Habits & Contradictions dove deeper into the cause-and-effect of his intentions and the spiritual awakening behind his actions. The accomplishments he strived towards, and the decisions that deterred them from happening. His debut album offered insight into the roadblocks that prevented him from veering on the right path. Though serving as his second project, following Setbacks, Q described H&C as its prequel.
It’s a lucid memoir depicting Q’s survival instincts in South Central, including the coping mechanisms he used to numb the pain. Unlike Setbacks, H&C is far grimmer – an album that captures the fogginess of addiction, the volatility of gangbanging, the desperation to be removed from that environment, all while raising a daughter. It began with the release of 2011’s Setbacks before Habits & Contradictions arrived in January 2012. While The Weeknd was subtly unveiling his face with the release of his flawless Trilogy, ScHoolboy Q was also forming his three-piece. For ScHoolboy Q, the dry delivery in his desire for success was underscored by the depravity of falling back into the streets– because there’s only so far you can go as Kendrick Lamar’s hypeman. Dre and Snoop Dogg passed the torch to the West Coast’s chosen one. Jay Rock had already scored a spot on the XXL Freshman cover and released his debut album the strength of 2011’s Section.80 put Kendrick Lamar in a class of his own as Dr. At the time, Top Dawg Entertainment’s roster was limited to the Black Hippy members, though only two had seen success to varying degrees. What it needs to do is take me to the next level,” ScHoolboy Q teased of his 2012 breakout project, Habits & Contradictions in a PSA shared on YouTube a little over a week before the album was due. We reflect on ScHoolboy Q's most compelling project to date, "Habits & Contradictions," ten years later.
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