Schoolboy Q – Oxymoron
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| Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron |
Schoolboy Q
is a charismatic dude – this is what makes Oxymoron a great record. But if you
actually look behind, maybe lack in depth can also be attested.
Oxymoron
was widely discussed before it was released, by the media as well as Q himself.
What stuck to me was his statement that he didn´t want to create an answer to
Good Kid and stopped pursing a more storytelling way of writing songs. A
statement paired with him saying he is the new Puffy, pretty much sums up
Oxymoron. This is gangsta and rap about drugs with much swagger and highly
enjoyable without much narrative and meat to it.
The album
starts off with the old school alluding “Gangsta”, a murky piano line, simple
drums and chorus. Intriguing however, and what shows up again and again is Q´s
really energetic delivery. For a man who almost every time looks high and talks
chill, his rapping is steadily approving and the mash of ad-libs, we all know
the catchy “YAWK! YAWK! YAWK!” and “Knock! Knock! Knock!”, make for a driving
intro. “Los Awsome” follows in this seamlessly, with Jay Rock aboard and them
both dedicating this song to their world of gangbangers. Pharrell did the
production on this one and it and as the hook declares “I´m a groovy type nigga”,
groove is the best word to describe to describe the synth keys throughout this
track.
Following “Collard Greens” almost completes every topic Oxymoron is
concerned with going from being gangsta to smoking weed and having drugs. Q
delivers nice choppy and agitated verses over a slap-stick like beat that could
stem from a cartoon show. King Kendrick throws in the hilarious verse perfectly
fitting for something like that and I while I was hoping for something introspective,
it´s great to see the versatility of Lamar spitting a bunch of bull and still
sounding great. “What They Want” takes a much darker turn with an ghostly
background jingle and typical banger bass. While 2 Chainz on here sounds pretty ok or better said as usual doesn´t annoy, his verse can´t convince any real
tension Q himself brings to the table and remains
superficial but listenable. That being said, while A$AP Rocky appears on a
bonus track, this sounds like the joint he should have hopped on. “Hoover
Street” is the first really introspective and not just braggadocios tracks and
reads as something close to Q´s Good Kid, m.A.A.d City condensed in one track.
With a prelude asking “How it feel to be a real nigger” and portraying Q´s drug
dealing days, a beat change from jazzy to a boom-bap delivers the answers in an
retrospective of his childhood. He paints a vivid picture of his uncle and his
vices which affected his view of the world and even tops his verses up with a
reference and twist on the children’s rhyme “This little piggy went to the
market, this little piggy carry chrome”. This for me is the first time that the
totally playful or just hard image of Q is elevated and we get some depth and
an idea why his record carries the name Oxymoron: While he now is the ‘new Puff Daddy’ his way was ridden with negativity and wrongful personality. Unfortunately,
his Habits & Contradictions from 2012 did a better job at really pointing
this tension out while “Hoover Street” pretty much shines alone.
“Studio”
being the love song of this record in Q´s usual somewhat non-loving, unromantic
way, it still sounds great and gives a nice perspective on the tedious life of
creating something while neglecting other duties – even though this description
puts more weight on the message then one should. Still after those first few
tracks and with the title track “Prescription / Oxymoron” giving the narrative
about drug abuse and loosing oneself in the spiral of usage, every topic
Schoolboy can talk about seems spoken and the repetition kicks in. Still, Q´s
rapping and the variations of beats and styles do keep things interesting for
the most of the latter half (or middle counting the bonus tracks). You can
split the tracks into two sections: Q furthering his introspective side and him
bringing the known gangster shit; with some sprinkles of social commentary and
higher message, but mostly just bangers without much content. Here “Break The
Bank” is the track that shines as the best synthesis of these different approaches:
It pretty much is a coming up and getting money narrative, but remains with a
sense of negativity and awareness Oxymoron sadly only touches a few times. Thinking
about “Blessed” on his previous album, this moment of talking about loss and
finding positivity in a bleak life didn´t remain as sad and introspective as I
would have liked it to be, but was turned into a kind of outward aggression and
Q exclaiming “Now we about to break the bank” seems to be the expression of
this. “Blind Threats” also deserves a mention furthering on “Hoover Street” and
being a kind of continuations of this narrative and has Q really beat about his
life and struggle. And even here, his gun and rap are the answer to being
forsaken by god and everything good in life and this might also be the best
expression of Oxymoron in all its meaning.
Unlike Kendrick who created a
narrative of struggle to end in positivity about oneself, Q´s story seems
unresolved but shows him vigorous enough to stand above this lack and be content with
making money, women and taking drugs. You could say that it is here that Q
takes his Habits & Contradictions and turns them inside out. Even when introspective,
there is no real breakdown or regret, but Q indulging in the silliness and
senselessness. He seems to be the jester or the new Puffy in the best way
possible: Unlike his contemporaries, he knows about the struggle and his image
well enough to be totally fine with just affirming many stereotypes. Maybe he
and Oxymoron are gangster raps Turing test for the listener under the constant
question if there is meaning to materialism and propagating the gangster
life-style. But lastly, this one would have been a little better with more
content over the throughout great sounding beat production (still “Man Of The
Year” will never live up to how Deniro Farrar used the Cherry sample by The Chromatics
on his “Fear”, period). No disappointment at all, and maybe just a step further
to Schoolboy Q´s greatest album with absolutely no filler.
6/10
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