Look up asap or ASAP in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

ASAP (As Soon As Possible), as an acronym can also refer to:

Music and television[link]

• ASAP (band), a hard rock band fronted by Adrian Smith
• "ASAP" (Bardot song), a song by Australian girl group Bardot
• "ASAP" (T.I. song)
• "As Slow As Possible", a musical piece written by John Cage
• ASAP (variety show), a variety television show in the Philippines
• Get Back (ASAP), a song by Alexandra Stan

Technology and internet[link]

• AcceleratedSAP from SAP AG
• Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads, a ring structure within the payload fairing of Ariane and future Soyuz (Fregat 4th stage) rockets from Kourou
• Asynchronous array of simple processors (AsAP processor architecture)
• Another Slight Atari Player, an open-source player of Atari SAP music files

Others[link]

• Aircraft Sales and Parts A Canadian aircraft manufacturer based in Vernon, British Columbia
• Aviation Safety Action Program Safety reporting program that is entered into voluntarily by airlines, unions, and the FAA to encourage voluntary reporting of potential FAA and SOP violations.
• American Society of Access Professionals, an American organization focusing on information access through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Privacy Act (PA), and laws and regulations
• Applied Security Analysis Program A graduate-level student investing program at the University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Atypical small acinar proliferation, a diagnosis on prostate biopsy that carries an increased risk of finding prostate cancer on re-biopsy.
• Albany Society for the Advancement of Philanthropy A fraternal order founded in Albany, New York
• Archive of Spatial Aesthetics and Praxis (ASAP), founded by former Museum of Modern Art curator Tina di Carlo and led in partnership with curator Danielle Rago, ASAP aims to be the foremost collection of spatial practice today, collecting and exhibiting architecture as part of a broader social, political, and aesthetic discourse.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth^[1] (born June 17, 1987), simply known as Kendrick Lamar, is an American rapper and songwriter from Compton, California currently signed to Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope. He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape Overly Dedicated. In 2011, his album Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip hop releases of the year.^[2] Lamar has amassed a large internet following, is a member of hip hop collective Black Hippy, along with Jay Rock, Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul, and has worked with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Wiz Khalifa, Game, Drake, Busta Rhymes and Tech N9ne among other popular artists.^[3]

Biography[link]

1987-2009: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Kendrick Lamar was born in Compton, California, a community southeast of Los Angeles city limits, to parents from Chicago, Illinois.^[4] At the age of eight, in 1995, Lamar witnessed his idols, Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre film the music video for their hit single "California Love," a very significant moment in Lamar's life.^[5] In 2003 at the young age of sixteen, Lamar released his first mixtape, Youngest Head Nigga In Charge under the name K. Dot.^[6] The mixtape was able to garner enough attention for Lamar to get a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based independent record label.^[6] He then released a twenty-six track mixtape two years later titled Training Day.^[7] More recognition came Lamar's way after a video of a Charles Hamilton show surfaced, where Hamilton goes in the crowd and battles rappers at attendance. Lamar didn't hesitate and began rapping a verse over Milkbone's "Keep It Real", that would later appear on a track titled "West Coast Wu-Tang".^[5] In 2008 Lamar made a cameo appearance on Jay Rock's "All My Life (In the Ghetto)" music video. After receiving a co-sign from Lil Wayne, he released his third mixtape in 2009 titled C4, heavily themed around Tha Carter III LP.^[8] Soon after, he decided to drop his stage name K. Dot and go by his real name. This resulted in him releasing a self-titled EP; the Kendrick Lamar EP in late 2009.^[9]

[edit] 2010–2011: Overly Dedicated and Section.80

Kendrick performing at a concert in Toronto, Canada

In 2010 he toured with Tech N9ne and Jay Rock on The Independent Grind tour.^[6] On September 23, 2010 he released O(verly) D(edicated) a highly acclaimed mixtape that included a song titled "Ignorance is Bliss" in which he glorifies gangsta rap and street crime but ends each verse with "ignorance is bliss" giving the message "we know not what we do".^[10][11] It was that song specifically that made hip hop producer Dr. Dre want to work with Lamar.^[12] This led to him working with Dre and Snoop Dogg on Dre's Detox album and him considering signing to Aftermath Entertainment.^[6][13] In January 2011 Lamar said his debut album was 90% finished.^[6]

In early 2011 Lamar was featured on XXL Magazine's 2011 Freshman cover along with CyHi the Prynce, Meek Mill, Mac Miller, Yelawolf, Lil B, Big K.R.I.T. and Diggy Simmons among others.^[14] On July 2, 2011, Lamar released his third solo project Section.80 to critical acclaim. It features guest appearances from GLC, Colin Munroe, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and includes production from longtime collaborator Sounwave, Wyldfyer, Terrace Martin, J. Cole and more. On the topic of whether Section.80 would be an album or a mixtape Lamar said "I treat every project like it’s an album anyway. It’s not gonna be nothing leftover. I never do nothing like that. These are my leftover songs y’all can have ‘em, nah. I’m gonna put my best out. My best effort. I’m tryna look for an album in 2012". The first single for Section.80 was the J. Cole produced track "HiiiPower", of which the concept was to further explain the HiiiPower movement. Section.80 went on to sell over 10,000 copies in its first week^[15] without any television or radio coverage and received many very positive reviews. In the second half of 2011, Lamar appeared on Game's The R.E.D. Album, Tech N9ne's All 6's and 7's, 9th Wonder's The Wonder Years and Drake's Take Care.

