ScHoolboy Q - CrasH Talk (Discussion Thread)

[Playaz Eyez]

I mean, Schoolboy has always been a tier below the big mainstream artists tho.

So I don't get how people were so disappointed when this album mostly is comparable to his previous works, he just sprinkled in a little more pop sounding shyt, but he still has some usual records that he does.

Chance on the other hand has been crowned for years and has never dropped a project that got universally shytted on... whether you had 'expectations' for him or fukked with him at all. Dude was doing arena tours off of mixtapes, had a whole festival show at the White Sox stadium a few years ago, quite frankly, his profile is much higher than Schoolboy Q's.

His album was a dud which is extremely more disappointing considering how long it's been since his last project and the piff he was throwing out as loose tracks last year.

I never thought Chance was anything more than a fusion of Wayne/Kanye/Kendrick that got a lot of attention, where even he’s previous work wasn’t all that great. Q had 3 more than solid albums, including non-corny mainstream type hits, then he makes an album 100% trend chasing cause he felt like his previous album Blankface didn’t do what it was supposed to (even though it was universally praised), and completely bombed making an album full of generic sounding b-grade versions of beats that are on the radio. That’s much more of a failure to me.

 

[areohbee824]

There's some tracks I like on here, overall it just doesn't come close to his other albums for me

 

[LeflaurLeflahEshkoshka]

Wack album. It came on shuffle yesterday and I just turned it off. Only song worth keeping is the last track

 

[Piff Perkins]

Still no tour. This album died so fast it's hilarious. Breh wants to just half ass his way to retirement as if he's 50 Cent or somebody. His spot isn't secure enough for that. Gonna be a sad day when Q gotta move from Calabasas and can't afford for his kid to be on the best girls soccer team in the state.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Still no tour. This album died so fast it's hilarious. Breh wants to just half ass his way to retirement as if he's 50 Cent or somebody. His spot isn't secure enough for that. Gonna be a sad day when Q gotta move from Calabasas and can't afford for his kid to be on the best girls soccer team in the state.

You really think the last part is a possibility?

There's such a solid market right now for artists and producers between selling vinyl, touring, etc. A big thing they have in common is they figure out what their audience wants to hear, and they make music that they know will connect with them. This doesn't mean they don't grow artistically or try new things. Once they have an audience, they can try new things and unless it's a wild departure, their fans will usually follow them. There's never been an easier time to stay in touch with your audience. A super underground rapper like Evidence went 7 years without dropping a project, then dropped one of the more successful underground albums of 2018, and is eating well from selling physical copies, working on side projects, touring, etc.

I don't see why Q cant do that? Maybe he doesn't want to, and that'd be another story. But I do see some people talking like it's just not an option for him. And that does confuse me a little bit. Because I feel like Q does have enough fans where he could make albums like Blank Face from now until the end of time, and be a big name on the indie circuit with a dedicated fan base that would support him. Hell, even a lot of Q fans tried to force themselves to like the new album. He clearly hasn't lost his fan base yet...but he'd be smart to not try another Crash Talk experiment.

It confuses me why he openly says he feels so unsure as an artist when it's pretty clear to me (and most of his fans) exactly what type of music he's good at doing, and what lane he should be driving in. I guess he maybe just wants to be a superstar that's as big as Kendrick, but it's just not in the cards for him. Honestly he's bigger than I ever thought a rapper like him in this era would be. So to be fair I could see why he wouldn't want to step down to a lower level, but that's probably what he needs to do.

 

[SuburbanPimp]

I few songs have grown on me but overall yeah this album ain't it... But im sure Q is fully aware of the overall reception it's gotten and hopefully wi come back something better and unique next time the way Cole did after 4 your eyes only dropped

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I few songs have grown on me but overall yeah this album ain't it... But im sure Q is fully aware of the overall reception it's gotten and hopefully wi come back something better and unique next time the way Cole did after 4 your eyes only dropped

Not when he calls his core fans nerds for our opinions

 

[GoldenGlove]

Not when he calls his core fans nerds for our opinions

Breh was like, all these critically acclaimed reviews for Blank Face from these nerds and I get to the show and it ain't sold out... "WHERE YAL ATTTTT???"



Hilarious ass quote, then he was like fukk that, I ain't making music for these lame critics


I'm making that turn up shyt for the hood nikkas


He gonna be saying the same thing if he does tour... "WHERE YALLLL ATTTTTT?"

 

[Piff Perkins]

You really think the last part is a possibility?

There's such a solid market right now for artists and producers between selling vinyl, touring, etc. A big thing they have in common is they figure out what their audience wants to hear, and they make music that they know will connect with them. This doesn't mean they don't grow artistically or try new things. Once they have an audience, they can try new things and unless it's a wild departure, their fans will usually follow them. There's never been an easier time to stay in touch with your audience. A super underground rapper like Evidence went 7 years without dropping a project, then dropped one of the more successful underground albums of 2018, and is eating well from selling physical copies, working on side projects, touring, etc.

