Schoolboy Q dropped Oxymoron a week or two ago and we've all had a bit of time to let it settle in and digest what Q dropped. Overall it was a pretty handy album for his first release with major label back following Top Dawg Entertainment's deal with Interscope records ... peep the obvious Dr Dre connection. Schoolboy Q does what he does best and does what all hip hop artists should do - give you a look in to a world that is so distant from ours it's not even funny. He combines dark and graphic tales of his previous life as a Hoover St crip and prescription drug dealer with some nice jams that have the 'made for radio' tag attached to them.

First of all, who is this joker Schoolboy Q? Well hailing from South Central Los Angeles, he got his 'schoolboy'' name from the fact that he was pretty handy with the books in school and the Q comes from his name - Quincey, simple enough. He's been a part of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) from the beginning as he along with Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul formed like Voltron under the watchful gaze of two characters who go by the names of 'Top Dag' and 'Punch'. These two are the masterminds of this whole thing and deserve a large portion of the credit. I'm not in the know of any specific master plan, but knowing a fair bit about TDE, I know that they definitely knew how they were going to become the Top Dawgs. Kendrick dropped his 'good kid, mad city' album which served it's purpose of capturing the imagination of music lovers around the world, now Q has dropped Oxymoron so expect to hear from Ab-Soul and Jay Rock very soon ... if you like Lamar and Schoolboy Q, wait til you hear Ab-Soul and Jay Rock. TDE have also recently signed rapper Isaiah Rashad as well as female singer SZA as they look to take over the game.

Aaaaanyway, the album. As you can probably tell by the title, this album is all about the battle someone living this life must face. On the one hand Q has a daughter who is trying to be presence in her life, on the other hand he's selling a range of drugs to make ends meat - oxymoron. There are plenty of other examples throughout the album, something which you should keep in mind when listening to the album as it gives his words another dimension. Q is someone who has made a swift exit from his previous life to make a living writing wraps, but definitely draws upon his experiences to make for compelling listening.

Schoolboy Q is at his best when he is rapping over dark beats, spinning a yarn of what it's like to slang oxy from a trap house on Figueroa St or what it's like to be a gang banger in South Central.  This is why I love hip hop cos here we are in lil old New Zealand having an image painted for us by someone who has been there done that. On 'Hoover St' Q raps....

"Since a young nigga I admired the crack sellers, seen my uncle steal

From his mother, now that's the money that I'm talking 'bout

Think about it, the smoker ain't got shit and everyday he still get a hit"

Other hard nut Harry songs include 'Gangsta' which is pretty self explanatory as well as 'Prescription/Oxymoron' which details what it's like to not only sell something as dangerous as prescriptions drugs but also what it's like to be addicted. The crack era has come and gone, America is now in a battle against prescription drugs. It appears the war on drugs has pushed people to rely on something that the government is responsible for, oh the irony. Anyway Q's spits some fluid rhymes on the matter....

"I'm stressing deep, even in my sleep

My mommy call, I hit ignore

My daughter call, I hit ignore

My chin press on my chess, my knees press the floor"

Besides the tales of many aspects of life that you or I have absolutely no idea about, another feature of this album is the guest appearances. Pharrell's appearance as the producer on 'Los Awesome' is pretty weird tho, it's a classic Pharrell beat - the type of beat that made The Clipse's 'Hell Hath No Fury' so good. But it doesn't really fit with Schoolboy Q and Jay Rock on the track, but the two TDE stalwarts make the most of it.

Even 2 Chainz sounds good on 'What they want' which may come as a surprise, but 2 Chainz keeps it real which is all you can ask. Raekwon the Chef also makes an appearance on 'Blind Threats' which is definitely a highlight but my favourite track features Tyler the Creator and the one and only Kurupt. It's a typical Tyler/Odd Future track called 'the Purge' encouraging/warning people about the mayhem that could ensue should shit hit the fan. Tyler spits an awesome hook while Schoolboy Q and Kurupt lay the bars down in what makes for a mix that many wouldn't predict but that seems to work, very well

Sidenote, Kurupt keeps it g - "Still rollin in a 6, I don't fuck with the Bugatti"

There are a few radio style singles with 'Collared Greens' and 'Man of the Year' taking the cake, while 'Break the Bank' was the third jam to get the video to get the treatment and is far from a radio single. All these three songs have videos and 'Break the Bank' is by far my favourite video, as well as being one of my favourite songs on the album - dirty, grimey and pretty all round gangsta, it's the reason why Schoolboy Q is quickly becoming a fan favourite.

For all you 'rap' fans who only know about Kendrick Lamar's 'Bitch, don't kill my vibe' you need to severely check yourself. This album reinforces the fact that TDE are becoming one of the leading forces of hip hop's new generation. Schoolboy Q has a similar amount of underground success as Lamar and while repping a totally different style to Lamar, he is well on his way to similar success.

Don't sleep on TDE! And please do some research on Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, Isaiah Rashad and SZA. Holla.