Y-2 SchoolBoy Q

SchoolBoy Q is a very talented Emcee. Q started rapping in 2007, which in the big picture, really is not that long. In that short time, he has already made a mark on the game and gained the respect of some extremely credible artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, and Jay Rock. Q prides himself on representing a style of rap music that instead of writing about only the dark parts of the streets, he talks about how he overcame them. It is inspiring. Born as Quincy Matthew Hanley on October 26, 1986 in Germany to a pair of military parents he moved around a lot as a child before finally settling in LA. As with most artists that grow up in cities, Los Angeles especially, Q got to see the good and the bad sides of the streets. He was enrolled in a 

rather high end almost prep school as a child, but he was respected for knowing his way in the streets. That is where the name “SchoolBoy” originated. It is rare that a child that attends a nicer school is accepted by the gangsters of the streets. As a teen, Q admits that he did join a gang, he was a “Hoover Crip”. His friends were all selling drugs, so he thought he would too. Q wrote his first verse as a teen, but did not pursue the music career until he was twenty one. He realized that music could relieve stress and aggression, which was something he needed in his life. His first album “Setbacks” was released in 2011. The album mainly targeted his experiences on the streets. He realized that the album could have been much more, but he was too caught up in all of the other pointless things. He realized what his true passion was. The following album “Habits and Contradictions” arrived a year later and ended up moving up the “iTunes Top 10” list. It peaked at number three, and reached number 16 on Billboard’s top rap album. Q is an up and coming artist in the game. I along with many others are expecting big things from him.