Oxymoron is the newest album to come from TDE’s quest to dominate the rap game in 2014. While also being a play on oxycontin, Q said the title comes from having to do bad to do good, namely selling crack/whatever to look after his daughter. Drugs and his daughter largely perforate the subject matter of Oxymoron with the theme being as prevalent as bucket hats in Q’s wardrobe. He unfolds the story of his faded formative years on songs like Hoover Street which tells of his grandma hiding cheques from a junkie uncle who made him piss in cups; his mother would later whoop his ass for “Them was the good days” he says.
But this isn’t one of those “came from the struggle” joints that were played out even by the time Jay Z came through, this is more a celebration of wildin’ out with a few cautionary tales in the liner notes. On Prescription Drugs he’s elated because he “Just stopped selling crack today,” but he follows it up with “O-X-Y-[I’m]Moron” because he’s replaced it with prescription drugs like oxycontin that he struggles with more. This is one of a lot of tracks on the album where while he confronts the negativity of drugs, he does it with the charisma of someone not worried about their effects.
Oxymoron is Schoolboy Q saying he fucks with drugs a lot and likes it, but it makes him sad sometimes. He’s also detailing a ghetto heritage and a desperate way of living that he’s too busy getting rich being a debonair gangster to give a shit about right now.
BY EDGAR IVAN
Best Track: Break The Bank
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: OLD DANNY BROWN, AB-SOUL
In A Word: Money
