ScHoolboy Q @ SOB’s
ScHoolboy Q is a trooper. The Top Dawg Entertainment-signed rapper played two sold out shows last night at New York’s SOB’s, defying the “You’ve seen one, you’ve seen em’ all” rule of thumb.
Calling the first show packed would be a bit of an understatement. Calling the second show anything less would be down right absurd. The crowd was dense, with several attendants rocking their TDE gear in the form of hats and sweatshirts. The front row wore Q’s choice fragrance–marijuana, that is–which was rolled and passed into the crowd straight from the MC himself.
Performing two sets, outfit change included, Q made sure to give his fans a good show, despite being physically exhausted. He personally thanked all of his fans, reaching into the crowd and giving them daps, with the same energy displayed a few hours before in his first show. He stated that if fans spent their last 20 dollars on him, he appreciated the gesture, and reminded them that there is someone sleeping on the street right now, and that they should all feel blessed; a heartfelt introduction from the once homeless rapper before the performance of his track “Blessed” off his second independent studio album, Habits and Contradictions. He also thanked them for putting his daughter Joy, now 3, through school through supporting his musical career.
With his crisp blue button down and fresh out-of-the-box Jordan’s, Q hightailed across the small stage, with his smooth, but impacting dance moves; performing so close to the stage edge, fans could see the curl pattern of his beard.
ScHoolboy shares a blunt with the crowd @ SOB’s
Q stayed energetic the whole way through, performing tracks like “Druggys wit Hoe’s Again”, “Figg get the money/ Nightmare on Figg St” and the live performance christening of his latest track “Yay yay” off his new album Oxymoron (not to be confused with J.Rock’s “Yola” or the term “Yagga”- that I misguidedly mixed up during our basement interview, of which Q laughed stating, “What’s my song called?”).
Q is the ultimate jokester, ushering both Kendrick and ASAP Rocky to the stage. The two were not waiting in the shadows as Q made it seem, but are in fact currently on tour. There was never a dull moment during the show–a fan even gave the rapper a hand drawn portrait, of which Q displayed to the crowd, teasing that the artist gave him huge lips. He even remarked that the artist probably had one of rapper Danny Brown “that looks as ugly as him.”
Q is hands down the most humble rapper in the world. He thanked his fans, called them ugly motherfuckers, and then thanked them again in the most sincere way possible. I’m sure with enough gallons of water and enough pre-rolled blunts, Q could easily take on his own headlining tour.
Words and photos by: Gyasi Williams- Kirtley
