After five long years of waiting, ScHoolboy Q came back with a fresh mindset and creative ideas for his next project. Following the announcement of BLUE LIPS, it quickly became a highly anticipated album to check out. The results were highly satisfactory and despite a ton of fabulous records since its release in March, it’s remained an AOTY contender. Sadly, the GRAMMYs did it no justice, leaving it out of the Best Rap Album category. But most fans are going to appreciate it anyway, and they should. It’s Q’s most personal, grown-up, and ambitious record to date with some of the best beat switches all year as well.
Just a few months later, the Oxymoron MC took his sixth studio effort on a unique tour called, Blue Lips Weekends. From the weekends beginning on July 18 through August 11, ScHoolboy Q hit up cities like Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, and more for 11 dates. The rare and shorter format wound up to be a success for the California rapper because he’s doing something similar again. According to Pitchfork, ScHoolboy Q is heading back on tour starting on January 23 in Oakland.
This time, though, there’s a different twist or two. Instead of staying state side, the “THank god 4 me” artist is going to take a couple of weeks off in between. That will allow him to recuperate for the international performances which will see him head to Germany, France, Netherlands, and England. Blue Lips! Got New Songs… Tour will span nine dates in total and based on the name of it, that might be the second special thing with this trek.
“Blue lips…new songs and new sHows,” Q wrote. “New songs” could potentially mean we get some bonus tracks from this era of ScHoolboy Q. Of course, that then leads to a possible deluxe of BLUE LIPS which we could receive any time before, in the middle, or after the tour. This is all speculation, but it is certainly an exciting thing to think about.
TDE’s stellar 2024 looks to continue into the new year. Part of that standout year was Schoolboy Q’s dropping his new album, Blue Lips, which debuted at No. 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart and became one of hip-hop’s favorite releases. In 2025, Q is returning to the road on a second Blue Lips Tour after a run of a dozen dates this summer. Kicking off in late January at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, and running through February in London, the tour’s tickets go on sale Friday, November 22, with a presale Thursday, November 21. You can find more information about tickets here.
While Q’s 2024 included a fair number of wins, such as reuniting with Kendrick Lamar at the Compton native’s Pop Out show at the forum, the results of that victorious moment did backfire a bit on Q’s first tour, after his Toronto show was canceled without warning — supposedly as a result of Drake’s meddling. Since next year’s tour isn’t routed through the Canadian city, perhaps he’ll fare better next time around. You can see the tour dates below.
Schoolboy Q 2025 Tour Dates: Blue Lips
01/23 — Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
01/24 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
01/25 — Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
01/26 — Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
02/14 — Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys
02/15 — Paris, France @ Elysee Montmarte
02/17 — Cologne, Germany @ Carlswerk Victoria
02/19 — Tilburg, Netherlands @ 013 Poppodium
02/20 — London, UK @ Roundhouse
ScHoolboy Q’s BLUE LIPS continues to be one of 2024’s best and most impactful albums, and one of its finest and most balanced bangers just got the love it deserves. In the visuals for “THank god 4 me,” the TDE rapper, director Omar Jones, and their team bring forth a lot of visuals alluding to snitching, loyalty, the American dream, diving into one’s psyche, and camaraderie. He even included a snippet of the track “BANG YOUR HEAD” (which features Q) from TDE affiliate and frequent BLUE LIPS presence, Devin Malik. That cut’s off his new album DEADSTOCK, which you should absolutely check out if you haven’t already. All in all, it’s exactly the type of impressive visual treatment and homegrown love that you’d expect.
What’s more is that ScHoolboy Q also added his talents to a lot of other hip-hop moments this year. For example, he recently featured on The Alchemist’s “Ferraris In The Rain” off of his soon-to-come LP, The Genuine Articulate. In the case of the alleged conversation between Q and J. Cole for the latter to drop out of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, then those talents are just common sense, concerned sensitivity, and just looking out for his fellow MCs.
Elsewhere, ScHoolboy Q is also leading the charge for the hype around fellow TDE member Doechii’s excellent mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal. He sung its praises online, and all this goes to show just how much more he’s done this year beyond just dropping a surefire AOTY finalist. Sometimes, artists drop and disappear altogether, but seeing Q in this space as of late is always a treat. That’s especially the case when he can nurture and further push the great songs and ideas he discusses on the album, of which “THank god 4 me” is a clear standout.
