[Album Review] ScHoolboy Q – “Habits & Contradictions”
- Written By: K1ng Eljay
- Eljay’s Favorites
- “Druggys Wit H*es Again” (feat. Ab Soul)
- “Gangsta In Designer (No Concept)”
- “My Homie”
- “Raymond 1969”
Pressure busts pipes…
The pressure and anticipation has been at an all-time high for the Top Dawg Entertainment family since the release of Kendrick Lamar’s Section.80 and his subsequent rampage of musical appearances including but not limited to the BET Cipher and Game’s R.E.D. album. As a side-effect of the height of success that K.Dot’s having, those same eyes are naturally going to fall to his camp to see if they’re able to deliver that same quality. With ScHoolboy Q up to bat, his latest release, Habits & Contradictions is poised to be the next outing from TDE that’s highly critiqued and over-evaluated in almost every way.
We’ve already seen reviews praising the LP, and if this was that kind of review, the celebratory introduction would’ve sufficed as opposed to this indifferent feeling that I continue to feel as I write this. I try not to use first person in my reviews, but for some reason this project is a little different than normal albums.
Habits & Contradictions is a concept album, of sorts…
It shows the seedy, grimy underside of the life that radio and misguided journalists would paint as a version of “successful.” However, it’s done in a way that can only be truly defined as eclectic; the album doesn’t have a real flow to it, and some songs are there only to serve as interludes that transition into another idea. In any other traditional album, this would be an issue… but it works here. At the same time, due to its “no-flow” flow, it’s easy to get lost within H&C’s own concept. The presentation is something that takes some warming to get to, and it took more than one play-through for it to finally sink in for me enough to absorb the album.
Interesting approach, indeed.
But does it knock, though?
As far as the technicalities go, everything that can be nitpicked by normal standards is airtight. ScHoolBoy Q’s lyrics are all solid, his delivery and persona emits a refreshing rawness that can’t be found on radio, and his song concepts are executed almost flawless. Even his songs with no concept (“Gangsta In Designer [No Concept]”) are structured with detail that other albums need to implement and other up-and-coming rappers need to closely monitor. The production remains iron throughtout, and the cameos here are somewhat expected; Kendrick Lamar appears on the outro “Blessed”, Ab-Soul gets it in on “Druggys Wit H*es Again”, Jay Rock gives his take on why he’s “2 Raw”, and the beautiful songstress Jhene Aiko is featured on “Sex Drive.” On the other hand, the new union with the A$AP Crew seems beneficial; “Hands On The Wheel” with A$AP Rocky and “Nightmare on Figg Street” is interesting enough as standalones to warrant a listen. There’s even a smooth collaboration with Dom Kennedy and Curren$y (“Grooveline Pt. 1”).
The perfect album?
With all of that, there should be no real reason to fault this LP, but there is for me. Maybe it’s just not my cup of tea (I don’t like tea anyway, so yeah). Maybe I’m just not impressed with it because Kendrick Lamar’s set the bar that high for me. That doesn’t make sense, though; I’m a fan of Q, Soul, Jay Rock, and the rest of the TDE squad (and I loved Jay Rock’s last album, “Follow Me Home”). Honestly, the only thing I can point to is the fact that although the album was well done, overall I just didn’t enjoy it. It’s solid, but it’s not the mind-blowing project that I was hoping for due to the songs that were leaked/released early. It’s still a legitimate entry from TDE, but that’s all I can say about it.
In time, maybe the album will grow on me. Unfortunately, for right now, there’s nothing that stands out to make me give it that growing time it needs aside from a few standout tracks and the well-helmed production. It’s definitely worth support, but in comparison to the other projects that have been released from the same camp, it’s the weaker link in the catalog.
Eljay’s Rating
3.5 out of 5
