The rapper who saved ScHoolboy Q’s life: “I owe a lot”
ScHoolboy Q is an often overlooked emcee. The West Coast rapper rose out of the California hip-hop scene in the mid-2000s and, with the help of Anthony Tiffith at Top Dawg Entertainment, released impactful such as including ScHoolboy Turned Hustla and Gangsta & Soul.
In 2024, the ‘Man Of The Year’ rhymer released his project Blue Lips to critical acclaim, and it was widely considered one of the best hip-hop projects of the year. However, none of his achievements would have come to fruition if it hadn’t been for one emcee because, in an interview, ScHoolboy Q claimed that one lyricist “saved his life.” Although Q wasn’t referring to a dangerous situation as such, he was referencing a problem that could have seen him make some less-than-ideal life choices.
ScHoolboy Q credits Kendrick Lamar with “saving his life” as, according to the emcee, Lamar helped him build and maintain his music career in his early days as his TDE labelmate.
During an appearance on the BACKONFIGG podcast, ScHoolboy Q detailed Lamar’s impact on his career and how the DAMN. musician played a pivotal role in becoming the star he now is. Delving into the details, the emcee stated, “Dot taught me so much, bro. Dot… Dot gave me… Dot gave me so much confidence. Dot made me a rapper. This sh*t make me want to cry right now.”
Highlighting the significance of Kendrick’s input, the emcee asserted, “Dot saved my life. I owe a lot to Dot.” ScHoolboy Q unveiled that, following the low sales of his first two projects, Top Dawg Entertainment CEO Anthony Tiffith was ready to drop him from the label. However, Lamar prevented this.
Explaining Lamar’s role in saving his career, the emcee continued, “Dot made me his hypeman; he would tell me to come to the studio all the time.” The West Coast rhymer even unveiled that by keeping him in the fold, ScHoolboy Q’s music ended up in the hands of Dr Dre, which helped him secure a record deal.
Jovially explaining this, the emcee detailed, “Even with Dre, Dre was initially interested in Kendrick, and then every time he went to Dre sh*t, he’s like ‘I’m going to Dre sh*t. I’m going to Dre sh*t, pull up, pull up. I was like his lil’ sidekick. Next thing you know, Dre hearing my sh*t. And then I get my deal because of Dre, really. I get signed to Interscope because Dre was f**king with me. He just kept pulling me, kept pulling me.”
The ‘Collard Greens’ rapper concluded by sharing that Kendrick dropped him from his hypeman duties as when his career began to take off following the release of his 2011 project Setbacks and happily unveiled that he’s never looked back or “left the studio” since.
ScHoolboy Q has enjoyed somewhat of a cult following over the years, and although he hasn’t reached the heights of his Kendrick Lamar, he has been able to maintain a long career with a dedicated cohort of fans hungry for music.