Since ScHoolboy Q came onto the rap scene there was no mistaking his style. Q once said in an interview with MTV, “I'm not one of them rappers that's scared to put a title on their name. Conscious rappers never like to be called conscious rappers and a lyrical rapper never like to be a party rapper. I'm a gangster rapper, that's who I am. I happen to make fun records at the same time, that's what I do. I joke, I bag on niggas, my personality is like that, but I am a gangster rapper and that's what I'm gonna bring to the table."
Lyrically we can agree with this statement, but still, we've seen the growth sonically between Setbacks to the Blank Face LP. Q went on to say in that same 2013 interview, “I'm not necessarily trying to bring gangster rap back. I'm just trying to let you know it's still here and I'm a part of it. I feel like I'm the only one out of the coast that's doing this gangster rap shit the way that it used to be done...how niggas used to put detail in their music not just going to the club and turning up."
In true form, Q’s attention to detail within his music has only magnified his persona tenfold, whether it's on his track or someone else's. With standout lines like “Still hangin' with niggas that can't do nothin' but cause damage / Guess I'm bein' a real nigga like I'm 'posed to be” from "Lord Have Mercy," we’re instantly thrown into Q’s reality, and lines such as this abound across the TDE MC's discography.
What are some of your favorite ScHoolboy Q features? What'd we miss here? Presented in no particular order.
ASAP Rocky f/ Schoolboy Q “Brand New Guy”
Album: LIVE.LOVE.A$AP
Producer: Lyle Leduff
It’s undeniable that A$AP Rocky had (and might still have) the east coast on southern vibes upon the release of "Purple Swag," but the griminess of "Brand New Guys" added a different element to the project. Not having worked together prior to this song, the chemistry between the two is very much present, evidenced on their back-and-forth during the third verse. In an interview with Complex, Rocky spoke about the collaboration stating "'Brand New Guy’ happened before we were really cool. Like, I was a fan of ScHoolboy Q before I got on. He had some song called ‘Bet I Got Some Weed,’ and ‘Druggys Wit Hoes.’ I used to listen to those songs on YouTube, watch the videos like everyday and get high to it. I really liked his music. I wanted to work with him so bad[...] When I met Q, we bonded, and it became fun. We just became cool ass friends.” “Brand New Guy” not only encapsulated the energy of Live.Love.A$AP but spoke directly to the times, the wave of artists creating their own lanes within the rap game, and pushing the culture forward.
Quotable Lyrics
"Put that pussy nigga in a purse
You wouldn't be the first, cover him with dirt
Put him in the ground, he was down to Earth
Napped up nigga, I been down since birth
Backpack full of random work
With two bad hoes, I'll teach you how to jerk
Teach you how to jerk, swaggin' in my Js
Pop me a pill and throw that pussy a rave"
Joey Badass f/ ScHoolboy Q “Rockabye Baby”
Album: ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$
Producer: Adam Pallin & Chuck Strangers
ScHoolboy Q reminds of us his roots, affiliation, and the struggles of being black in America, by painting a vivid and harsh reality. Following in the footsteps of Joey Bada$$’s own politically charged verse, Q’s details injustice and poverty within his environment, as well as gang-related activities.
Quotable Lyrics
"You ball, might come with a charge
Your kids don't know you no more
Your girl's draws stay on the floor
No phone call accepted in weeks
Your son picked up on your beef, real shit
From gettin' lynched in field into ownin' buildings
Getting millions, influencin' white children
And oddly we still ain't even
Still a small percentage of blacks that's eating"
ASAP Ferg f/ ScHoolboy Q “ Let It Bang”
Album: Always Strive and Prosper
Producer: Lex Luger
With ASAP Rocky as a frequent collaborator and friend, collaborations with members from the rest of the Mob was bound to happen, and of course, it’s a banger. Q isn’t a stranger to writing about his Uncle, and the effects of his presence growing up, and this verse doesn’t drift from that narrative but reveals itself more. In playing the unremorseful menace, Q makes certain every word is felt through his abrasive flow.
Quotable Lyrics
"Cuz ain't payin' my bills, heat make the beef get grilled
12 years clutchin' that steel
Pop a nigga more than them pills
Pistol under sheet when I sleep
Body niggas like I do beats
I ain't talkin' bout my uncle, this me
Made another million this week
Swagger make a Bentley look cheap
I'm the reason why your momma OD'd
I'm the reason why your homies ain't deep"
Ab-Soul f/ ScHoolboy Q “SOPA”
Album: Control System
Producer: Nez & Rio
We’re still holding onto the hopes that Black Hippy will put out an album, even if we’ll be waiting a long time. Even with out, we get inter-label collaborations often enough to keep us satisfied, and this one may be an "oldie" (for the times) but it's still a goodie. Classic Soulo and Q.