However, ScHoolboy Q also lends his critical perspective from time to time, such as with Michael Rubin’s controversial comments about Black culture on The Breakfast Club. “YOU KNOW WAT I DONT LIKE ABOUT U N***ERS? I HATE WHEN U N***ERS BE ACTING LIKE N***ERS…basically,” he said to characterize Rubin’s comments. “NO SUCH THING AS BLACK ON BLACK ANYTHING,” Q added in this since-deleted series of tweets.
ScHoolboy Q arguably has the album of the year so far with Blue Lips. This is an album that a lot of fans were looking forward to. Overall, it did not disappoint in the last. There were some phenomenal songs on here, including the track “Blueslides” which has proven to be among some of the most popular on the entire album. However, if you have heard the song, you know that Q alludes to a canceled rapper whom he believes has been treated unfairly.
Q has not revealed who that artist is, however, speculation shows that it is Kanye West. Well, according to Reddit user u/TheMisiak, ScHoolboy Q confirmed that it is, indeed, Kanye that is being talked about “When Q performed Blueslides he didn’t censor himself like he did on the track itself. Just thought it was interesting that he waited until the tour to reveal who he was referencing,” the user wrote. “While doing his interview with Nadeska he wouldn’t elaborate on what that line meant or who he was talking about. Also if there are still tickets available in your city for his show I cannot recommend going enough. Best concert of my life.”
Some fans on Reddit expressed disappointment with ScHoolboy Q for continuously showing love to Kanye. Moreover, other fans disagreed that A) Kanye has been canceled and that B) it’s unfair. After all, Ye was espousing Nazi talking points while also engaging in White Nationalism. Either way, Q’s defense of Kanye will remain controversial, regardless of the context.
Let us know what you think about all of this, in the comments section down below. Do you believe that ScHoolboy Q and Kanye West will drop a song together in the future? How do you feel about Kanye after everything that has happened these past few years? Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the music world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite artists and their upcoming projects.
ScHoolboy Q has been busy recently. Back in March, he dropped his new album Blue Lips. The project came after a long break for the “Collard Greens” rapper. His previous record CrasH Talk dropped all the way back in 2019. While CrasH Talk was subject to quite a bit of scrutiny from both fans and critics, Blue Lips was met with much more praise. Since then, Q has been reminding fans how entertaining he can be by stopping by numerous podcasts and radio shows to discuss a huge variety of topics.
Unsurprisingly he’s spoken quite a bit on something he seems pretty qualified to comment on, rap music. During a recent show appearance, he repeated a claim he’s made before, that there’s still plenty of good music out there. But he also explained why it’s getting harder and harder to find it. “for the most part, it’s cooked because it’s turned to content… rappers are just content creators now,” Q says in the interview. In the replies, fans surprisingly disagree with him. “I get what he’s saying but you could literally say this about any industry right now. Roofers have YouTube channels, nobody thinks that’s cooked” one comment reads. “It’s always been content” another comment reads. Check out his comments and all the fan reactions to them below.
ScHoolboy Q says there’s still plenty of good music, but the market is saturated and “for the most part, it’s cooked because it’s turned to content… rappers are just content creators now.” pic.twitter.com/BTkaU8jHC4
ScHoolboy Q also plays a small role in the biggest rap story of the year, Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s beef. Recently it came out that he reportedly warned J. Cole to step out of the beef before Kendrick and Drake started firing on all cylinders. The claim also alleges that the warning came before Cole publicly apologized to Kendrick and took his own diss track down.
What do you think of ScHoolboy Q claiming that rappers have become content creators which makes finding good music harder? Do you agree with the fans that it’s actually always been that way? Let us know in the comment section below.
March was a major month for Schoolboy Q fans, as the rapper dropped Blue Lips, his first album since 2019’s Crash Talk. The project features collaborations with folks like Ab-Soul, AzChike, Freddie Gibbs, and Rico Nasty, and has been regarded by some critics as one of Schoolboy’s best albums yet. If that sounds like something you’d want to see live on stage, the good news is that Schoolboy has decided to take the album on tour.
The bad news is that as it stands now, he’s offering relatively limited opportunities to see it. Yesterday (April 24), the rapper announced Blue Lips Weekends, a series of concerts in July and August that, yes, take place during the weekends, allowing for a relatively relaxed touring schedule.
Information about specific venues isn’t available yet, but we do know that the tour will hit major cities like Toronto, Chicago, Atlanta, Brooklyn, San Francisco, and Seattle, among others. Tickets aren’t for sale yet, but fans can RSVP here to be notified when more information is available.
Check out the list of tour dates below.
