Album Review: CrasH Talk – ScHoolboy Q
This album is easily ScHoolboy Q’s most confusing body of work, especially following up his last two Grammy nominated albums.
Oxymoron was ScHoolboy’s best showcase of his versatility as an artist. He had his Grammy nominated R&B collab Studio with BJ The Chicago Kid, Hell of a Night was his attempt at an EDM / Rap track, and he even had the west coast prostitution slow jam in Grooveline Pt. 2. But the album was still true to his gangster style of music; with Q’s grimey lyrics telling tales of his days as a Hoover Crip.
Blank Face LP was of the same high quality and kept a similar style, but ScHoolboy got more introspective on tracks like Str8 Ballin and Black ThougHts. He also had more R&B fused records like Kno Ya Wrong ft Lance Skiiiwaker, WHateva U Want ft. Candice Pillay, and one of his singles Overtime ft. Miguel and Justine Skye.
After a near 3 year wait for this album, CrasH Talk pales in comparison to his previous two masterpieces. While the production for practically all 14 tracks stays consistently solid, the actual songs don’t stay consistent at all.
The project starts with Gang Gang, a very short bass heavy track with a generic hook. For ScHoolboy Q’s standard, it’s not a good intro to an album since nothing in the song is memorable at all. However, the track is followed by Tales, likely one of the best songs of the year. Q raps about the tales of his upbringing stretching from how his life of gang-banging stopped him from playing Division 1 football or going to college, to being on a downward spiral and nobody helping him; all of which rapped over a great slow piano and snare drum beat that keeps the raw energy of the song.
“My baby mama paid the bills, I ain’t have shit on the smoke
The homies tell me I’m a burden but never threw me a rope
They left me hanging on the corner, my whole life is my stash
One more strike, I’m with the lifers, split the fifty in half”
Tales – ScHoolboy Q
One would think that after such a quality track, it would be followed by something of the same caliber. Instead, we get an auto-tuned Travis Scott yelling “Chop! Chop! Chop!” on a hook.
CHopstix is the 2nd most boring ScHoolboy Q song i’ve ever heard, with #1 coming later in the album. It is legitimately baffling how TDE thought it was okay to have such an introspective song supercede these lyrics:
“Ayy, I’m trippin’ on you, I gotta have you
Chopstix – ScHoolboy Q
I spent it on you, I might buy two
Now get in my coupe”
From then on, the songs stay seemingly decent. Numb Numb Juice was a solid single with a well-done music video. Drunk has a fantastic piano beat and a great 6LACK feature, but the lackluster hook hurts the song. Lies is the most boring Q song I had alluded too earlier, since it’s a very forced attempt at a single. From the Ty Dolla $ign hook to the high pitched voice that Q has midway through his verse, it’s more than disappointing.
Luckily, the hype track 5200 is right after it, keeping the life in the project. While it’s simply just an ignorant track, !llmind and Sounwave killed the beat and the hook is very catchy. Then Black Folk is a decent filler track, and 21 Savage acts as a lifeguard and saves Floating from being a bad song.
After Floating, ten tracks in, the album does get a whole lot better.
Dangerous is an incredible track that makes me want more ScHoolboy Q and Kid Cudi collaborations. The DJ Dahi rock and roll beat with Q’s quick lyrical flow works perfectly. Even though Die With Em is a forgettable track, the last three tracks close the album nicely. CrasH provides more introspective subjects and unique flows, Water is a gangster trap record featuring an always reliable Lil Baby verse, and Attention is a well done track that Q uses to brag about his accomplishments and his influence; something he rarely does.
“Just imagine some of these rappers that ain’t have Q
The godfather of this street shit that gave y’all truth
From Pac, Snoop, Kurupt, Daz, bitch, I’m déjà vu”
Attention – ScHoolboy Q
The big issue with CrasH Talk is that it’s a big collection of songs that are occasionally really good, but for the most part mediocre. The sequencing of the tracklist doesn’t do the project any good since the best records don’t come until near the end of the project and most of the collaborations seem forced.
Most artists try to have a project where they simply have fun and Q claims that this is his. Just before the album’s release, when asked on twitter what his favorite tracks are, he said “I like all da fun sHit… I make all da introspective sHit for y’all man I just been Happy lately”.
With the passings of his close friend Mac Miller and the West Coast icon Nipsey Hussle over the past 7 months, it is very satisfying to see that ScHoolboy is currently in a happier mind state. Though the album isn’t his best, this might just be where Q is at right now; battling inner demons and making ignorant music.
Rating: 6.2/10
