ScHoolboy Q says watching TDE grow and become successful motivated him to take his music career seriously.

Before the scheduled February 25 release of ScHoolboy Q’s new album, Oxymoron, the TDE rapper spoke with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club about his upcoming LP, being a member of Black Hippy, and more.

As a Top Dawg Entertainment signee, Q was asked how competitive those at TDE are. The Los Angeles rapper revealed that the artists at TDE can be “real competitive,” but since he’s in his own lane as an artist he says he’s not heavily into competitive rap.

“It’s real competitive…I don’t do like the 80 bar rap, that type of shit,” ScHoolboy Q said. “I spit—I stay in my lane. I do me, you know? I spit street shit. I spit fun shit. You know what I’m saying? I tell you about my emotions and how bad I’m doing. Stuff like that. I like to stay in my category.”

Q also commented on TDE changing his life when he was at his lowest point, bouncing from couch to couch with hardly any money to his name. According to the West Coast emcee, as Kendrick Lamar’s hype man he was able to gradually see the label’s growth, an observation he says proved to be a motivator in his own career.

“I was just doing bad cause I was stupid more than anything,” he said. “Not like I was trying to like thug it out…When I got over there to TDE they motivated me, you know? I was Kendrick hype man and I saw it keep growing. Like he was having like 30 people at the show then next time we do a show it’s 100 people. Then from 100 to 200 and so on and so on. Now it’s sold out. You get what I’m saying? It just motivated me like I’mma really do this next project. I’mma really, really do it.”

Lastly, Q revealed that he does consider himself a street artist, but doesn’t necessarily identify with the street life at this point in his career.

“I don’t identify with the average street nigga,” the TDE rapper said. “You know what I’m saying? But I am a street nigga. But I don’t identify with the rest of the niggas that still trying to act like they still in the streets. Like I ain’t in the street no more. Like I rap. I’m in New York right now.”

Slated for release later this week, Oxymoron was initially described by ScHoolboy Q as an album that touches on the rapper taking care of his daughter and Crip history from 1969 to present. As of this weekend, pre-sale figures for Q’s LP were close to 35,000.

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