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.”
It should come as no secret by now that Schoolboy Q loves golf. He’s talked before about how the sport helped him learn about himself as a person and he even partnered with 2K Games for the rollout for PGA Tour 2K21, appearing in the game’s launch trailer and performing at the game’s launch party in Los Angeles.
However, rap fans may not appreciate his love for the game as much when they learn it was one of the main reasons for the five-year gap between his last two albums, 2019’s Crash Talk and the newly released Blue Lips. Appearing on Lil Yachty’s podcastA Safe Space, Q recalled how he got into golf via a bet, but ended up making so much from his secondary career, it basically funded his hiatus from rap. “I don’t kick it in the studio no more,” he said after joking that his “studio budget is silly.”
Schoolboy Q was on Lil Yachty’s podcast talking about his life as a golfer experiencing racist behavior and says he took 5 years off because he made so much money from the sport pic.twitter.com/z9ldmOsKXy
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod (@big_business_) April 2, 2024
“I was able to relax for five years,” he said. “I made a lot of money off rap, but golf helped me a lot.”
It should be no secret either that music is… not the most lucrative career. For every multi-millionaire, there are dozens of artists grinding to make ends meet — and for every one of them, there are even more whose dreams never make it past local stages in dive bars [raises hand]. So for Q, having some level of celebrity — and the perseverance to polish his game to serious levels — golf turned out to be a blessing for the South Central rapper because of endorsement deals.
Unfortunately, there was also a dark side: He says he fell back from endorsements and appearances because of racialized disrespect he experienced, such as being asked to wear grills to appear “more Black.”
ScHoolboy Q has an incredibly unique cadence on every beat he spits over, but he’s a talented storyteller outside of the studio too. This week, Lil Yachty and Mitch debuted a new episode of their A Safe Place podcast, bringing on the “CrasH” artist to talk about everything from his brand new album to his life before finding fame. As a teenager, Q was once robbed by gang members at a bus stop, though he thankfully didn’t have too much to lose when they approached him.
“Some Bloods rob me. They took my bread. I had, like, a transfer for the bus, and like $2. But I was peace treaty as soon as they walked up, though, right?” he told the hosts. “He took my beanie off, and he said, ‘How much money you got in your pocket?’ And I said, ‘I got $2. I play basketball.’ He said, ‘We need some weed anyway,’” Q recalled, as HipHopDX reports.
ScHoolboy Q Chats with Lil Yachty and Mitch on A Safe Place Podcast
The altercation could’ve been much scarier, but Q handled it as well as any teenager could’ve. It certainly wasn’t his last time crossing paths with Bloods, though his celebrity status makes him a much bigger target for serious robberies. Besides gang activity, the 37-year-old also shared his thoughts on dealing with groupies and how much younger high school kids look now than when he was still a student.
Elsewhere in the news, ScHoolboy Q continues to celebrate the success of his Blue Lips LP. In an Instagram post earlier this week, the West Coast icon shared that Jay-Z was a fellow artist who had the opportunity to listen to the album ahead of its release – a seemingly surreal moment for Q. Read all about that at the link below, and check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
What a month. March 2024 was largely defined by a string of controversies, conflicts, and conspiracy theories, which kept us a tad bit too busy for some of our typical in-depth musical coverage.
But there were also so many good hip-hop albums, I didn’t want the month to end without at least tipping my cap to the array of innovative releases that would have normally been given the RX seal of approval if there weren’t 1,000 other things going on.
And so, I present to you, loyal readers of Uproxx – and newcomers, too – to the first edition of the Best Hip-Hop Albums of the Month. Let’s call it an extension of my weekly column, designed to collect and rightfully praise the projects that impressed us the most over the past 30 or so days. After all, who says new albums only deserve a week’s worth of attention?
Flo Milli – Fine Ho, Stay
Flo Milli
Although it’s technically the Alabama rapper’s second studio album, her latest release completes a trilogy begun by her fan-favorite 2020 debut mixtape, Ho, Why Is You Here?. The new album expands on the world-building she did on it and its 2022 follow-up (and her debut album) You Still Here Ho?, the album contains contributions from Anycia, Cardi B, SZA, Gunna and Monaleo. Still, Flo Milli remains the star of the show, showing off an impressive degree of growth and polish across 14 tracks, including her latest breakout hit, “Never Lose Me.”
