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Oxymoron - ScHoolboy Q |OT| "Tell Kendrick move from the throne, I came for it"

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O

overcast

Member
Like my third post about this today, but I'm pretty sure Target is the physical version of the iTunes deluxe. If standard physical is 12, deluxe is 15. The target sticker says 2 exclusives on top of the 3 extra.

So, yeah, kind of a clusterfuck.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Nitsuj23 said:
Channel your inner Needle Drop. I'm at work for a few more hours and want to hear your opinion.
Click to expand...

Album is a 3/5, and I think I'm being a bit generous:

Here are my full impressions:

The beginning of the album is garbage besides the opener "Gangsta," and even that doesn't really wow me. The songs just sound forced, the 2 Chainz collab sounds a bit forced, and Los Awesome sounds like a Swizz track in the worst way possible. Right from the start the album's weaknesses become most apparent. The structure of the songs and the way they are composed just sound so artificial. The album is so formulaic, predictable, and seems to be yet another offender of unabashed pandering, but even the pandering is archaic.

The middle of the album gets a bit better, Hoover Street sounds like classic grimey Q, and even if it's a bit predictable, it's exactly what I wanted and expected to hear out of a Q's first major retail push. Studio is decent, but the hook already seems quite overbearing, and I can tell that this song will not age well at all.

Prescription/Oxymoron is probably the first genuinely great track on the album. and that's sad because we're already halfway through. It sounds so genuine, features a great beat switchup, and allows the listener the closest glimpse into who Q really is and what sets him apart from the other TDE rappers. It's one part confessional, one part swagged out grimey trap shit. Not many other people can make the transition sound so natural.

The Purge features a really weak beat, that outstays it's welcome well before its nearly five minute mark. It sounds like a Goblin b-side, Q's verse is nice, but man Tyler doesn't hold up his own at all, and those horns get kind of annoying. Just a really middling track.

Blind Threats is fantastic. Raekwon's verse is so classic Wu-Tang, and that beat features these fast, yet somewhat soft drums reminiscent of those found in Nas' Like a Man. Q has a great verse, doing his flawed remorseful gangsta rap thing. And the verse is littered with enough humor to not make it sound too one-dimensional. Q just sounds so aware of his immorality and mortality on this joint.

Hell of a Night sounds like a track the record executives force fed to Q.

The album ends well. Break Da Bank, and Man of the Year are strong tracks, especially the former, but you've already heard them so I won't waste time on them. I will just say I absolutely love the chorus and beat on Break Da Bank, he's doing this raspy singing thing that sounds like a grimier version of Ja Rule's junt, and man he's spitting with such an creative flow that fits the song perfectly.
 
M

MThanded

I Was There! Official L Receiver 2/12/2016
overcast said:
Like my third post about this today, but I'm pretty sure Target is the physical version of the iTunes deluxe. If standard physical is 12, deluxe is 15. The target sticker says 2 exclusives on top of the 3 extra.

So, yeah, kind of a clusterfuck.
Click to expand...
Target has 2 more than itunes. It's similar to GKMC and 20/20 .
 
N

Nitsuj23

Member
HiResDes said:
Album is a 3/5, and I think I'm being a bit generous:

Here are my full impressions:

The beginning of the album is garbage besides the opener "Gangsta," and even that doesn't really wow me. The songs just sound forced, the 2 Chainz collab sounds a bit forced, and Los Awesome sounds like a Swizz track in the worst way possible. Right from the start the album's weaknesses become most apparent. The structure of the songs and the way they are composed just sound so artificial. The album is so formulaic, predictable, and seems to be yet another offender of unabashed pandering, but even the pandering is archaic.

The middle of the album gets a bit better, Hoover Street sounds like classic grimey Q, and even if it's a bit predictable, it's exactly what I wanted and expected to hear out of a Q's first major retail push. Studio is decent, but the hook already seems quite overbearing, and I can tell that this song will not age well at all.

Prescription/Oxymoron is probably the first genuinely great track on the album. and that's sad because we're already halfway through. It sounds so genuine, features a great beat switchup, and allows the listener the closest glimpse into who Q really is and what sets him apart from the other TDE rappers. It's one part confessional, one part swagged out grimey trap shit. Not many other people can make the transition sound so natural.

The Purge features a really weak beat, that outstays it's welcome well before its nearly five minute mark. It sounds like a Goblin b-side, Q's verse is nice, but man Tyler doesn't hold up his own at all, and those horns get kind of annoying. Just a really middling track.

