You can “expect the best” when ScHoolboy Q drops his upcoming album, Blank Face LP, on July 8. That’s what the TDE MC shared with Rap-Up TV on the red carpet at Sunday’s BET Awards.
According to Q, he was able to deliver his best material because he had more time to compose his work this time around.
“I recorded at my house,” he explained. “I had a lot of time and I did whatever I wanted to do. I never felt rushed or pressured. Sometimes, when you’re in a big studio, you do studio time as a 12-hour session, so you feel like you gotta do everything that day. This time, I was able to work on a record for 24 hours and I never felt this happy in my life working on a record.”
Fans have gotten glimpses of the project thanks to early singles “Groovy Tony” and the Kanye West-assisted “THat Part.” Aside from those videos, Q has also unveiled Part 1 of By Any Means, a short film that’s set to continue unrolling as we near the album’s release.
But Q doesn’t want to reveal much more about the album just yet, opting instead to let the music and the visuals speak for themselves.
“I can’t do the spoilers,” he said. “You gotta watch it. Watch part 2, which we’re gonna drop next week. Part 2 will be out, then part 3 will be out, and so on and so on. It all ties together. I’m tired of giving away the meaning of albums before they drop. I’ve been doing that every album since 2011. I’m not doing that this time. I want people to get it. I want people to be surprised and I want them to love it.”
While keeping mum on the album’s overall concept, Q did manage to share a bit about the album’s sound. “Y’all hearing a few records,” he said. “Y’all hear how I sound sonically. It’s still dark. I’m still a dark artist.”
And Q is also an artist who isn’t concerned with accolades on his sophomore effort. “Last album went No. 1,” he explained. “Due to streams, it’s platinum, I guess. It was already gold. I was blessed with that. I had platinum singles. It was just dope, man. I did everything I wanted to do as a rapper.
“And now,” he continued, “at this point in my career, numbers is not a thing to me. I don’t care about a single. I don’t care about none of that. This is what it is. You like it? You don’t? I’m onto the next one anyways.”
Blank Face LP drops July 8 with appearances by Miguel, Anderson .Paak, Jadakiss, Lance Skiiiwalker, Vince Staples, Candace Pillay, E-40, Tha Dogg Pound, and SZA.