Quotable Lyrics
"Got the block hot, cause I set it off
No I'm not Weezy, bitch, I'm wheezy from that chronic cough
Yeah, I'm smoking dope, you can smell it in my beard
Have no fear, saviour of the gangster rap is fucking here
Word around town, SOPA tryna shut it down
How that sound I'm from the underground, they're gonna make me slang a pound"
The Alchemist f/ Danny Brown & ScHoolboy Q “Flight Confirmation”
Album: Russian Roulette
Producer: The Alchemist
How could you not expect this to be fire? It's complete with the horn-heavy production of Alchemist and Danny Brown’s frantic flow, balancing out ScHoolboy Q’s more reserved versed.
Quotable Lyrics
"Hey Danny, let's shoot these fucking Xannies
And call that bitch from Kendrick's song, I bet it dub, we fuck on Tammy
Asthma pumper, hand prints all over her bumper
She love me long time, I'm forever that mothafucka"
Isaiah Rashad f/ Jay Rock & ScHoolyboy Q “Shot You Down (Remix)”
Album: Cilvia Demo
Producer: The Antydote & Chris Calor
When Top Dawg tweeted about a “Shot You Down” remix, I’m not sure any of us were ready for what was to come. While many might have still been unfamiliar with the relatively-new TDE signee Isaiah Rashad, this helped bridge the gap further. At the time we were waiting on Oxymoron, which Q references in one of his hardest verses. Rashad holds his own alongside TDE labelmates too.
Quotable Lyrics
"See this set don't make too many niggas rich that I know
You either gang bang, sell dope or bet on the four
See money on the ground, my eyes glued to the floor
I double deuce by my toe, see Figg get it and go
I feel stuck in my ways, a nigga just tryna get paid"
The Game f/ Jay Rock & ScHoolboy Q “Gang Bang Anyway”
Album: The Documentary 2.5
Producer: Bongo the Drum GAHD
We’re given two sides to the gang violence narrative, and both sides have similar tales of madness. This isn’t a first for Crips and Bloods to be featured on a song together. The Game, Jay Rock, and ScHoolboy Q bring awareness to the lifestyle that is often glorified within rap, and is often synonymous with being real. But even through their grime depictions of this sort of path the message isn’t always received. Q’s honesty is apparent in his writing, and his descriptiveness brings together the flashes of these dark scenes he’s reliving.
Quotable Lyrics
"I'm that player on the corner looking dry when it rains
Pimp a dollar out a pussy, I ain't trying to change
Far from average, I'm smoking this cabbage
Bottled teeth, joint karats, say cheese, make the cops freeze
Big cribs, four cars, living pipe dreams
You only gangsta through your bop screen"
ASAP Rocky f/ ScHoolboy Q “Electric Body”
Album: AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP
Producer: Hector Delgado
A$AP Rocky and ScHoolboy Q together on a track is sure to be a banger. As Rocky continued to experiment with his sound on At.Long.Last.A$AP, we’re given a more club track, but neither artist seem out of their comfort zone. After having bodied every instrumental and gained critical acclaim in their individual right, the two still have an instant connection, you can feel the energy in the music they create and it’s revitalizing.
Which A$AP Rocky and ScHoolboy Q collabs are your favorites?
Quotable Lyrics
"Nigga, ball so hard like Mike, I could whip that bitch like Ike
I can fuck your bitch off hype, pink ring, got bling all bright
How a hot nigga rock this ice? 14, almost got that strike
14, almost did that time, 14, had a 905
Clip small, but the shit shoot fine
Shoot a spine, make a nigga recline"
ASAP Ferg f/ French Montana, Trinidad James, ASAP Rocky & ScHoolboy Q “Work (Remix)”
Album: Trap Lord
Producer: Chinza//Fly Beats
YAWK-YAWK YAWK-YAWK. First and foremost, RIP to one of the greatest ad-libs, but we must move on, as Q would want. Young Fergenstein sought out ScHoolboy Q alongside high-energy artist like Trinidad James, French Montana, and fellow Mob member A$AP Rocky, for yet another banger, and yet another Mob-affiliated collab for this list.
Quotable Lyrics
"Yeah, put in work, spray his ass in front of the church
Deacon said I did my shit
The pastor said, "That nigga turnt."
Pop my collar on my shirt
Make these bitches go berserk
Shippin' units; Captain Kirk"
Sir f/ ScHoolboy Q “ Something Foreign”
Producer: Saxon
TDE is out here low-key stacking their roaster with nothing but the craziest of creatives. Driven by Saxon’s melodic production, SiR’s “Something Foreign” along with Q’s verse gives you something spacey to groove to, it's a rare type of sound for Q and thus we appreciate it even more -- and hopefully we’ll hear more from the two in the future.
Quotable Lyrics
"Gave you time, now give your drawers the boot
Rub the skins, I found that heaven's true
Melt the sun and keep the moon alive
Dry the winds, and moist behind the five
Can't pretend the greatest sin alive"
