Thursday 13 March 2014

Review of "Oxymoron" by Schoolboy Q


Sell that fix, throw it cross the map/push my penis in between her lap/put my semen all down her throat/til’ Tito kilos come off that boat”. Yeah, Schoolboy Q ain’t no William Blake. 


This record is straightforward, boom-bap gangsta rap for blowing out Cadillac speakers. Granted, not all the tracks are aggro, thug-life trap. There’s a definite diversity to the beats demonstrated by some of the slower numbers such as the blazeworthy “Collard Greens” featuring Kendrick Lamar. There’s even an unexpected love track on here, “Studio”.

 However, despite its deviancies into prettiness, the tough guy image is where Schoolboy Q clearly feels at home. Of all the rappers signed up to Top Dawg Entertainment, Schoolboy Q has the meanest and ugliest delivery. He revels in gritty, gangster imagery and he knows how to lay down a head-bopping hook. Unfortunately, there isn’t much novelty to his subject matter.

 Oxymoron’s a fun record for the most part, with some tracks that I’m sure to return to (“Collard Greens”, “Hoover Street”, “Break the Bank”) but overall it just isn’t my jam. All the guttural “yawk, yawk!” screams and penis references are silly and just make me blush. I can’t play this stuff loud. What would my neighbours think? What would my parents think? I need poetry and introspection. Call me a nerd. That’s just how I roll.


TRACK TASTER: