Fox Theater

You’d be forgiven for assuming ScHoolboy Q was ready to kick back. His fifth studio album, 2019’s CrasH Talk—the third consecutive LP of his to debut in the top three on the Billboard 200—capped a decade of dominance for the South Central-bred rapper, one that saw him rack up Gold and Platinum plaques, five Grammy nominations, and a reputation as one of the most inventive and influential stylists in hip-hop. But something was just a little bit off. “I didn’t feel like my normal self anymore,” he says. Blue Lips, Q’s rabidly anticipated sixth album, not only gets to the bottom of that uncomfortable feeling but probes beyond it, and allows him to redefine success on your own terms. Around his 20th birthday, Q got involved with Top Dawg Entertainment. Together with compatriots Jay Rock, Ab-Soul, and Kendrick Lamar, Q vaulted from virtual anonymity to the top of the food chain. After his 2011 debut, Setbacks, a star was born and for nearly a decade, the momentum would never waver. But after CrasH Talk—after 2012’s Habits & Contradictions, 2014’s Oxymoron, and 2016’s Blank Face LP; Q found himself confronting a void. As a result, this new abum features Q’s most precise, economical writing to date and injects new emotions and tones seemingly at will. It’s the kind of record that could only be made by someone who has mastered his skillset—and knows exactly what he wants to say. And what ScHoolboy Q wants to say is that it’s time to keep our eyes on the horizon. “Whatever happened in the past isn’t today,” he says. “I can’t really fix it. But I can fix today and tomorrow.”