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This album technically hasn’t been released yet; it’s coming out in about 3 hours on July 8th. I’m just writing this preamble ahead of time. Anyway, I didn’t really think about this until now, but it’s been a REALLY long time since a big commercial album like this has come out. I’m obviously really excited for this album, which is why I reviewed all of his albums leading up to this one’s release. So yeah. I’m lookin’ forward to this shit. I really can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a Hip Hop project to come out… I guess it was Coloring Book. This year’s been pretty dry for mainstream album releases. I can’t really complain tho. It’s giving me time to listen to… Well… All of ScHoolboy Q’s other albums… I gave them all pretty much the same score, so I’m hoping that he’ll show a little more improvement with this one. He said that it was inspired by Ghostface Killah, so that’s a good sign. I’m expecting this to be dope. Oh shitfuck… I just went on Twitter. Black Hippy just dropped a remix to That Part. I’m ’bout to hear the fuck outta this shit.

Track 1: Torch (Prod. Nez & Rio, Sounwave & Tony Russell)

It’s not even July 8th yet, but the album was released at 11:08 PM for some reason. I’m not complaining. I have no fucking idea why, but I always get nervous before I start listening to highly anticipated albums like this. It’s weird. Alright, here we go… Wow. First thing ScHoolboy Q says: “Fuck the blogs.” Lmao. This beat is dope. I wasn’t in love with the electric guitar at first, but once the percussion comes in it makes it more tolerable for me. The first verse was dope. This hook with the uncredited feature from Anderson .Paak is dope af. The second verse was dope. I fuck with the song. It’s very good. I wasn’t personally in love with the beat tho. Why wasn’t Anderson .Paak credited? He has a pretty substantial outro. It doesn’t really matter tho. I fuck with the song. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 2: Lord Have Mercy (Prod. Swizz Beatz)

Wow. There’s an uncredited feature from Swizz Beatz at the beginning of this track. Why is it uncredited? I mean, it’s not like I really care, but it’s just weird to me. I wonder how many other uncredited features there are on here… Anyway, the singing from Swizz Beatz is better than one would expect it to be. It’s definitely not good, but it’s not really that bad. This beat is dope af. The first verse was great. “Dirty habits of rappin’ and bein’ savage / 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 / But bein’ real never once brought the groceries in / Top told me keep rappin’ / ‘You’ll make it hopefully.‘” I’m not really feelin’ the hook from Swizz Beatz, but it doesn’t completely ruin the song. It’s still a listenable track. I’m actually really enjoying this one. Oh shit… It’s over. This track is under 2 minutes long. It’s dope tho. I like this one. The beat was dope af, and so was Q’s verse. The hook does kinda bring it down for me tho. I know I was talking about how it isn’t THAT bad, but it’s still kinda bad. Just… not that bad. I fuck with the song. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 3: That Part Feat. Kanye West (Prod. Kanye West, Cardo, Yung Exclusive & CuBeatz)

This was the second single for this album. It was released on May 13th. You may remember that Top Dawg went on a Twitter rant about how not enough fans purchased it. I’m gonna be honest; I didn’t buy it. I don’t purchase singles tho. I can’t remember the last time I purchased a single. Anyway, even if I was gonna purchase a single, I doubt I would’ve gotten this song. Don’t get me wrong; it’s not bad at all. I actually fuck with the song. It’s not an amazing track tho. It’s honestly kinda underwhelming. I like it, but I just wanted a little more from the big single with Kanye, ya know? The beat is pretty good. The hook is underwhelming tho. The first verse from Q wasn’t bad I guess. I didn’t really like the way he ended almost every bar with the N word. It was cool tho. The first line from Kanye is “Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay,” and I don’t know why… But I REALLY like it. It just sounds good. It’s weird that “Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay” is the most memorable line in the song. His verse is pretty terrible, but I’m not really disappointed. It’s what you’d expect from Kanye in 2016. The third verse from Q was fine. The flow on each verse was pretty underwhelming. This is really not that good of a song. I like it, but… I honestly think I might be dickriding Q a little bit. It’s one of them songs that I’ll keep in my iTunes, but if the file became corrupted or something I wouldn’t be in a rush to re-download it. It’s just barely dope. I fuck with it tho. 4/5