Blind Threats is fantastic. Raekwon's verse is so classic Wu-Tang, and that beat features these fast, yet somewhat soft drums reminiscent of those found in Nas' Like a Man. Q has a great verse, doing his flawed remorseful gangsta rap thing. And the verse is littered with enough humor to not make it sound too one-dimensional. Q just sounds so aware of his immorality and mortality on this joint.

Hell of a Night sounds like a track the record executives force fed to Q.

The album ends well. Break Da Bank, and Man of the Year are strong tracks, especially the former, but you've already heard them so I won't waste time on them. I will just say I absolutely love the chorus and beat on Break Da Bank, he's doing this raspy singing thing that sounds like a grimier version of Ja Rule's junt, and man he's spitting with such an creative flow that fits the song perfectly.
Click to expand...

Ugh great. I hate saying "yeah, but I like his earlier shit better". It was so nice Kendrick didn't make me say that. J. Cole made me want to front like I was never a fan to begin with after "Work Out". Sounds like this won't be that bad, but shit...
 
B

burgervan

Member
Gangsta - Great.
Los Awesome - Alright. I was hoping for more from Jay Rock and Q sounds like Fred Durst at some points. It's...disturbing.
Collard Greens - Still love it.
What They Want - Good, but nothing special.
Hoover Street - That first section is annoying, but the rest of the song's great. I'm going to edit that out once I have the album in hand.
Studio - Gawbage.
Prescription/Oxymoron - Prescription's great, Oxymoron's forgettable.
The Purge - Snore. Not a Tyler fan. Kurupt is cool though.
Blind Threats - It's alright.
Hell Of A Night - I really like it. Cool party track.
Break The Bank - Great.
Man of The Year - Great.

With the bonus tracks and some editing and resequencing, this could be a great album. As is, it's kind of disappointing, but still pretty good.
 
N

Nibel

Member
Not really impressed with it.. Kendrick still the top dawg out there; not that this is a bad thing

Not sure why I'm not happy with it though. Maybe it sounds too oldschool for me? No idea man
 
beanman25

beanman25

Member
HiResDes said:
Your tastes aren't elevated like mine.
Click to expand...

That's true. It doesn't take TOO much for me to enjoy an album. I listen to all kinds of weird things on a regular basis, namely songs sung by a religious robot on television. So that tells you about me.
 
I

injurai

Banned
des not even a week...

maybe it will still be a 3/5 but it will be interesting to see how you choose to explain your impressions later down the road
 
H

HiResDes

Member
I like two of three deluxe tracks...Fuck LA is particularly good. Still a 3/5 album. I think the masses will like this, but my criticisms are spot on and will be echoed by publications.
 
N

nns3d

Member
The second half of the album is definitely better than the first half, but it wasn't as exciting to listen to because I've already heard Break The Bank and Man of the Year.

Album is a 6/10 at least on first listen, 7/10 at most. I'm gonna wait for the Itunes deluxe version to come out next week before I fully assess Q's album.
 
M

MadSkillzBahamut

Member
HiResDes said:
I like two of three deluxe tracks...Fuck LA is particularly good. Still a 3/5 album. I think the masses will like this, but my criticisms are spot on and will be echoed by publications.
Click to expand...

I think they might like it, but they also might hate it.

Prescription/Oxymoron is probably my favourite Q song.
 
E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
First listen. Bolded songs are I can see myself willingly listening to again.

