Los Angeles-based rapper Schoolboy Q performed on Friday night to a full house at the Fillmore Silver Spring in Maryland for his world tour promoting his album under Interscope Records. The rapper’s debut album under a major label, titled Oxymoron made its premiere at the top spot of the Billboard 200 albums chart last week. It featured Schoolboy Q’s daughter Joy, along with mainstream rappers Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, 2 Chainz, and Tyler, the Creator.
During his Fillmore concert, Schoolboy Q took the time to express his gratitude for his supporters. Because of them, he said, “I got new shoes, new pants and a new shirt, and my daughter goes to a good school.”
The rapper, who has previously played second fiddle to Top Dawg Entertainment label mate Kendrick Lamar, also performed at the Best Buy Theater in New York on Tuesday. The opening set featured new Top Dawg artist Isaiah Rashad, who performed his single “Cilvia Demo” before Schoolboy Q took the stage. In addition to performing songs from Oxymoron , he also belted out tracks from his two previous albums , Habits & Contradictions and Setbacks . His three-month world tour will culminate in Manchester in June.
Schoolboy Q was born Quincy Matthew Hanley was born on a military base in Germany. After his parents split up, he and his mother moved to Texas, finally settling down in California. He attended Crenshaw High School and then went to various colleges in Los Angeles. He played football for the West Los Angeles Oilers as receiver and returner.
Hanley was 21 when he started to get serious about rapping. He began to work with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2006 and got the opportunity to collaborate with the label’s artists, including Ab-Soul and Jay Rock. He released his first mixtape in 2008, titled Schoolboy Turned Hustla , and the following year he signed a deal with the label. Under Top Dawg, he formed Black Hippy with the artists he collaborated with, including Kendrick Lamar . His second mixtape and his first official project with Top Dawg, titled Gangsta & Soul , was released in 2009.
The next couple of years were spent touring and working in the studio with the rest of Black Hippy. He also worked on Setbacks, his first independent album, which was released exclusively through iTunes on January 2011. The album sold 787 units on its first week alone. His second independent album, Habits & Contradictions, was also released through iTunes exclusively the following January. Hanley started working on Oxymoron in 2012 and released the lead single “Collard Greens” in June 2013.
Schoolboy Q: Man Of The Year
Image via YouTube
