It's been nearly three full years since I reviews Schoolboy Q's last full length LP, Oxymoron: an album that I have grown to love even more since its release. That album was just so grimy and hard edged; basically the opposite of what mainstream rap is in this day and age that I couldn't help but admire it. And upon hearing the first single from this new LP, "Groovy Tony" I was ready for another album full of tracks about the gangsta lifestyle, but maybe with a concept wrapping it all together. And for the most part, that's exactly what Blank Face LP delivers; though the album does also dabble in the kind of jazzed out productions that made Kendrick's last project so refreshing, and to be fair, Q doesn't do a half bad job at getting the same results, though here, it seems like more of a play at bringing in the 'conscious rap' fans that usually scoff at Q's straight up, no frills gangster posturing and subject matter.
However, without a doubt, this album is a truly great followup to Oxymoron, and easily features some of Q's best tracks to date. To mention "Groovy Tony" again, in the context of the album, it has been expanded and paired with another track "Eddie Kane", and seems to describe a character that is a stone cold killer; there's even one line here about this character hugging someones mother, looking over her shoulder with the titular 'blank face', that is truly chilling. Then there's the track "John Muir" which could possibly be a bit more autobiographical, but still hits just as hard. Then there are the more, I don't know, laid back thug songs? You know the kind of stuff that made an album like Doggystyle equally appealing as a journal of the Crip lifestyle, and a great album to put on at parties. Tracks like "Big Body" which actually features members from Tha Dogg House, and "WHateva U Want" which has another bumping beat similar to "Big Body".
And the albums diversity doesn't stop there, because the aforementioned Jazz heavy tracks find there way here, such as the short "Lord Have Mercy" or the Anderson Paak. slathered "Blank Face" which barely even has Q on it, making it maybe my second least favorite track on the entire album, next to the sort of sleazy "Overtime" which does have Miguel... but also has some of the worst lyrics on the entire album. But luckily the album ends on an extremely high note with "Tookie Knows II" which seems to state that all of the character portrayed on the album, despite some of them finding solace in lifestyles outside of gangs, are destined to return to it, because of peer or even societal pressure.
Unlike say an album like To Pimp A Butterfly, there really isn't a light at the end of the tunnel for this album, but I think that's what makes it so important; I think listeners need to see that not all rags to riches stories are glamorous, and the person underneath all the success is the same person who was selling dope before they got rich. Whereas Kedrick's album found self-love to be the key to escaping ones demons, Blank Face seems to be about embracing ones demons, and making the best of life, despite how messed up it is.
In the end though, this is another great LP from Q, and may in fact be his best work yet.
8.5/10
