Where Blank Face LP had Q's most ambitious bars supported by features from hip-hop legends (E-40, Jadakiss) and fresh talent (Vince Staples, Anderson. Speaking of, Q himself is sadly the most lackluster aspect of this record, the aggression and flow needed to carry mediocre cuts like Black Folk giving way to a lazy, uninteresting drawl drained of all hunger. His signature ad-libs stick out embarrassingly on top of a barren instrumental, and Q's deficient verses do little to alleviate the song's lethargy brought on by a desperate need for tempo. The crown jewel of questionable decisions is, of course, CHopstix featuring Travis Scott, arguably the biggest name present on the album and yet only used for an unfathomably annoying repetition of the song's title that attempts to function as a hook. 5200 sounds disturbingly like a leftover from last year's TDE-curated Black Panther the Album, but Q at least effectively matches the production with catchy bars and an admittedly clever hook alluding to both his dangerous lifestyle and his riches: "I been counting dead men, puttin' bodies in the safe".Īs much as these and similar cuts (like the seamless one-two of Gang Gang and Tales that starts off the album) play to Q's grimy, hardcore forte, too many songs here deviate wildly from such strengths. A gritty description of a hit-and-run that also functions as an effective statement of intent for the album, the confident hook ("Two-door coupe, hoppin' out like Jack-in-the-box/I'm gon' shoot if this 30's all that I got") and eccentric verses are immensely enjoyable, yet the track's short length is a disappointing hindrance to what could have been a career highlight. The careful balancing act between commercial and creative has has tipped too far in favor of the former, and his newest record suffers from a desperate lack of originality as a result.Įven the more memorable cuts here rarely feel satisfying from front-to-back, the obvious example being lead single Numb Numb Juice. But in the three year gap between that record and CrasH Talk, it seems that his ambition has all but dried up, leaving the previously accessible and innovative rapper without the fresh ideas needed to create meaningful art. As much as Kendrick Lamar's shadow constantly threatens to swallow the other artists on his label (Top Dawg Entertainment), fellow LA rapper ScHoolboy Q has been perhaps the most worthy competitor to emerge from the same rap scene 2014's Oxymoron brought him to a respectable fame that was only heightened after 2016's gloomy and sprawling Blank Face LP.
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