ScHoolboy Q admits Top Dawg Entertainment has become known for extensive album delays, but insists itās nobodyās fault except the artistsā.
The SoCal rapper explained his position during a recent appearance on YGās 4HUNNID podcast, discussing the years-long gap between his albums CrasH Talk (2019) and Blue Lips (2024).
Q said he began working on the latter project during COVID lockdowns and would spend the following years writing and recording until he was satisfied with the output.
Co-host Damn Stevie was seemingly surprised by Qās comments, as heālike so many othersāassumed Tiffith had intentionally stalled album releases. Q was quick to dismiss that theory and pointed to TDE labelmates SZA and Kendrick Lamar, who have not released full-length projects since 2022.
āMuthafuckas gotta stop that, bruh. They be giving Top and them hell,ā the rapper said around the 11:50 mark. āIāma be honest, thatās us (the artists). Bruh, you think Top is telling Kendrick and SZA toā¦ You think heās gonā tell them, āYou only can drop one album in five years?ā Two of the biggest artists? He aināt gonna get no chicken!ā
Q said the reason why TDE artists take so long to drop albums is because they have a āmental illnessā and worry too much about perfection.
āI think we just cuckoo in the head, bruh and I think we all got similarities and it shows,ā he continued. ā[Isaiah Rashad] didnāt drop in five years; I didnāt drop in five years; SZA didnāt drop in five years; Dot didnāt drop in five years; it done hit five for [Jay] Rock, you know what Iām saying? We have something in common and itās not Top. I donāt see how he gains anything from doing that.ā
Q also said he would never sit on an album for five yearsā¦ unless it was his choice.
āWe gonna be arguing like a muthafucka if you making me wait five years between albums and itās not be my choice. Iām 37 with kids and shit,ā he said. ā[Tiffith] doesnāt gain nothing for that. We have a fuckinā a mental illnessāeverybody on that label. I think we got caught up in trying to perfect shit, a little bit. I think we took a little too long.ā
Elsewhere in the interview, Schoolboy Q admitted that early in the group's formation, Top pushed his artists to think about making high quality music. "I ain't gonna lie, at the beginning, Top did push us hard, like, nah, we need hits. At the beginning, he was on us. But he wasn't saying push the album back,' he explained.
You can check out the full interview below.