On the path to hip hop success there are bound to be some obstacles. Such as not being able to finish your album for numerous reasons, not reaching enough fans, or perhaps not having the proper resources to maintain an online presence. Whatever the obstacle, sometimes it might just be the perception of what success and failure really is. For example, Schoolboy Q named his album ‘Setbacks’ due to the limitations he experienced before releasing his album to critical acclaim. But contrary to that, he’s had some tremendous success along the way; including releasing two mixtapes that built a reputable following, being a member of the group Black Hippy, and being signed to Top Dawg Entertainment after building a connection with the president of the independent label. Beyond that, the release of Setbacks has some people saying that his style is like “Mos Def meets Murs.” And while others might consider him one of the most slept on MC’s in 2011, he continues to prove that difficulties in the game can’t exceed true talent and ambition.
- Quincy Matthew Hanley was born on October 26, 1986 in Los Angeles, California.
- School Boy Q, also known as Q, attended Crenshaw High School and West Los Angeles Community College.
- Growing up, Schoolboy Q wrote poetry.
- He used to be a member of the Hoover Crips 52 gang on Hoover Street.
- Schoolboy Q played football in college for the West Los Angeles Oilers before rapping.
- He has been rapping since 2007 and says at one time he didn’t take it serious.
- Schoolboy Q is a member of the group Black Hippy with Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, and Ab-Soul.
- His musical influences are Nas, Tupac, Biggie, Snoop, Jay Z, West Side Connection, and Common.
- Schoolboy Q, along with Tyga, and other’s that he grew up with formed the music label G.E.D. Inc.
- In 2008, Schoolboy Q released his first mixtape called Schoolboy Turned Hustla under G.E.D. Inc.
- His engineer Ali, introduced him to Punch, the president of Top Dawg Entertainment.
- After Punch heard his music, he was impressed and invited Schoolboy Q back to Top Dawg Entertainment.
- Schoolboy Q and Punch built an instant connection and Punch gave him the name Schoolboy Q by adding the Q at the end.
- He is music and connection with Punch led him to be signed with Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope Records.
- In 2009 he released the mixtape called Gangsta & Soul.
- His first album was released in January 2011 called Setbacks.
- Schoolboy Q called the album Setbacks because of all the setbacks he endured before releasing the album.
- After the release of Setbacks, the album reached number 100 on the Billboard 200, hit number 12 on the Billboard Rap Albums charts, number 25 on the R&B charts, and number 13 under Indie albums.
- Only a few weeks after Setbacks was released, it already had 4,395 downloads and has been called by fans ‘a masterpiece’.
- Currently Schoolboy Q is working on his next project titled HABITS & Contradictions.
On BlowHipHopTV, Schoolboy Q speaks on the differences in his life between now and then: “The difference in my life is just me trying to stay consistent with my music; just staying busy, working hard and just stop being lazy. Everything doesn’t just fall in your lap.”
Post by: Rosie J – music marketer
@StudioDiva
