ScHoolboy Q knows how to bring the party. Anyone familiar with the LA rapper’s records (and the punters who crammed into the sold-out Forum tonight were very familiar) could easily predict this to be the case. ScHoolboy’s latest release, Oxymoron, is loaded with details of the 27-year-old’s decadent proclivities (“drink this, smoke this, get down with the shit” etc.) and the thrills he’s seized since escaping drug hustling impoverishment. ScHoolboy’s also a great MC. He has one of the most compelling and dynamic vocal styles in contemporary hip hop.
Tonight it became evident that he’s no slouch as a performer either. Q is a big boy but this didn’t stop him throwing his whole body into the show. At times he busted out rhymes as if leaping through banners of achievement. There were no actual aerobics, but the maniacal vocal delivery of songs such as Druggy’s Wit Hoes Again sufficiently built the illusion of cantering activity.
Q had just one onstage partner: a good-humoured DJ spinning beats, adding occasional vocal accents and contributing to the jesting onstage banter, but essentially it was all eyes fixed on the bucket-hatted Gangsta. His star power is broader back home, so he’s used to performing for larger crowds. Nevertheless, he appeared earnestly blown away to be here. Before the set’s ultimate number, Man of the Year, he pointed out that three years ago he was staring abysmal ruin in the face. So, how did he bounce back? Well, the answer’s in the song title – fierce self-belief. Accordingly, the man on stage tonight exuded invincible confidence.
While Q certainly facilitates a good time, he’s not really saying that much. Lines such as, “Ass fat, throw it back, I can’t believe you wifing that,” seem barely permissible here in 2014. Studio is ostensibly a love song, but it’s not quite a sweet exaltation of affectionate unity. Granted, Blessed is an undeniably heartfelt –albeit trite – expression of thanks, which feels wholly genuine considering the context it’s aired in.
For the most part it was Q’s effortless charisma holding the reins. When this combined with sub-heavy beats, the limb-thrusting collective happily bellowed key phrases such as “Uh-uh fuck that!” and “Pussy, money, weed” without hesitation. ScHoolboy introduced Break the Bank by saying “My happiness is your happiness,” and in that pursuit he succeeded.
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
Loved: Non-stop hits.
Hated: Not enough deep cuts.
Drank: And danced.
