ScHoolboy Q Says Artists And Labels Killed Deluxe Albums

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Friday (March 1), ScHoolboy Q ended his nearly five-year hiatus with his newest well-received album, BLUE LIPS. The 18-track project features Freddie Gibbs, Jozzy, Devin Malik and fellow Top Dawg Entertainment recording artists Ab-Soul and Lance Skiiiwalker.

During a Q&A session with fans on the app formerly known as Twitter, he closed the door on any idea of his album getting the deluxe treatment. After being asked, “If you do a deluxe (you probably [won’t]), can [the songs] sound like ‘Pig feet’ and ‘THank god 4 me’??” The “Studio” rapper responded, “Labels and artists kinda killed [the] deluxe. It’s a scam… no way I’m adding three to four songs to my album a week after it drop. I work too hard on my craft for a extra 2k in sales. Nobody cares.”

One fan responded, “Deluxe releases ruin an album more often than they add to them, honestly,” while another explained, “Exactly, if you wanted to add more songs to the album, they would’ve already been there.” Needless to say, fans should not expect any additions to his latest project anytime soon.

The rapper revealed the tracklist through a trailer on Feb. 1. It also included various meanings of “blue lips” that reflected themes of shock, awareness and emotional states. One of the definitions read, “[To] become fully aware of [something] as a fact, understanding clearly.”

BLUE LIPS will serve as a follow-up to 2019’s CrasH Talk, which debuted with 14 songs, including guest appearances from 21 Savage, Kid Cudi, 6LACK, YG, Ty Dolla Sign and Travis Scott. “CHopstix,” “Numb Numb Juice” and “Water” were among fan favorites.

In 2023, Q told the “Back On Figg” podcast why he doesn’t release music frequently. “When it comes to music, I don’t look at it as like, ‘Oh, you have to drop every year.’ I’m like, ‘No, your favorite rapper has to drop every year because he needs to,’” he said. “I do what I want because I move off peace. I move off my experiences.”

“If I bring nothing to the table that comes from my life, I don’t feel I should put it out,” Q added. Check out his newest LP below.