Scene

Schoolboy Q has been part of the the Top Dawg Entertainment roster since its inception, starting alongside Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul. Q has existed in his own lane within that TDE roster, serving up gritty raps with his own unique delivery that sees every bar take a twist or a turn when he spits. A few years ago we were graced with 'Habits & Contradictions' before dropping his debut album 'Oxymoron' in 2014, both of which were celebrated releases and had people eagerly awaiting his latest drop 'Blank Face LP'.

Songs

1. TorcH: Dangerous, musical mayhem.
2. Lord Have Mercy: Simple canvas for Q to set the vibe.
3. THat Part ft. Kanye West: Creepy vibes continue, Kanye fits right in.
4. Groovy Tony / Eddie Kane ft. Jadakiss: Straight from the gutter, grit.
5. Kno Ya Wrong ft. Lance Skiiiwalker: Versatile Q, peep the Skiiiwalker.
6. Ride Out ft. Vince Staples: Crippin'.
7. WHateva U Want ft. Candice Pillay: Shawty jam, grimey though.
8. By Any Means: What I think of when I think of Schoolboy Q.
9. Dope Dealer ft. E-40: West Coast Metro Boomin' keeps ya head nodding.
10. JoHn Muir: Pure music, so many noises.
11. Big Body ft. Tha Dogg Pound: Funky flex jam, have a dance.
12. Neva CHange ft. SZA: Wisdom from Q, mellow tune.
13. Str8 Ballin: From nothing to a lot, another hectic production.
14. Black THougHts: Wisdom from Q 2.0, prophetic.
15. Blank Face ft. Anderson .Paak: Be what you wanna be.
16. Overtime ft. Miguel & Justine Skye: Shawty jam.
17. Tookie Knows II ft. Traffic & TF: Remind 'em you a crip, scary finale.

Vibe

While there are a number of jams that see Q flexing his love or fun rhyming muscles and follow his more up-tempo niche, much of Blank Face sees Q return back to the streets. Q does this by reflecting on street antics from a more mature point of view and offering his own wisdom, as well as reminding us all that Q was knee-deep in Los Angeles' streets as a Hoover Crip.

That led me to settle on an 'eerie' vibe and it's a vibe that Q nails with ease. Without any sugar-coating, Q takes the listener straight into the heart of Los Angeles and like the classic west coast hip hop that we all love, Q is able to paint a vivid picture of his antics and what it was like to exist in the streets. The growth of Q is evident in that he juggles going back to his roots, taking us all there with him and also reflects on life on the streets from his current position as a 29-year-old dude. 

Music

That eerie vibe stems largely from the production, production which is hard to envision anyone else rapping over like Q does. The range of instrumentation is extensive and each song stays well clear of any musical trends that currently exist in the game, even with Metro Boomin producing a track like 'Dope Dealer' it sounds as though this is Metro making a track specifically for Q and not the other way around.

TDE's in-house production team Digi+Phonics features heavily with Sounwave, Tae Beast and Willie B credited with a handful of songs. The likes of The Alchemist, Swizz Beatz, Tyler, The Creator, Nex & Rio, Cardo, Southside and DJ Dahi also contribute to the production and with quite a variety of producers used, there's plenty of variety within that eerie/dark/gritty sound that oozes from Blank Face.

In terms of features, Q gets Kanye West, Jadakiss, Vince Staples, Candice Pillay, E-40, Tha Dogg Pound, Lance Skiiiwalker, SZA, Anderson .Pakk, Miguel, Justine Skye, Traffic and TF on board. Highlights for me are Vince Staples and Q linking up as crips on 'Ride Out' with this popping up like a match made in hip hop heaven, as well as new TDE signee Lance Skiiiwalker showing us what he can do on 'Kno Ya Wrong'.

I found the features pretty damn interesting as it's a pretty random mix and shows how creative Q is. Whether it's Kanye West getting on 'THat Part' and serving up a weaving musical journey, or Jadakiss spitting some New York bars on 'Groovy Tony / Eddie Kane' each feature serves a specific purpose and adds to that song without taking away from Q's work.

Finale

Blank Face is yet another example of the diversity in the TDE roster as well as showing us once again how the TDE artists are growing with their craft. This was clearly evident in Jay Rock's 90059 album as he showed progression in his musical choices along with his craft as an emcee and Q does the same on Blank Face, gracing the listener with a hectic congregation of sounds which all comes together and paints a picture of Los Angeles through Q's eyes.

Few are able to keep their music speaking for the streets or reflecting the streets which also growing as an artist, especially creatively. I found myself pondering how Q was able to take a few steps back and embed himself in that life as a crip, while doing so with such creative ferocity. It's pretty damn cool.