When ScHoolboy Q set out to release his first major label record distributed to music retailers (his first two albums were digital only) he had a clear vision of what he was looking to accomplish– a true gangsta rap album in the vein of late 90’s greats like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg that represented the South Central Los Angeles neighborhoods he grew up in. Inspired in part by his Black Hippy supergroup counterpart Kendrick Lamar (who had just released his critically acclaimed concept album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City a year prior), ScHoolboy Q tells acutely personal stories that focus on his drug addiction, family life, and the history of the Crips gang in Los Angeles.
The entire album is raw and intense, buoyed by ScHoolboy Q’s absolutely blistering lyrical flow and musical production that pairs perfectly with his prose, and hits in a way that Nas’ 1994 magnum opus Illmatic did twenty years prior. Whether it be the album opener “Gangsta” which details how his grandmother had shown him his first gun at the age of 9 years old, the heartbreaking story of “Prescription/Oxymoron” which details his addiction to prescription drugs like Percocets and how at times his two-year old daughter would try to wake him up from a drug-induced stupor only for him to be in a near coma, or the late-night gang banging drive-by shooting story detailed in “What They Want”, ScHoolboy Q managed to thread the needle between artistic honesty and party bangers. It’s those two elements combined that make Oxymoron a fitting homage to its name, solidifying it as one of the best hip hop albums of the 2010’s in the process.
Standout Songs: “What They Want”, “Studio”, “Prescription/Oxymoron”, “Break The Bank”, “Man Of The Year”
Matthew. 