Kenny Mason – 9
Kenny Mason
It’s almost impossible to truly categorize what kind of music Atlanta native Kenny Mason actually makes. An amalgamation of Atlanta staples like trap, the Southern-fried funk rap of Outkast, the gloomy grunge of early-90s Nirvana, and soulful, blurry-eyed Bandcamp boom-bap, Kenny vividly details teenaged malaise, early adulthood angst, and stressful street trials without any part seeming trivial or melodramatically heightened in comparison to the others. 9’s guestlist is as eclectic as its subject matter, tapping Babydrill, Toro Y Moi, and Veeze.
Kyle – Smyle Again
Kyle
Longtime readers of my Best Hip-Hop of the Week column will likely be aware that this album combines two of my favorite things in hip-hop at the moment: A fellow West Coast native and the ongoing Black reclamation of EDM. Despite its title, Kyle’s latest doesn’t rehash the content or sound of his breakthrough 2015 mixtape; rather, it revisits its spirit, in a full-circle moment that allows the Ventura product to reflect on his career and have a little fun in the process. Utilizing an eclectic soundscape that draws on UK 2-step and garage, Smyle Again is a unique gem no one should overlook in the search for truly original hip-hop.
Schoolboy Q – Blue Lips
Schoolboy Q
Q’s first new album in five years is a gritty review of his journey so far through the eyes of a weathered vet. Sonically adventurous, it swerves erratically from blue-era Miles Davis jazz to menacing, guttural street Gothic opera, never settling into one mode for too long – or indeed, for very long at all. Yet, Q’s grizzled, paranoid flow holds everything together generating order in the chaos as he takes stock of his successes, which would be surprising if not for the perseverance he needed to exert to survive long enough to enjoy them. “Yeern 101” is a standout.
Tierra Whack – World Wide Whack
Tierra Whack
I haven’t been as devastated by a rap album since Rexx Life Raj’s 2022 album The Blue Hour. Where Whack’s colorful costumes and whimsical backing tracks might lure listeners into a false sense of upbeat security, the themes she tackles here – depression, grief, imposter syndrome, and survivor’s remorse – practically hollowed me out. “Two Night” and “27 Club” are a harrowing one-two punch that let the album linger on the terrifying implications of anointing – and leave you longing for the rest of the story, for the catharsis that even Whack can’t promise. I hope she’s doing okay.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
ScHoolboy Q and A$AP Rocky are one of the most beloved unofficial rap duos of the 2010s. As incredibly skilled MCs in both their camps, and with a lot of woozy crossover when it comes to their appeal, they have absolute classics in the vault like “Brand New Guy,” “Electric Body,” and “PMW (All I Really Need).” As such, this is one of the many match-ups that fans have dreamed about over the years when it comes to a collaborative album. But with the TDE MC’s recent appearance on Drink Champs, we not only got confirmation that they wanted this team-up too, but that they just couldn’t make it work at the time.
“You and ASAP Rocky was gonna do an album together?” N.O.R.E. asked ScHoolboy Q on the program. “Yeah, we talked about it,” the BLUE LIPS spitter answered. “But… I mean, we both… like I said, me and him just ghost each other so much, bro. Yeah, yeah, like, you know what I mean? I’ll be looking for him, I can’t find him, he’ll be looking for me. Yeah, he’ll call, I’ll see it, I’ll be like, ‘Bruh, I’ll call you tomorrow.’
“Then it just… He gotRihanna, bruh, so sometime, I gotta get him back,” ScHoolboy Q continued. “‘Alright, you ghosted me for a week, I’m gonna have to ghost you for a week.’ You gotta wait a week now to -– Nah, nah, but nah, that’s my boy. I was just at his house looking at the new art he’s making and coming up with. He cold, he cold, he cold.
“You know, he’s always doing clothes, videos, and you know, music,” he concluded. “So he was just letting me see all the art he was working on, pretty much.” “That’s an L couple, creatively,” DJ EFN joked. “Yeah, that’s different, that’s different,” Q laughed. For more news and the latest updates on ScHoolboy Q and ASAP Rocky, come back to HNHH.
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
The last time Schoolboy Q went on tour was in 2019, for his then-new album Crash Talk. At the time, he hit 19 cities through the fall, concluding his tour on December 4 in his native Los Angeles. He announced his next album would come out sometime in 2020. Then, the pandemic hit and the possibility of touring went out the window for a number of artists.
