Schoolboy Q – The Concordian

The LA rapper’s latest album is versatile, vulnerable, and strikingly down-to-earth.

BLUE LIPS finds ScHoolboy Q in his most clear and focused state thus far in his career. It is the American rapper’s most personal record, and finds him exploring topics like past drug use, newfound sobriety, family life, fatherhood, and his mental well-being. He is perfectly self-aware of who he is and who he used to be: he truly comes across as down-to-earth through his songwriting.

“Blueslides” is an especially vulnerable song where Q gets candid about his mental health. He sings, “But lately, I ain’t really been myself, ain’t strong as I seemed” and “I done made problems my problems, now I barely can breathe.”

“Cooties” is another introspective highlight. In this song, Q shares his gratitude for his daughters and their stable, healthy life, while also expressing his worries about their safety. Lines like “Why God blessed me? I never deserved it,” are perfect examples of the poignant, personal lyricism on this record.

“Germany 86” is an ode to his mother and formative years, a track in which he juxtaposes his present-day level-headedness with the everyday struggles and pain of his upbringing. The rapper celebrates the current version of himself throughout the album, but he is inherently tied to the man he once was.

Q approaches BLUE LIPS as charismatically as always. His delivery is filled with conviction and intonation, as he shouts his ad-libs and navigates through tracks with rapid, razor-sharp flows.

The production on the album is volatile and versatile, continuously cranking the dial between understated jazzy cuts, rattling brash tracks, and hybrids of both. Elegant jazz samples set the backdrop for tracks like “Blueslides” and “Lost Times.”

Contrarily, “Pop” features rattling grunginess and rock guitars, sonic characteristics reminiscent of Q’s 2016 album Blank Face LP. Trap production takes center stage on several occasions to maintain the high energy: “Yeern 101” is an adrenaline-filled cut where Q relentlessly raps over heavy 808’s and a multitude of fast-paced claps and percussive sounds.

There are all sorts of beat switches throughout the record, creating an exciting and unpredictable listening experience. The majority of tracks begin and end entirely differently, constantly keeping the listener on their toes. Some of the beats are more ambitious and experimental: “Foux” features percussions clattering in every direction; “Love Birds” and “Time killers” are based upon rhythmic, off-kilter grooves, yet Q finds his way over them perfectly with unique flows.

The featured artists are fitting additions to the album experience. Rapper and singer Rico Nasty perfectly matches ScHoolboy Q’s energy with her brash and brazen performance on “Pop,” aggressively screaming the track’s title. Producer and rapper Devin Malik’s double appearances are perfectly complementary to Q, given how similar his vocal delivery is. Rapper Ab-Soul’s appearance is another standout, thanks to his alarmed delivery which matches the eerie, hypnotic vocal sample looming beneath him.

Overall, BLUE LIPS is a culmination of the best traits of ScHoolboy Q’s music—it’san LP that is unpredictable and impressive all-around. Q is as expressive as ever and showcases a new level of humility and self-awareness. He truly comes across as grounded, which heightens the significance of the personal growth he conveys throughout the record.

Score: 8/10

Trial Track: Blueslides

The online platform Montreality is taking the Montreal hip-hop community by storm

Sina Ghiassi didn’t know his love for both cartoons and hip-hop would one day collide, leading to one successful project.

Within the vivid colours and mystical worlds of childhood cartoons, Ghiassi believes there is a driving force that pushes people to follow their dreams. Cartoon heroes take on the world and face trials at every turn, all while figuring out exactly what their superpowers are.

After years of being inspired and enamoured by these heroes, Ghiassi heard the whispers of his own superpowers at age 16.

Nestled in the crowd at a Talib Kweli concert, Ghiassi fell in love with hip-hop. He realized he didn’t belong in the crowd, but backstage, amidst the workhorses and geniuses that made these concerts run smoothly.

Nine years later, Ghiassi has built a rare archive of interviews with some of rap’s best.

Montreality is an online platform devoted to the curation of interviews with various world-class and local artists who are dominating the rap and hip-hop scene. Ghiassi has interviewed and met some of the most sought-after artists in hip-hop, and he’s developed his own interviewing style. Often, he will ask quirky questions about first jobs, favourite cartoons and favourite books.

Montreality operates through a YouTube channel, Facebook page and website.

Over the past year, not only has the group’s Facebook page increased from 20,000 likes to two million, Ghiassi also had the chance to meet talented MCs and producers, including Rae Sremmurd, Schoolboy Q and Metro Boomin.

The Montreality team, made up of Ghiassi and his partner, Daniel Yañez, have collaborated with Belgian artist Robin Velghe (RHYMEZLIKEDIMEZ) to create stunning visuals for the website and the filmed interviews, all inspired by the cartoons and video games Ghiassi grew up with. “I wanted it to feel like Saturday morning cartoons,” he says.

The Montreality project all started with Ghiassi and his best friend Yañez sneaking backstage at concerts, trying to get their favourite rappers, to give “Montreality shoutouts” on camera. That was a mere six years ago, at a time when there was no full vision for these interviews—just some kids looking to meet their heroes.

Ghiassi still carries that youthful enthusiasm and intense fervour with him as he continues to build his platform. “I feel like cartoon characters, I looked at those as my role models. I feel hip-hop artists are superheroes as well, or super-villians some of them—they’re all characters,” says Ghiassi. “Ash [from Pokemon] wants to be the very best, he wants to catch them all and that’s what I want to do, I want to capture every artist on my list.”

Ghiassi learned much of what he knows about the hip-hop industry from the books lining his shelves, and from his experience interning with the legendary Montreal harmonica player Bad News Brown and Bad News’ manager, Henry-Francois Gelot.

When Ghiassi worked with the team, the pair saw a tenacious work ethic in him, as well as an eagerness to learn. Though he learned a lot from them, he also brought his own set of skills to the team. He started as an intern, creating graphics, but always soaking up as much information as he could in Gelot’s downtown office and on tour with Bad News. Eventually, he became their executive assistant.

“I would have messed up big time at some point without mentors like Bad News and Henry,” said Ghiassi. “As soon as I was introduced to hip-hop, I was like, I have to be a part of this. I want to bring something to the culture. It’s my duty.”