THank god 4 BLUE LIPS: An Album Review
While getting ready to drive home from work a few weeks back, I went to queue the song Blue Lips by Her’s. You might be wondering, rightfully so, why I’m starting off a ScHoolboy Q album review by talking about a two-man indie pop duo. Before queuing the song, I noticed a ScHoolboy Q album with the same name come up right beneath it in the search results. I admittedly hadn’t previously done a deep enough dive on him as an artist, so I assumed it was a project I had just skipped over. To my surprise, it was completely new. The metallic blue lipstick drew me right in, and I quickly realized that stumbling upon this album was an incredibly happy accident. Lots of artists shy away from packing an album with features. Maybe it’s because they want the spotlight on them, maybe it’s because they crave full creative control, maybe they’re worried about their sound being compromised. With BLUE LIPS, ScHoolboy Q proves that features done properly can enhance an album and give it a depth that normally takes a posse cut to achieve.
I decided to format this album review as a song ranking, with my thoughts interspersed, and the songs ranked from highest to lowest. Let’s dive into the world of ScHoolboy Q’s BLUE LIPS:
1. THank god 4 me:
This track is easily my top song on the album, no contest. This has been in constant rotation since I discovered it, and it is the go to song off this album that I recommend to others. If you listen to one word of this article, please listen to me when I say to listen to this song immediately.
2. Yeern 101:
If a song can make me move like this one does, I consider that a huge victory. This track is so lively, and some of the best work on the project.
3. First
4. Blueslides:
This is definitely one of the slower songs on the album, and is lyrically more vulnerable. The only way I can accurately describe this track is as full bodied and well rounded.
5. Time killers:
The pure soulfulness of this track is doubly impressive to me; for one, it is a sound you get wrapped up in. Beyond that, you rarely see a song like this folded into an album that features such a wide range of sounds that branch into multiple genres so expertly. The song perfectly works in sing-talking without it sounding corny, which is more difficult than it seems. Time killers really highlights the importance of the presence of more rhythmic tracks on the project.
6. Germany ‘86
7. Foux (feat. Ab-Soul):
Foux is a multidimensional track. It is, plainly, just a fun listen. It isn’t trying too hard to do anything other than sound good and keep the listener engaged, which is so valuable on an 18 song album.
8. oHio (feat. Freddie Gibbs):
oHio features a small break about 3 minutes into the track that gives me a similar vibe to the conversation clips sprinkled throughout The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This makes listening more than just listening to a song, it takes you through the album. Whereas Foux keeps you engaged, oHio gets you involved.
9. Funny Guy:
Funny Guy is a solid album opener, and ties into the ending track well lyrically. The, “you make me smile,” line reminds you that this song and Smile are bookends. It is, in essence, an interlude. Normally, this track is one you would be met with in the middle of an album, but I like this as the beginning of a cohesive collection of music.
10. Love Birds (feat. Devin Malik & Lance Skiiiwalker)
11. Smile:
The ranking of this track is slightly deceptive. It certainly functions well as an ending track in terms of tying up all of the sonic ends, but the highs on the album are just much higher than this for me. I’m by no means disappointed by this one; the others are just that good.
12. Pop (feat. Rico Nasty):
I have said it regarding the track before and I’ll say it again: so not be fooled by this song occupying the #12 spot. ScHoolboy Q’s flow here is almost TPAB Kendrick reminiscent (because nothing can even really approach that), and it piqued my interest. It’s an interesting pop punk approach to rap/trap, which makes Rico Nasty an absolute dream feature for this. I could see how this would be a divisive track for people, but it works for a Rico/ScHoolboy Q collab without compromising either of their distinctive sounds.
13. Pig feet (feat. Childish Major)
14. Movie (feat. Az Chike):
I can see how people would rank this higher than I did, but it isn’t the sound I normally gravitate to. It isn’t jarring or out of place, and doesn’t disturb the connectivity of the album, but it isn’t as strong as the other tracks.
15. Lost Times (feat. Jozzy)
16. Cooties
17. Back n Love (feat. Devin Malik)
18. Nunu
Maybe it was only me who was living under a rock and didn’t clock this album upon release, but I feel like I haven’t seen this album being talked about nearly enough. A project like this deserves attention; the artistry and musical quality alone make it impossible to ignore. BLUE LIPS is a listening experience, and it’s one I will be reliving over and over.