Despite apparently completing that album as promised, Q decided to hold off on releasing it, as the landscape of the recording industry had changed so rapidly with the advent of TikTok, an explosion in music festivals, and a general uncertainty about how to proceed. Q himself settled into dad life, even releasing a standalone single about being a “Soccer Dad,” and worked on his golf game. However, he’s got a new album out, Blue Lips, so it’s fair to wonder: Will he go on tour again for his new album?
If his tweet about the subject is anything to go on, it looks like the answer is a resounding yes. Responding to a tweet about the speculation surrounding a desired tour announcement, Q wrote an all-caps endorsement, “BLUE LIPS TOUR,” complete with the widely acknowledged shouting emoji.
Schoolboy Q’s new album, Blue Lips, dropped Friday and the South Central rapper is taking the opportunity to look back on his career as a whole. While he’s been more active on Twitter lately as he promotes his new album, he asked fans if he could “be a nerd” and spend some time talking about his past albums. Like Jay-Z before him, he did so in the form of a ranking. Here’s Schoolboy Q’s ranking of his albums, along with the reasoning for each one.
Can I be a nerd real quick and rank my own albums??
Q ranks his 2011 debut the lowest out of his discography because “I barely started rapping & u can tell.” However, he does credit TDE President Punch for being “smart” for signing him.
6. SETBACKS I barely started rapping & u can tell.. finding myself but was pretty good for only rapping about 4-5 years.. puncH was smart for signing me
2019’s Crash Talk was Q’s most recent release but it’s far from his favorite. Although he thinks the album has “sum of my best rappin even tHo it wasn’t to my standards,” he gives it a demerit for “cHasing tHe first week number.”
5. CRASH TALK Was cHasing tHe first week number album Has HigHs tHo to be Honest sum of my best rappin even tHo it wasn’t to my standards personally.. still good tHo
Q’s third album lands in the middle of both his discography and his ranking. While it marked the beginning of his commercial dominance, receiving a Platinum certification and spawning fan-favorite singles like “Collard Greens”, “Man Of The Year,” and “Yay Yay,” Quincy didn’t much enjoy having to make multiple versions for different outlets like Target, Best Buy, and Apple (which probably explains why Blue Lipsisn’t getting a deluxe edition).
4. OXYMORON SHOCKING I know a lot of pop records “ it was my cHoice” I love OutKast and said wHy not I mean tHis album is extremely good and I’m still living off tHis album literally da tHing dat killed me wit tHis album was Having to make a (target version, Best Buy…
By indie standards, 2012’s Habits & Contradictions was an impressive success, announcing Q’s arrival on the mainstream level despite its humble resources. While he says he’d “take away maybe 3 songs” (without saying which three), he gives it an “8/10.”
3. HABITS & CONTRADICTIONS BRAH I figured it out… made a Hit indie Hands on tHe wHeel blessed omg THere He go bro so many HigHs… nigHtmare on figg sacrilegious Raymond 1968 portis Head samples.. I don’t know How I pulled tHis off on god… but 8 outta 10 for me… take…
The TDE rapper’s fourth studio album and second on a major, 2016’s Blank Face was his departure from expectations, what he calls “one of the most creative GANGSTA RAP albums ever.” While the creative risks may have hindered it as a high-profile follow-up to his hit mainstream debut, Q considers it a “classic.”
2. BLANK FACE LP After dropping pop records I didn’t wanna get boxed in.. was told tHis album wasn’t ready yet yea fucked my Head up almost ruined me. Was told THat part flopped fucked my Head up.. I stayed down Had a so called bad first week for 2016 standards sum…
Naturally, Q feels like his newest is his best, but he might not be too off-base. Q got vulnerable discussing the direction of the new album, admitting “album been done for years,” but confessing that he wasn’t sure about releasing it in the modern climate. “I just didn’t know wHere I would fit in tHis circus of just bullsHit & algoritHm,” he said. However, it certainly looks like his courage is paying off.
1. BLUE LIPS it’s early but it’s How I feel today could cHange.. I mean braH yall neva Heard me rap like tHis.. album been done for years to be real.. I just didn’t know wHere I would fit in tHis circus of just bullsHit & algoritHm so I made my bed and cHose art… I’m 2 good…
(@big_business_) 
BLUE LIPS TOUR 
album Has HigHs tHo 
a lot of pop records “ it was my cHoice” I love OutKast and said wHy not 
I mean tHis album is extremely good and I’m still living off tHis album literally