Schoolboy Q forced hip-hop to take notice after dropping his oxy-coated 2012 LP Habits & Contradictions. Now, after months of delays, he's ready to unleash a follow-up with the Interscope-backed Oxymoron, out now, putting the streets on blast for the third time in his short career. Read his hot takes on the state of gangsta rap, beating out his Black Hippy brethren and release schedule woes below.
How frustrating was the release schedule last year? Does pushing your album back get exhausting?
I could care less about how long I take to make my music. If I took five years, and it was a banger, everyone would be like: "Oh he's back." If you dropped it one month after your last project, people would be like: "Yo, this nigga is a workaholic."
I could care less about how long I take to make my music. If I took five years, and it was a banger, everyone would be like: "Oh he's back." If you dropped it one month after your last project, people would be like: "Yo, this nigga is a workaholic."
How do you feel about kicking off a year in which everyone on Black Hippy (Kendrick Lamar, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock) will be releasing a record?
I know they're all going to be great albums, but I want to be number one on that motherfucker. But, this year is about to be our stamp. Sure we already put our stamp on the game, but this is going to be the "You can't fuck with us" stamp.
I know they're all going to be great albums, but I want to be number one on that motherfucker. But, this year is about to be our stamp. Sure we already put our stamp on the game, but this is going to be the "You can't fuck with us" stamp.
What does "gangsta rap" mean to you right now?
It really doesn't have a sound in 2013, because there is no real "gangsta rap." This is the new sound, on my album; this is my statement on [gangsta rap]. Like when N.W.A came out, they weren't [breaks into the first bars of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"] making "hip-hop." They invented some shit called "rap."
It really doesn't have a sound in 2013, because there is no real "gangsta rap." This is the new sound, on my album; this is my statement on [gangsta rap]. Like when N.W.A came out, they weren't [breaks into the first bars of Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"] making "hip-hop." They invented some shit called "rap."