Track 4: Groovy Tony / Eddie Kane Feat. Jadakiss (Prod. Tae Beast & Dem Joints)

Groovy Tony was released as the first single for this album on April 5th. I’ve only heard half of this track since Eddie Kane isn’t in the single version. It’s starting now. I’m just gonna get this outta the way; Groovy Tony is MILES ahead of That Part as an overall song. That Part works better as a single since it has a Kanye West feature and some trendy subject matter. I really don’t see how anyone could argue that it’s better than this tho. The beat is dope af. I love those haunting female vocals in the background. The hook is long as hell, but it’s dope af. This whole time I’ve been listening to this album I’ve felt like it’s been missing something. I’m pretty sure it’s Q’s signature aggressive, over the top delivery. He thankfully uses it on this song tho. His verse was gangsta as fuck. This is easily the most gangsta song on the album so far. “Lot of brown ’round here / Got that white girl for you / And she swimming in fire water / Could be double digits / Pistol through your Civic / Most die before they hear it / Turn a nigga to a spirit.” Oh fuck; Jadakiss’ verse is on Groovy Tony. Wow. I just assumed that he would be on Eddie Kane for some reason. I’m glad he’s on Groovy Tony tho. He sounds so fuckin’ gangsta on this shit. I mean, Jadakiss always sounds gangsta, but he sounds REALLY fuckin’ gangsta on this shit. Wow. The way Groovy Tony segues into Eddie Kane is really seamless. I wouldn’t even know it was a different song if I wasn’t paying attention. It just sounds like a normal beat switch. I don’t know who did these vocals on the hook, but it’s dope. This beat is dope af. Damn. This is crazy. This is so fuckin’ hard. Q killed the verse. Goddamn. This is insane. They really turned Groovy Tony from a great track into an amazing song. This is absolutely dope af. I definitely fuck with this shit. 5/5

Track 5: Kno Ya Wrong Feat. Lance SkiiiWalker (Prod. The Alchemist & J. LBS)

This should be interesting. I still haven’t really formed an opinion on this Lance SkiiiWalker guy, who was signed to Top Dawg Entertainment earlier this year. I really liked his work on 90059, but I couldn’t get into that Speed single he dropped earlier this year. That was this year right? That Could It Be song was a lot better, but I’m still not in love with it. Hopefully he comes through on this song. It’s starting now. This beat is dope af. The first verse from Q was really smooth. This whole song is smooth as fuck so far. I haven’t heard Lance yet… Oh; the beat’s switching up now. I guess that was just a long winded intro, kinda like the one Hoover Street had. I actually enjoyed the intro on this song tho. This beat is dope af. Lance’s bridge was great. Q’s verse was really dope. The outro from Lance was great too. I don’t have any problems with this track. I really enjoyed this one. This is definitely one of my favorite track on the album so far. I liked what Lance did on here. I just wanna hear more shit from him. I didn’t even mind the electric guitar in the beat. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 6: Ride Out Feat. Vince Staples (Prod. Sounwave)

This beat is dope. Damn. This hook is dope af. Wow. This shit is REALLY fuckin’ hard. The first verse from Q was gangsta as fuck. “You know the gang we represent / Specialize in pistol grips / Shootin’ out my momma’s whip / Always got an empty clip / Top Dawg in this bitch / Nigga’s puttin’ dicks inside your baby momma’s momma’s lips.” The hook is really catchy. Vince killed his verse. I don’t really have much else to say about this one. The beat was cool, the hook was great, and the verses were hard af. I fuck with this song. It’s not one of my favorites, but it’s still dope. 4/5

Track 7: Whateva U Want Feat. Candice Pillay (Prod. Tae Beast)