I don't see why Q cant do that? Maybe he doesn't want to, and that'd be another story. But I do see some people talking like it's just not an option for him. And that does confuse me a little bit. Because I feel like Q does have enough fans where he could make albums like Blank Face from now until the end of time, and be a big name on the indie circuit with a dedicated fan base that would support him. Hell, even a lot of Q fans tried to force themselves to like the new album. He clearly hasn't lost his fan base yet...but he'd be smart to not try another Crash Talk experiment.

It confuses me why he openly says he feels so unsure as an artist when it's pretty clear to me (and most of his fans) exactly what type of music he's good at doing, and what lane he should be driving in. I guess he maybe just wants to be a superstar that's as big as Kendrick, but it's just not in the cards for him. Honestly he's bigger than I ever thought a rapper like him in this era would be. So to be fair I could see why he wouldn't want to step down to a lower level, but that's probably what he needs to do.

Great points but at the same time, Q is on a major label. Does he want to give that up for the independent grind? He seems to love those 4-5 star hotels and food budgets, like a lot of major label artists. I don't get the impression he wants to give up 1st class seats and all those perks to go back to the old days of TDE grinding, sitting in a loud Delta airlines plane with Ab Soul. I respect Evidence, Atmosphere, Murs, Spitta, and everyone else who turned that grind into big money but not everyone is built for that. You certainly can't take two years off to raise your kids and golf while being independent. Of course I'm not sure he can do that on Interscope much longer either, without hits or tour money etc.

Everything about this album feels like a facade. The super violent videos, the mainstream features, the attempts at hit records...it just feels like Q pretending to be a rap star instead of just being himself. I'm sure his rich golf buddies and neighbors thought those videos were cool but I can't help but immediately think of The Sopranos where Tony was trying to fit in with those rich white dudes on the golf course lol.


Dunno what happened to Q. Maybe he's happy like he says he is...but when I watched those Crash Talk interviews and heard him constantly complain about Blank Face's sales...he gotta feel some type of way about Crash Talk selling less and having no hits. And no tour money, outside of festivals (which is a nice pay check admittedly).

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Great points but at the same time, Q is on a major label. Does he want to give that up for the independent grind? He seems to love those 4-5 star hotels and food budgets, like a lot of major label artists. I don't get the impression he wants to give up 1st class seats and all those perks to go back to the old days of TDE grinding, sitting in a loud Delta airlines plane with Ab Soul. I respect Evidence, Atmosphere, Murs, Spitta, and everyone else who turned that grind into big money but not everyone is built for that. You certainly can't take two years off to raise your kids and golf while being independent. Of course I'm not sure he can do that on Interscope much longer either, without hits or tour money etc.

Everything about this album feels like a facade. The super violent videos, the mainstream features, the attempts at hit records...it just feels like Q pretending to be a rap star instead of just being himself. I'm sure his rich golf buddies and neighbors thought those videos were cool but I can't help but immediately think of The Sopranos where Tony was trying to fit in with those rich white dudes on the golf course lol.


Dunno what happened to Q. Maybe he's happy like he says he is...but when I watched those Crash Talk interviews and heard him constantly complain about Blank Face's sales...he gotta feel some type of way about Crash Talk selling less and having no hits. And no tour money, outside of festivals (which is a nice pay check admittedly).

Damn you hit him with that ether, but it's all true. That Tony Sporano clip is

I mean if he feels some type of way about Crash Talk selling less and having no hits like you said, then ultimately it's a good thing. For the long term as an artist he is more built for the Blank Face lane. Maybe this is a wake up call for that. He certainly can't keep doing the Crash Talk thing. I don't know why Oxymoron had so many big records and this didn't. I'm not familiar with the behind the scenes of any of his albums besides Blank Face. But something tells me the hits on Oxymoron had to have come more organically.

Matter of fact I think I know exactly what it is. he had 4 big singles from Oxymoron. Break the Bank isn't a traditional hit by any means, but it really resonated with people. Man of the Year doesn't seem like anything that special either as a hit, but it worked. Same with Collard Greens. He had understated hits. They didn't sound like they were trying to be hits. Hell of a Night is the only one of the 4 big songs from that album that feels like it was trying to be big, and it's probably people's least favorite out of the 4.

So it seems to me that whenever he tries too hard, it doesn't work. I guess that can be said for anyone, but it especially seems true with him.

 

[Piff Perkins]

Finally touring the album.


Nav opening on US dates, Jay Rock for overseas. Based on his IG over the last few months Q has spent the post-album time being a dad. I can respect that. Still think the album is weak and really hurt his career tho

 

[Berry]

Late tour too, I was feeling it more at first but find myself revisiting his previous work and not this album

 

[Zero]

Rather start gunnin
Cause soon as you start chasin' the money, that's when the money start runnin' - Jada

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

fukked up not having Rock on tour in the US. This mid album + Nav = hard pass for me

 

[DapMeUp!]

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