In August 2011, while onstage with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Game, at the West Los Angeles concert, the three of them crowned him the "New King of the West Coast"^[16]

[edit] 2012–present: Good Kid in a Mad City

On February 15, 2012, a song titled "Cartoons & Cereal" featuring Gunplay of Triple C's was leaked.^[17] Lamar revealed later that the track was for his upcoming album and he was planning to shoot a video for it.^[18]

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent record label Lamar is signed to, have closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist. Under the new deal, Kendrick Lamar’s projects, including his upcoming debut studio album Good Kid in a Mad City will be jointly released via Top Dawg, Aftermath and Interscope, while releases from the rest of Black Hippy will be distributed via Top Dawg and Interscope.^[19]

Lamar premiered "The Recipe", his debut single and the lead single from Good Kid in a Mad City, at Power 106 on April 2, 2012. The track was released for digital download the following day. The song was produced by Scoop DeVille and features Dr. Dre.^{[citation needed]}

It was announced on May 14, 2012, that Lamar is working on a collaborative album with J. Cole. In an interview with Bootleg Kev, Cole stated that "I just started working with Kendrick the other day. We got it in, finally, again. We got maybe four or five [songs] together."

Personal life[link]

In high school, Centennial in Compton, Lamar was a good student.^[4] Lamar said that he has seen relatives who have died in his dreams for years. Tupac Shakur is also his favorite rapper, and influences not only his music, but his day-to-day lifestyle as well. In terms of subject matter, Kendrick Lamar has often been compared to Tupac Shakur. ^[6][20][21] He revealed that his favorite and most influential rappers are Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Jay-Z and his label-mate Eminem.

Discography[link]

• Section.80 (2011)
• Good Kid in a Mad City (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kendrick Lamar on Twitter
• kedricklamar.com Official Site

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (May 2012)

Alexandra Stan
Background information
Birth name	Alexandra Stan
Born	(1989-06-10) 10 June 1989 (age 23)
Origin	Constanța, Romania
Genres	House, pop, dance
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, entertainer, model, dancer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Maan Music, Media Pro Music, Ultra Records
Website	alexandrastan.ro

Alexandra Stan (sometimes stylized as Alexandra Staи) (born June 10, 1989) is a Romanian singer-songwriter. She released her debut single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)", in late 2009. The song impacted Romanian mainstream radios in early 2010, peaking at number-eighteen. Her sophomore release, "Mr. Saxobeat", became her worldwide breakthrough hit, selling almost 1,000,000 copies in less than a year and reaching the top five in over twenty countries such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom and the top thirty in Australia, Canada and United States. She released her debut album in August 2011, entitled Saxobeats. The album spawned another single called "Get Back (ASAP)".

Early life and early career[link]

Alexandra Stan was born in Constanța.^[1] She studied at the "Traian" High School in Constanța, and as of 2011 she is enrolled in her second year as a student at the Faculty of Management Andrei Saguna.^[1] In the past, she took part in various music-related contests with a notable appearance at the Mamaia Festival vocal performance-section.^[1] She took one year of canto lessons. During an interview, she stated that she believes in God and she has her religious principles, and she does believe in the Church.^[2]

[edit] Saxobeats era (2009–present)

In 2009, Stan released her debut promotional single, "Lollipop (Param Pam Pam)"^[3] The song was out in late 2009 but impacted some major Romanian mainstream radio stations in early 2010, with an A-list addiment in May 2010. During summer 2010, she premiered a new track "Show Me The Way" and toured Romania. In September 2010, Stan premiered her second release "Mr. Saxobeat". In less than two months, the song became her greatest hit in Romania, peaking at number-one on the Romanian Top 100 and defending the position for eight consecutive weeks.^[4] The song was commercially successful worldwide. In early 2011, it entered the Spanish Singles Chart and debuted inside the top ten of the French Singles Chart as well as in the Canadian Hot 100. It has firstly hit the #1 position in Italy and Denmark, then in Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. In late May, "Saxobeat" became the first Romanian song to reach #1 in Germany since "Dragostea din Tei". It was a number-one in Austria, Germany and Switzerland for twenty weeks in total. It was also a top-five success in over twenty countries, including #2 in Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Scotland, as well as #3 in Spain, Sweden and the UK Singles Chart. In New Zealand it peaked at number-four, while on the Brasil Hot 100 at.number-six while in Australia, Canada and the US Billboard Hot 100 at #21, #24, 25 and 29 respectively. It was also a #1 in the UK Dance Chart and in the US Hot Dance Airplay for seven weeks (the longest run in the 2010s).