Oh lord. This beat is dope af. Oh… Umm… Nah. Lol. Nah. I’m not feelin’ this one. I don’t think it’s terrible, but this isn’t for me. Lemme start from the beginning. This beat is actually great, but I’m not feelin’ the vocals from Candice Pillay. They weren’t awful, but her singing just didn’t really sound good to me. Her vocals kinda just sounded like whiny background noise to me. My main problem with this track is obviously the subject matter. I just don’t like love songs like this. I’m not feelin’ this sung hook from Q either. I could see this doing well with a more mainstream audience. It sounds kinda Poppy. I’m not feelin’ this tho. The only thing I like about this song personally is the production. This could definitely be worse, but nah. This is wack to me. 2/5

Track 8: By Any Means (Prod. Cardo & Yung Exclusive)

Alright here we go. I gotta be honest, this whole album hasn’t really been that impressive to me so far, but THIS song right here is dope af. The production is fantastic. The hook is catchy as hell too. The uncredited vocals from Kendrick are cool. Thank God they didn’t list him as a feature since he only says 5 different words in the whole song. This hook is awesome tho. Q actually came up with a REALLY catchy melody. I don’t know why I’m acting like I’m surprised. It’s not like this is the first time that’s happened. This song actually kinda reminds me of Break The Bank. It’s got a great beat, a super catchy chorus, and two short, straight to the point verses. This isn’t gonna blow anyone’s mind lyrically. The verses aren’t super detailed or anything. It’s just a very sonically enjoyable track. I really fuck with this song. This is dope af to me. The video was also dope af by the way. 5/5

Track 9: Dope Dealer Feat. E-40 (Prod. Metro Boomin’ & Southside)

This beat is alright. As you can probably tell from the title, this shit is gangsta as fuck. E-40 killed his verse. It was hilarious. The rhyme scheme he was usin’ was great. “My little niggas be ampin’, they some P’s; hustlers / Some of them sell candy some sell trees; customers / But personally I’m a rapper, and I’m spectacular; remarkable / Got a way with my words my lingo and vernacular; marketable.” Oh my God. I just realized that I was really thirsty, so I drank a water bottle. I’ve never been so refreshed before in my life. Anyway, the hook is cool. Q’s flow on the third verse was nice. Something about this beat… I don’t know… I guess I’m just getting tired of that sound that people like Southside & Metro Boomin’ always have. This is pretty much just Trap music. I like it tho. It’s definitely not the most memorable track, but it’s dope. I fuck with this one. 4/5

Track 10: John Muir (Prod. Sounwave & Adrian Younge)

I want nachos. The first verse on this song is dope af. This hook is fantastic. Wow. The production on this track is really, really good. The second verse was dope. I don’t even know what to say. This is just a really good song. The structure of the song is pretty simple. For some reason I feel like I’m surprised by how good the production is. I guess I just didn’t expect anything to sound like this on this album. The horns that come in during the hook when Q is singing sound fantastic. The scratches during the outro were a nice touch as well. I definitely fuck with this one. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 11: Big Body Feat. Tha Dogg Pound (Prod. Tyler the Creator)

Oh shit. This beat from Tyler is dope af. I’ve seen some people calling it trash tho. I guess it’s not exactly what one would normally expect from a Tyler The Creator beat. Especially on ScHoolboy Q’s album. Kinda sounds like something Pharrell would produce. I like it tho. The hook isn’t bad I guess. The first verse from Q was alright I guess. The subject matter isn’t really for me. Lyrically this reminds me of Man Of The Year. Oh… That… The feature from Tha Dogg Pound is kinda… disappointing I guess. I thought Daz & Kurupt were each gonna have their own separate verses. They were just tradin’ bars on the final verse. I guess that’s not really a bad thing. It just felt like… It felt kinda like they didn’t have enough time to say what they wanted to say. I’m probably trippin’ tho. It’s mostly a Daz verse. Kurupt didn’t have as many lines as Daz. This is a cool song, but it’s not really what I wanted from a ScHoolboy Q & Dogg Pound collaboration. I thought this was gonna be some more gangsta shit like The Purge. This isn’t bad tho. I still like it. It’s just not really what I wanted. It’s dope tho. I guess… Well, honestly I don’t know if I’d ever come back to this. It’s one of them songs that I don’t mind listening to, but I wouldn’t actively play it without it coming on shuffle. I don’t even listen to shit on shuffle tho. It’s alright I guess. It just makes me wanna listen to The Purge. 3/5

