February 26th, 2014 
Corey From 
Artist: ScHoolboy Q
Album: Oxymoron
Genre: Rap / Hip-Hop
Label: Interscope
After a huge debut album that got critics all over eyeing and anticipating ScHoolboy Q and what he would release next, the real Oxymoron here is expecting 2014’s first “huge” rap album to be anything more than a sophomore slump or just over-hyped. Even Mac Miller proclaimed it to be better than Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, m.A.A.d. city. Right…
Through the past twelve months we’ve gotten a chance to get a glimpse of what Oxymoron might sound like, with the release of singles like “Yay Yay,” “Man of the Year,” and “Collard Greens” which features the prior Kendrick Lamar.
With all this being said, the album stands to its name, in almost every sense of the word. But does it work? ScHoolboy Q mentions he got the title from the lyrical content, how it’s all related to his gang lifestyle and how all of those wrong things he did were for his daughter and to benefit her. We’ve heard this before, of being the bad guy for the right reasons, but Q also said in an interview with MTV, that “There’s no more gangsta rappers…” It’s hard to see where he’s really coming from with this conceptual album idea.
Some of the more interesting parts of the album include trap beats juxtaposed with this sense of true gangster attitudes. Some of the harder songs lyrically are placed on some of the more chill beats and production, and vice versa. “Prescription/Oxymoron” discusses his addiction to pain pills and it’s behind a slower tempo beat, but lyrically might be the most personal track he’s ever recorded. “Gangsta” lyrically takes victims, but it initially makes listeners feel like they’re going to get a relaxed song. A track with Tyler, the Creator behind the knobs, “The Purge,” touches the subject of street wars between opposing gangs; again, real heavy content with real simple beats. With that being said, some of the heaviest hitters that sound like club songs, lyrically are some of the most basic and could have been written by Waka Flocka Flame.
Speaking of production, it doesn’t shy far from Kendrick’s album. Some of the tracks sound like they could have fit right in with the rest of it; such as “Break the Bank,” “Collard Greens,” and “Blind Threats.” Not only that, he brings in some heavy hitters, such as previously mentioned Tyler, the Creator and Pharrell on “Los Awesomeo,” which is perfectly titled.
The main issue on this album is the inconsistency. Whether Q is doing this on purpose to poetically fit with his album name or not (and I believe he is), it feels really imbalanced. As personal as it may have been for him, it is incredibly hard for someone who hasn’t lived that lifestyle to relate to and feel his vibe and purpose. From the initial “bragging” about being a gangster, to having a drug addiction and his daughter not able to wake him up, to hitting up a club, then fighting in a street war the next day; there’s moments in the album that make you wonder whether or not we can take Q for a serious competitor in the hip-hop game or even a real thug, but then the next minute you’re in awe. Have to give him credit for the idea though; at least he’s being honest with himself and listeners.
The highs are very high, but there are few other moments that are just very “blah” and make you want to hit the skip button. This may be a grower and take some time to get completely into, which is the polar opposite of how Habits & Contradictions was. But he’s bound and destined to get his life out there on an album, and for that he deserves respect. He sums it up perfectly on “Blind Threats”; “If God don’t help me this gun will, I swear I’m gonna find my way.”
SCORE: 7.5/10
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