of “Pop” (feat. Rico Nasty) and the inflexible structure of “Back n Love” (feat. Devin Malik) grows stale pretty quickly as well. 

Blue Lips is still undeniably a triumph in Q’s discography. The recurring thematic content and diverse production seem to be fully engaging Q in this album. There is a self-aware candor to Blue Lips that his last two efforts were devoid of, and now his music is maturing alongside him.