Track 12: Neva Change Feat. SZA (Prod. DJ Dahi & Larrance Dopson)

Alright this should be good. I love Q’s other song with SZA, and DJ Dahi is one of my favorite producers. Oh FUCK yes. This already sounds like it’s gonna be one of the better songs on the album. The beat is dope af. The first verse from Q was great. SZA killed the hook. “When white folks point the finger / Place my neck on that hanger / Shit, no wonder we riot / Niggas still killin’ niggas / Child support killin’ niggas / Cops enslavin’ us niggas.” I guess he just gave up on rhyming. The last verse is dope af tho. “No wonder we bang / Damn shame, man; some things will never change.” In terms of content, this is probably one of the best songs on the album. I definitely fuck with this one. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 13: Str8 Ballin’ (Prod. Nez & Rio)

Oh shitfuck. This beat is crazy. It reminds me of Man Of The Year, except it’s less annoying and it sounds darker. The first verse from Q was dope af. “So easy how I make a mill flip / Snoop ain’t the only rich crip, nigga / From sleepin’ on Tops couch to multiple bank accounts / To havin’ me a mall for a house.” Woah. Who is this singin’ the hook? He sounds pretty damn good. This hook is great. The second verse was dope af. I don’t have any problems with this one. It’s just a great song. I definitely fuck with this one. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 14: Black Thoughts (Prod. Willie B)

This beat from Willie B is dope af. This is obviously the most introspective track on the album so far. The first verse was cool. Kendrick has an uncredited, pitch shifted hook. It’s not bad. The second verse wasn’t bad. I don’t know… I definitely like the song, but I’m not in love with it. I obviously appreciate the content, but his flow was underwhelming. Aside from the production from Willie B, nothing about this song stands out and is really exceptional. I like the song, but it’s definitely not one of my favorites on this album. It’s dope tho. I fuck with this. 4/5

Track 15: Blank Face Feat. Anderson .Paak (Prod. Sounwave & Tony Russell)

This beat is dope. Anderson .Paak killed this intro. What the fuck? Oh… It’s over. This song isn’t really that short, but Q… Q doesn’t really have much of a presence here. He just spits two really short verses. This sounds like an Anderson .Paak song with a ScHoolboy Q feature. It’s good tho. It’s just weird that Anderson .Paak stole the spotlight on Q’s title track. I wish Q had a longer verse. It’s kinda underwhelming for the title track, but I still fuck with the song. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 16: Overtime Feat. Miguel & Justine Skye (Prod. Cardo & Frank Dukes)

I don’t think I’m gonna like this track. Before this song was premiered at the album’s listening party, Q basically said that it was a fake ass Studio. Apparently Interscope made him do a song with Miguel & Justine Skye because they wanted to recreate the success of the aforementioned single. Studio is one of my least favorite ScHoolboy Q songs, so I doubt I’m gonna fuck with this track… But I might end up liking it tho. Anyway, it’s starting now. Oh no… Nah. The beat is dope, but I’m not feelin’ this hook from Miguel. “I wanna fuck right now.” His vocals don’t even sound very good on this track. Yeah, I’m definitely not gonna like this shit… I didn’t like the first verse from Q. Nothing about this song is especially terrible sonically, but aside from the production, none of it is really that good. The beat is pretty much the only thing about this song that I don’t dislike. Justine Skye thankfully did a much better job than Miguel. She sounded pretty good on the final verse. I’m not fuckin’ with this shit tho. The production was cool. Justine Skye sounded good on the last verse. Other than that, this shit is wack to me. I wasn’t feelin’ the lyrics, the content, Q’s flow… I’m surprised by how underwhelming Miguel’s performance was on this track. I wasn’t feelin’ his lackluster hook at all. Nah. This is wack to me. 2/5

