Cali rapper Schoolboy Q isn’t letting his setbacks stop him from making a name for himself in the industry.
Schoolboy Q doesn’t follow rules or guidelines when it comes to his music, so if you thought Schoolboy is the stereotypical flashy bullsh*t talking rapper, think again.
VIDEO: Schoolboy Q Talks New Joint Project With A$AP Rocky
GlobalGrind sat down with Schoolboy Q to chit-chat with him about linking up with A$AP Rocky, his perception of thirsty rappers, his longtime celebrity crush and of course, his new project Habits & Contradictions.
Check out our exclusive interview below!
GlobalGrind: You just dropped your new project, Habits & Contradictions. What was your inspiration behind it?
Schoolboy Q: That’s a sequel to Setbacks, so I have to let you know why I have setbacks. Habits and contradicting yourself will give you setbacks, so I decided to put it together like that.
What’s your worst habit?
Spending too much on weed; too much money.
Yeah, that’s a costly habit.
I’m not going to take away weed because that’s something I’m going to do. I’m going to be grinding. I’d also say spending too much money on lean. Lean and hanging out – doing dumb sh*t.
What’s been one of the biggest setbacks you’ve experienced since getting into the industry?
I don’t know. I just do me. I don’t even feel like I’m in the industry yet. I don’t even feel like I’m here yet, so it’s hard for me to answer that question. My biggest setbacks I’d probably still say, getting more money and spending more on lean, and unnecessary clothing that I haven’t even worn yet.
A lot of people got wind of you off of A$AP Rocky’s mixtape with the “Brand New Guy” joint. How did you link up with him?
My manager, he told me A$AP wanted to work, so I’m like, ‘For sure. Let’s do it.’ I was at the studio in New York and I told him to come through. I wasn’t expecting him to come through. We did it, exchanged numbers, and we’ve been cool ever since.
You’re real cool with Kendrick, too, right? Kendrick and Jay Rock, your whole Black Hippy crew.
Yeah, that’s family right there. It’s almost like blood brothers, but we’re not. We’re real tight.
What exactly is a Black Hippy?
No rules and doing what you want to do. But we’re using that towards music. Not writing the average 16 and hook – 16 bar hook vs. eight bar hook. There are no rules to music. Good music is good music, whether you rap two bars or you let the beat breath and say a little bit in a song. Music is music.
Who are some of your musical inspirations?
Just like I said on the A$AP track, Biggie, Nas, 50 Cent. Those are the reasons I’m rapping. Some of my favorites; I think Jay-Z is the best rapper, period – dead or alive. Nas is my favorite rapper, but I believe Jay-Z is the best rapper dead or alive.
Why is Nas your favorite rapper?
I relate to Nas a lot. He reminds me of me. I use Biggie because I got word play, too. I bounce around and swag the words out. That’s the kind of music I make. So, I’ll say them three. I’m going to say Jay-Z too, because I listen to Jay-Z a lot. But those three are my main.
Who is one person you would love to collaborate with?
Biggie.
Somebody alive?
I honestly want to work with Erykah Badu.
If I sent you to a deserted album and you can only bring three albums with you, what three albums would you bring?
Nas It Was Written, 50 Cent Massacre, Jay-Z Reasonable Doubt.
Do you have any celebrity crushes?
People still give me sh*t because I still say Lisa Raye.
What? Lisa Raye is like 45, she’s still bad!
I’d marry her right now. Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Sanaa Lathan, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, I’m about to knock Swizz out (laughs), J.Lo, Amber Rose and Erykah Badu – don’t get me started.
Who are the top five rappers in the game right now?
Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kendrick, me. I actually listen to myself. Like, in the car, I turn my sh*t up blasting. Listen to myself like it ain’t weird.
They say Kanye listens to his own sh*t.
It helps you grow. Because after I drop a project I usually hate it after that. I can’t hear it no more. It sounds weak to me because I’m growing more and more. Setbacks sounded whatever to me, but everybody loved it. Habits & Contradictions is getting to that point where it’s like ‘Ehh, it’s alright,’ but everybody loves it.
What’s your favorite thing to do besides make music?
Smoke weed, chill with the homies, chill with my daughter. That’s it, I don’t do anything. I’m just in the studio, chilling with the homies or my daughter.
No hitting the club?
I hate clubs. I don’t go to strip clubs.
How many tattoos do you have?
I got 20 something.
Do you remember what your last dream was about?
I was running from somebody. They were chasing me with a bat.
Did they catch you?
No, no, I remember now, I wasn’t running, I was fighting a dude – a big ass dude. I’m hitting him, but I’m not doing nothing. I tried to run then he was running behind me. He could have grabbed me, but he was just trying to f*ck with me, it seems like. You could hear him breathing behind my neck. He could easily grab me, but he doesn’t. I just keep running. The next thing you know, it’s over.
Are you back in the studio, working on something new already?
Yeah, I’m working on my album now, the debut album.
Do you think of concepts before you do albums, or do you just flush out the songs and then put it all together based off of what’s most cohesive?
I think about the project as a whole. What I’m going to do, my album is going to be a mixture of Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions put together. Setbacks is telling you I have setbacks. Habits & Contradictions is telling you why I have setbacks. You know what I mean? This one is just going to sum it all up.
What’s something that most people don’t know about you?
I don’t let nobody in the studio when I’m recording, and I keep my shoes off. I don’t write unless I got my shoes off.
What’s the most annoying thing to you about the industry?
Rappers.
Just rappers?
Yeah, rappers are thirsty. I have thirsty people hitting me up trying to do verses. I would never get you on a song. Then they’ll send you like a thirsty song that you shouldn’t even be on. Come on, bro, no offense, like why would I do a song with you? It doesn’t make sense.
Yeah, there’s like an “anti-rappers rap movement” that’s anti everything stereotypical about rappers.
Yeah, that sh*t is too flashy for me. I’ll never buy a chain. I’m not into that sh*t. I don’t even have a car. I’m not even into it. I made a good enough amount of money.
