For those who just want something to ride to, Q is offering plenty of that two. Kendrick appears on the amp-humming “Collard Greens,” a track the Goodie Mob so desperately needed last year, while “What They Want” (feat. 2 Chainz!!!) and “Studio” are instant blunt-ride classics. Speaking of, “Blind Threats” echoes the “Boom Biddy Bye Bye” xylophone chimes of the Cypress Hill jawn, complete with drums that knock of classic ATLiens. If that wasn’t enough, Raekwon the Chef drops heat after some curious violin strings on the break.
The previously released “Break the Bank” (from the Special Delivery mixtape, just up above) might have the most addictive hook and boom-bap drumline on Oxymoron, while the sonic booming “Man of the Year” straight belongs in a club full of hot nerd chicks and Storm Troopers. Where ScHoolboy Q surely lacks in the conscious fundamentals of TDE partner Ab-Soul, he makes up for in bringing originality to the most stale of concepts. I mean, Q even goes all Portishead-meets-Badu on the hookah vapor haze of “His and Her Friend.”
Even after all the pain of addiction and a half-haunted upbringing (crazy uncle, great grandma), Quincy Hanley delivers signs of “gangsta progression” — a debut worthy of as many smiles as any dire content. And who wouldn’t flex their cheek bones high when riding to Oxymoron, listening to a bombastic style like no one in the game as this crazy kid: m.A.A.d City. No one.
ScHoolboy Q’s album Oxymoron on Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope drops today, February 25th.
- ANIMAL SERUM – If Freestyle Fellowship are the West Coast godfathers of “nerdcore” rap (with content as abrasive as any other early-90s hip-hop act, all with a smothering of geektastic eclecticism), then Organized Konfusion are their Eastside counterpart. With Animal Serum, O.K. veteran emcee Prince Po and producer Oh No attempt to capture the “rough, rugged and smart” stylings of Stress: The Extinction Agenda. For the most part, they succeed. “Machine Rages” plays like a Zach de la Rocha remix to Kanye’s “New Slaves”, as Po spits sharp political rhymes of Wall Street whoremongering and societal strife, while Oh No’s persistent loops and stampeding backdrops on “U Already” set the stage for a pair of surprising guests in (retired?) Saafir and Rock (from Heltah Skeltah). Po also reunites with his “Fudge Pudge” brethren Pharoahe Monch (“Hulk…smash”) and O.C. (“career long as Yao Ming arm length”) on the very exciting, albeit very WUish “Smash.” Unfortunately, Oh No’s production on such gritty tracks like “1st Word” and “Visionz” play out more simplistic than the brother-of-Madlib’s recent efforts (find: OhNoMite); whereas attempts to capture a younger audience on “Wavy” and the Rockwilder rip-off “Starflyer Milez” just…shouldn’t have. Thankfully, there’s plenty of other highlights that deserve your ear (“Toxic”, “Giveitup”), making this Serum something longtime Organized fans shouldn’t hesitate to inject. 3.25/5.
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