Track 17: Tookie Knows II Feat. Traffic & TF (Prod. Nez & Rio)

I’ve already heard this song before since the music video came out on June 30th. The beat is dope af. It kinda sounds like something that could’ve been on Still Brazy. It’s a little grittier tho. It doesn’t sound as West Coast as anything on Still Brazy either. This is pretty much just a Crip version of a YG song. It’s dope as fuck tho. I wanted more of this sound from this album. This is harder than almost every other track. The hook is simplistic, but it’s great. Q’s verse was so fuckin’ gangsta. I love how he ended it by sayin’ “My nigga, I’m gangbangin’.” Traffic’s verse is hard as shit too. I’ve seen a lot of people sayin’ that he sounds like ODB. I guess I kinda understand that. His delivery is nowhere near as eccentric as that of ODB, but his their voices are kinda similar. His verse was great. It did kinda sound like his flow was strugglin’ to keep up a little bit, but that’s just a nitpick tho. TF’s verse was really nice too. I like these guys. They definitely aren’t lyricists or nothing. They’re just Gs like Q. They sounded good here. I wouldn’t mind hearing more shit from them in the future. This song is hard as fuck. I definitely fuck with this one. It’s dope af. 5/5

Track +: That Part Remix (Performed by Black Hippy) [Prod. Kanye West, Cardo, Yung Exclusive & CuBeatz]

I’ve already heard this remix and it’s dope. It’s way better than the original. Jay Rock comes in first, and he fuckin’ ripped this shit apart. Kendrick killed it too, but it didn’t really… I don’t know. I loved his verse, but I wasn’t super excited about it. I guess I’m just used to hearing him kill shit these days. I expect him to kill every verse, so I didn’t really lose my mind over his part. I don’t think he had the best verse here tho. He came in second in my opinion. Surprisingly, I actually think Q had the best verse. He fuckin’ snapped on that last verse. I seriously think that his verse on this remix was better than any of his verses on the actual album. He went the fuck off on this shit. According to him, “Soulo comin’ up next.” If you follow me on Snapchat, you probably know that Ab-Soul’s album is my most anticipated album of 2016. Unless The Turn comes out this year… Speaking of Soulo, he actually had my least favorite verse. He’s my second favorite member of TDE, but his verse on this song was really underwhelming. It didn’t even sound like he was trying that hard. I’m just gonna assume that he ran out of shit to say since he just finished his album. I fuck with this song tho. Everyone snapped. Except Soulo. Don’t get it twisted tho; Soulo’s verse wasn’t really bad. I just usually expect more from him. I still think his verse was good. I just think he could do better. Anyway, this remix is dope af. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

This album is great. I think this is definitely his most consistent album to date, but at the same time it felt like it was kinda missing something. It just didn’t feel as dark and gritty as a lot of the shit on Oxymoron. The production almost sounded TOO polished, and this whole album sounded a lot more West Coast than anything he’s done before in my opinion. I mean, I know he’s from California, but for some reason I just don’t really like him over that West Coast sound. Is it weird for me to say that when this is my favorite album from him so far? I think this is better than his other albums, but it’s still not really the sound I usually expect or want from Q. Groovy Tony & Tookie Knows II, which were released before this album came out, are harder than anything else on this project in my opinion. I don’t know why I feel this way. This is my favorite album from Q, but I still feel kinda disappointed for some reason. Maybe it’s just because I know he can do better than this. Whatever. It’s still a great album. I definitely don’t think it’s album of the year like a lot of people have been saying, but it’s still dope. I fuck with this album.

Favorite Song: Groovy Tony

Least Favorite Song: Whateva U Want

Verdict:

82%

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