On the other hand, part of me wishes that this track in particular had been on, for example, a Travis Scott record, and not a Q release. I will listen to it for a long time, and enjoy it thoroughly. On the one hand, this song’s existence is clearly a net positive, even for a jaded listener such as myself.
Q has no problem flexing, creeping, and flowing over this trackt, his dark humor perfectly tailored to this somehow-sinister anthem.Īfter listening to this song in particular, I was left conflicted. To call this a banger would be an understatement. Q uses this to his advantage, spitting venomously over a murkily produced club rocker of a beat. Scott’s auto-tuned hook is deeply reminiscent of his 2018 release astroworld, one of last year’s most popular records. Q’s use of words like “splash” and “sauce” reference to his clothing once again points us toward the rap of 21 Savage.Ĭhopstix, which features Travis Scott, is another pop-rap anthem. Q’s bars don’t necessarily feel out of place here, but the craft of this song is straight out of Savage’s trap oeuvre. On “Floating”, the album’s 9 th track, Q brings his trademark sinister rhymes to a beat that in reality seems to be tailored to the strengths 21 Savage, who is featured on the song. Shorter songs, harder hitting 808s, and a less introspective force this album out of line with Q’s prior work. Lil Baby, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla Sign, YG, Kid Cudi, and most notably Travis Scott assist in his transition to a new sonic profile. Its cast of features stands as good indicator of Q’s contemporary focal shift. This record is by far his poppiest release to date. That’s not the Q we got on his most recent release, Crash Talk. Though undeniably a student of the West Coast school of rap, his raspy voice and choppy delivery were reminiscent of New York legends like Mobb Deep and The Wu Tang Clan. The carefully controlled aggression of his cruelly true-to-life bars were a stark reminder of what rap had been in years past, paired with modern, boundary shifting instrumentals. That darkness had been to me the LA emcee’s musical X factor. In his classic eff-you cadence, Q explained that his biggest regret with his critically-acclaimed 2016 LP Blank Face was that the album was just “besides from a couple of songs, pretty dark.”Īs a long time Q listener, I was frankly a little surprised.
Over the course of those three years it seems that the rapper has to a certain extent re-jiggered his creative philosophy, which he discussed in a sit down with New York Magazine’s Vulture. It’s been three years since the world last heard from TDE signee and LA Rap icon Schoolboy Q.