Gangsta - Dope, great opening to the album and sets a good tone and vibe.
Los Awesome - Ehh.. can't help but feel this track is missing some serious synergy between artists and production. Sounds like a mixtape.
Collared Greens - Concentrated dope.
What They Want - Beat is flames but 2 Chainz' verse is terrible and there is something off about Q
Hoover Street - This song sounds like a mash up of different ad-libs into song form. I hate Q's delivery throughout this entire song. It's just too everywhere. The song is super drawn out and I was bored halfway through. Then began getting a bit irritated 2 minutes later.
Studio - It's aight.. I feel like he was forced to put this song on the album or make this sort of song. Might have made a good Drake song talking about caressing weaves and shit, but generally I don't like these types of songs from Drake anyways. Production is great.
Prescription-Oxymoron - Introspective song, first song on the album that really got my attention with his daughter and all. I like it because it sounds a bit different from other introspective songs he's done and has a really cool remorseful tone. Oxy is tough as fuck, but it sounds more generic than the bangers we're used to from Q because of the production. It's still tough as fuck though.
The Purge - Terrible. Tyler is a horrible producer. It sounds like a Tyler, The Creator song, which means it's terrible. Kurupt's verse is terrible. Fuck outta here with that bullshit.
Blind Threats - Some of the better production on the album, still don't fucks with the hook though. Rae dropping a not-struggle verse is a nice surprise.
Hell of a Night - Another song I feel like Q was forced to put on there or felt he needed for variety. Reminds me more of HnC than the rest of the album though. Funny how we all gave this song shit when it came out and it ended up being one of the stronger points of the album. Has a lot more replay value than non-bolded songs I feel.
Break The Bank - Probably the best produced song on the album and a song that "fits" Q and builds to his strengths. I would go as far as saying that he put 10x more effort into this song from lyrics to songwriting than any other song on the album. The polish, flow, swag, lyrics, singing, content, everything is on another level from the majority of the other songs on the album.
Man of the Year - Dope, another serious standout.

His and Her Friend - Boring, production is annoying.
Grooveline Pt.2 - Great vibe, hook is terrible. Sounds like a B side for something off of 2001, which I think is a good thing.
Fuck LA - THIS SHIT SLAPS. Another song that actually feels like HnC Q.

This album lacks what made HnC and Setbacks special. More generic production, more generic songs for the ladies (which feel forced), less swag, the bangers aren't as grimy, too liberal use of ad libs, seemingly random sequencing, etc. I could go on.

Can't really express how disappointed I am, but then I look above and still see that there is a decent amount of songs I fucks with. 8/12 seems pretty damn good consistency-wise for an album, but the ratio feels pretty hollow for some reason. It doesn't feel like 8/12 songs are that good.

EDIT: On second thought. Studio and Hell of a Night both don't deserve to be bolded. Both sound way too transparently forced.
 
E

Emperor Bohe

Member
steamed-collard-chards.jpg


we eatin dat deluxe
 
E

enzo_gt

tagged by Blackace
HiResDes said:
I like two of three deluxe tracks...Fuck LA is particularly good. Still a 3/5 album. I think the masses will like this, but my criticisms are spot on and will be echoed by publications.
Click to expand...
Who are the masses for Q? People that have heard Collared Greens, that song with Macklemore and maybe Man of the Year? That's a pretty flattering picture to make people buy into the album.

The "for the masses" songs on this album aren't good enough to retain anyone I feel. Q is essentially selling to the super dedicated TDE fanbase an people that may have heard the singles; he's in as good of a place as he would be if it was a much better album.
 
S

Syph Medwes

Member
Enzo I think we rated every song the same.
Really enjoyed the intro, the opposite can be said for Los Awesome. Then it's pretty average until Prescription/Oxymoron (besides CG of course). Still love Man of the Year. Grooveline pt. 2 didn't disappoint.

All in all, a decent album, but the only person calling it a classic will be Q. Ab-Soul, Jay Rock, the ball is in your court to try and take that K.dot crown. Good freakin luck.



edit: I think my biggest problem with Oxy, especially when compared to GKMC, is Q doesn't really talk about anything...obviously GKMC was a concept album but I really know what Des meant by Q being formulaic. His hook+bridge repetition gets old quick too on too many songs.
Still has some bangers though that deserve replays.
 
S

saltine161

Member
On my second listen now
Really like Gangster, Collard Greens, Hoover Street, Prescription/Oxymoron, Hell of a Night, Break tha Bank, Man of the Year, and the deluxe tracks especially His and Her Friend

I'm thinking Los Awesome and What They Want will grow on me after a couple listens
And the other tracks are just good
 
C

CountBlack

Member
Albums feeling like a 3/5. Finding it hard to judge when I've already overplayed the singles that were released so far.

I really do want to hear what the album would've sounded like if he got all the tracks on there that he wanted too. Also hope we get to hear the track with Danny and the song with Rocky.. or the song with 50.. or the song with Soul.

And the other track that Alchemist has that couldn't make it, or the FlyLo tracks.

Cause right now, I feel like the tracks that they either decided to leave off or had sample issues might've been better on the album then song of these tracks.

This is 1st listen though. H&C didn't grow on me until almost at the end of the year when it was released.
 
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