Schoolboy Q 2024 Tour Dates: Blue Lips Weekends
07/18 — Toronto, ON
07/20 — Chicago, IL
07/25 — Washington, DC
07/26 — Atlanta, GA
07/27 — Brooklyn, NY
08/01 — Dallas, TX
08/03 — Houston, TX
08/04 — Denver, CO
08/08 — San Diego, CA
08/10 — San Francisco, CA
08/11 — Seattle, WA
ScHoolboy Q is taking over some of Hip-Hop’s hubs for the weekend to support his Blue Lips album. Q hit social media to announce Blue Lips Weeknds, targeting a run of shows for Toronto, Chicago, Brooklyn, Dallas, Houston and more.
“Only doing a few sHows,” ScHoolboy Q wrote. “Blue Lips Weekends on sale Friday.”
Earlier this month, ScHoolboy Q released his new album Blue Lips. The project was his first in 5 years and came on the heels of an album that took a bit of a beating from both critics and fans. Thankfully, those same critics and fans seem to like Blue Lips quite a bit more and the response to the record has been pretty positive. One of the indicators ahead of the album’s release that it could be pretty good was a cosign from Jay-Z. Q made an Instagram post revealing that he got to play the album for Jay before it was released.
In a recent appearance he made on Paul George’s Podcast P show, he opened up on playing his new record for Jay-Z. “He was actually listening and yeah, that was all I needed to know,” Q begins. He goes on to explain that he’s gotten the opportunity to play his albums for other rap legends like Nas and Dr. Dre, but was still honored by the chance to share his music with Jay-Z. “So I got to do it and he was f*cking with it, you know what I’m saying? And giving me the breakdown and the details of it.” Check out the preview of their conversation below.
During another recent podcast appearance, ScHoolboy Q called out those rappers that “check in” places. He claims they’re endangering themselves unnecessarily. Q also joked that he’s an adult with a daughter so he can’t just pull up to random places. He also revealed that there was almost an A$AP Rocky feature on the new album. But the pair just couldn’t find the time to put it together.
What do you think of Schoolboy Q’s reaction to getting to play his new album Blue Lips for Jay-Z? Are you surprised he was so specifically excited by the opportunity given all the other legends he’s shared his music with? Let us know in the comment section below.
ScHoolboy Q recently sat down with TV personality and former Everyday Struggle host Nadeska Alexis to discuss his creative process on his latest LP, Blue Lips. The album, released on March 1st, 2024, is the first project Q has dropped since 2019’s CrasH Talk. ScHoolboy Q curated the interview, even explaining that he sought Nadeska for the discussion due to her unproblematic reputation in hip-hop journalism. Q uploaded the hour-long conversation to his verified YouTube channel, establishing a direct line of communication between the artist and his fans. During the discussion, Q went deep regarding his personal life, his creative process, and his plans for the future, providing fans with a great deal of insight. Here are 5 key takeaways from the ScHoolboy Q interview.
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 03: ScHoolboy Q plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on February 03, 2023 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
ScHoolboy Q has made it no secret that he was disappointed by the final mix of CrasH Talk when it was released in 2019. Though the album certainly has some high watermarks, some fans felt that it lacked the experimental flair expected from the TDE rapper. While discussing the creation of Blue Lips with Nadeska, Q explained that he personally handled nearly every aspect of the new project to ensure its quality was fully up to his standards. Each detail in the Blue Lips rollout was handled by ScHoolboy personally, including hand-writing signs used to promote the project, and choosing location shoots for music videos.
One such shoot took place on a former slave plantation, which the rapper chose specifically to create a thematic through-line highlighting the exploitation of Black Americans throughout history. ScHoolboy Q also remarked during the interview that, at one point, he threatened to leave the label or drop the album under a pseudonym on YouTube if music executives attempted to interfere with his creative process at all, showing just how much pull the music industry veteran has at Top Dawg Entertainment these days.
4. The Album Has Been In Production Since 2019
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – OCTOBER 22: Rapper Schoolboy Q performs during the Rolling Loud Festival at Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 22, 2017 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by C Flanigan/Getty Images)
Another surprising piece of information revealed by ScHoolboy Q during the recent interview is the sheer amount of work that went into Blue Lips from a production standpoint. According to the Black Hippy alumnus, the project has been in development since 2019. Q explained that he first began writing and recording songs for Blue Lips on the tour bus shortly after releasing CrasH Talk.
Later in the interview, ScHoolboy Q commented that he fully wrote and recorded most of the lyrics on the album by 2021. He added that he spent the last two years tweaking production to the most minimal detail. In a shocking twist, Q explained to Nadeska that he effectively views himself as more of a producer than a rapper at this point in his career, since he spends significantly more time tweaking the technical elements of his music than he does writing or laying down raps.
EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 13: Rapper ScHoolboy Q (C) attends the PGA TOUR 2K23 Launch Event at Topgolf El Segundo on October 13, 2022 in El Segundo, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images for 2K)
During the interview, Nadeska remarked that ScHoolboy Q looked healthy, well-dressed, and well-groomed in his recent appearances, a stark contrast to the scraggly hippie look he rocked during the early points of his career. While many fans have fond memories of the bucket hat and dashiki era Q, the 37-year-old rapper explained that his old trademark look was mostly due to his drug use at the time. Since first becoming sober in 2019, ScHoolboy has continued to grow up and take more of a vested interest in his appearance, leading to his new-and-improved aesthetic.
Beyond just his looks, Q says his sobriety greatly impacted his behavior. Specifically, the rapper claims that he looks back in embarrassment at many of his on-camera moments from his drug abuse days, calling his actions corny. Looking back with sober eyes, ScHoolboy Q expressed during the interview that many of his on-camera antics were performative to drive eyes and ears toward his music, instead of relying on his art to do the heavy lifting.
2. Some Of The Most Personal Tracks Were Left Off The Finished Album
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 25: Rapper ScHoolboy Q attends a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center on February 25, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)
On the track “Germany 86′,” ScHoolboy Q explains that his mother served in the United States Army, leading to Q being born on foreign soil during her deployment. Once her tenure as a soldier concluded, Q’s mother was unceremoniously cut loose with no support system, causing her to move back to South Central Los Angeles where the rapper was raised. The Blue Lips virtuoso largely credits his single mother for raising him right, despite some of the poor choices he made in his youth.
“Germany 86′” ends after only one brief verse, which he explained was a deliberate choice. The artist reportedly crafted a song titled “Cry Too Much” for the album, delving deeper into his mother’s trauma, but ultimately, chose to cut it before releasing Blue Lips. Q claimed that the song exposed too much of his mother’s trauma for the public to hear, making him feel like he was exploiting her suffering if the record ever saw the light of day.
1. ScHoolboy Claims He Will Never Retire From Making Music
Once ScHoolboy Q and Nadeska finished discussing the past and present of Q’s creative process, they dove into the future, allowing the rapper to make his boldest and most exciting declaration yet. According to ScHoolboy, he plans to continue making music well into his eighties, and never retire from tinkering with unique sounds. While the TDE signee explained that he’ll likely stop releasing full albums in his old age, he likens his ideal elderly self to a retired Stevie Wonder, still crafting experimental melodies at home without a wider audience. Q specifically referenced older hip-hop pioneers such as Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Nas as inspirations for his upcoming work, and stated confidently that he has 18 full-length LPs left in him before he’s ready to give rapping a rest.
One of the themes that seems to be very prevalent in ScHoolboy Q’s new album BLUE LIPS is celebration and growth. It makes sense for the California MC to be talking about this so much too. As most fans of hip-hop know, it had been five years almost since CrasH Talk. With all of that time in between albums, a person is most likely going to see a lot of change in their lives and with their approach to music as a whole.
ScHoolboy kind of spelled out for us what BLUE LIPS really means and the feelings he wanted to convey to the audience. He did so in the rollout over the past month giving us the definition of the phrase. One of the handful of descriptions included being “speechless, especially as the temporary result of shock or strong emotion.” It is safe to say that Q is left with “blue lips” with how far he has come as of late, and throughout his incredible career.
One of the tracks he expresses these feelings on is “THank god 4 me.” This song is fantastic for a few reasons. One of which is the incredible, yet sudden beat switch. It goes from low-key and minimal, to head and trunk-knocking instantaneously. The lyrics in the second half fit the hype nature of the production with loads of brags. “Big watch, n****, it’s glossy / Quick flex, gotta get off me (Yeah) / Get back, n****, you awful.” It is not the most elaborate writing from Q, but its simple nature gets his point across effectively, making for a exciting listen through and through.
What are your thoughts on this brand-new song, “THank god 4 me,” by ScHoolboy Q? Is this the best track from BLUE LIPS, why or why not? What is your favorite element of the song and why? Is this the album of the year so far, why or why not? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding ScHoolboy Q. Finally, stay with us for the most informative song posts throughout the week.
Quotable Lyrics:
If you couldn’t do the work, why sign? (Why sign) Want the money or you wanna inspire? (‘Spire, life) ‘Cause the same old cryin’ get tired (Tired) You liar, you fired (Suu, fired) The bulls*** we on The chain on neon
