West Coast rapper
ScHoolboy Q
's sixth album,
Blue Lips
, is unrelentingly daring, branching out in multiple stylistic directions but kept cohesive and strong throughout by
Q
's personality and artistic drive. He effortlessly moves through relaxed, loop-based hip-hop and nostalgic flows on "Cooties," directly into soul-jazz atmospherics on the
Freddie Gibbs
duet "oHio," and then unexpectedly brings in drum'n'bass breaks on the
Ab-Soul
-assisted "Foux." In addition to masterfully transitioning between production modes and genre experiments (the horror movie trap of "Back n Love," featuring
Devin Malik
, is born of an entirely different world than the golden-age funk strings and
Jozzy
-sung hook of "Lost Times," the song that comes immediately after it),
tackles heavy lyrical content throughout the album, reflecting on the pitfalls of fame, the fallout of a childhood spent in a fractured family, and navigating depression and loss even while at the top of his game as a rap star.
flexes just how easy his craft is for him throughout
, switching his styles without blinking while telling some of his most difficult truths. ~ TiVo Staff