After the success of "Mr. Saxobeat", Stan released a follow-up "Get Back (ASAP)". So far, it peaked at number-one in Slovakia, at number-four in the Romanian Top 100, at number-eight in Finland and inside the top twenty in over five countries. The song "Lollipop" was re-released for international digital markets exclusively, but with no success. In summer 2011, Stan released another single, "Million", featuring famed German rapper Carlprit. As of September, 2011 the song has received little airplay in France and missed the top forty. Its music video's shots started on December 6, 2011.

On August 29, 2011, Alexandra Stan released her debut album, entitled "Saxobeats". It features eight tracks plus five remixes. The album was first released in France, then in Germany, Switzerland, Romania, Spain, Poland and Italy.^[5][6] It was released in the United States and Canada on October 25, through Ultra Records. It is yet to be released in the UK. Her fourth overall single "1,000,000" ft. German rap star Carlprit has just been sent to mainstream radio stations in Belgium, France and Romania.^[7] As of January 14, 2012, "1,000,000" has currently peaked at #13 on the Romanian Airplay Chart, its highest peak on the chart to date.^[8]

Stan received multiple certification awards for "Mr. Saxobeat", including platinum in Australia^[9] and Spain,^[10] Platinum in Denmark^[11] and Sweden^[12] and Multi-Platinum in Italy.^[13] At the 2011 Romanian Music Awards she received two nominations for "Mr. Saxobeat" ("Best Dance" and "Best Song", winning the latter) and two nods for herself "Best Female" and winning the "Borderbreaker Award". She was also nominated for Best European Act at the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards, after winning Best Romanian Act where she was nominated alongside rapper Guess Who and Puia, singer Smiley and band Fly Project. In November, Stan lost the Best European to Lena Meyer-Landrut from Germany.

Discography[link]

• Saxobeats (2011)

Singles[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexandra Stan

• Official website

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Aston George Taylor, Jr.^[1] (born August 5, 1968)^[1] better known as Funkmaster Flex is an American hip hop DJ, rapper, musician and producer on New York City's Hot 97 radio station and host of the hit MTV show Funk Flex Full Throttle.

Music[link]

Funkmaster Flex (Aston George Taylor Jr.) was born in the Bronx borough of New York City with music flowing through his veins thanks to his father Aston George Taylor Sr., a sound system DJ for local clubs throughout the city.^[2] By 16, Flex began DJing at local nightclubs a perfecting his mixing and turntable talents.^[2] At 19, he got his first job as a record boy for fellow Bronx native, Chuck Chillout for WRKS 98.7 Kiss-FM in New York. One evening, Chillout was late for his show and Funkmaster Flex got his big break and was allowed to stand in, thus beginning his career in radio.^[3]

He later left KISS for a brief stay at 107.5 WBLS-FM, meanwhile Flex kept up his club appearances at many of Vito Bruno's operated nightclubs including The Tunnel, Home Bass and Mecca. Bruno helped convince Joel Salkowitz, a regional vice president of Hot 97, to begin airing live broadcasts from clubs where Flex was performing like The Tunnel. He called the hours of Saturday evening programming the "Saturday Night House Party". When they realized the resurgence of Hip Hop was coming fast from its fallout in the eighties they increase the hours and days of these style of shows.^[4]

Salkowitz went and saw Funkmaster Flex perform and work the crowd at the Home Bass. After that night, he was convinced that Flex was his man and in the spring of 1992, Funkmaster Flex began mixing and hosting his own show, a specialized rap show on Hot 97. The first pop station in New York to showcase rap. Flex has been with Hot 97 ever since and aired nationally through syndication throughout the weeknights and weekends.^[4]

Production[link]

By the mid 1990s, Flex was signed by a major record label, Loud Records, for a series of innovative 60 Minutes of Funk mixtapes. All four of them achieved gold status in the US.^[3] On The Tunnel with Def Jam in 1999, Flex managed to get some of the biggest names in hip hop to contribute, including Dr. Dre, Nas, Jay-Z, DMX, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, Method Man and 50 Cent to participate.^[3]

He currently continues to be a prolific producer with a solid list of albums and artist he has supported over the years including Yvette Michele, Pras, DJ Kool, Armand Van Helden and many others.^[5]

Television[link]

Flex first started appearing on television in the early nineties on Yo! MTV Raps hosted by Fab 5 Freddy, Ed Lover and Doctor Dré.^[6][7] Soon, MTV began to ask Flex to do various spots on up and coming Hip Hop artists and his true passion for cars and trickin' out their celebrity rides.

In 2003, Flex debuted his first television series, Ride with Funkmaster Flex on the Spike cable network.^[8] The show documented the explosive subculture of cars that are popular in the Hip Hop culture and with Hollywood celebrities. Noteworthy moments in series included a look into Diddy's private jet and a visit to Eminem's studio in the Motor City and look at his hot GMC Yukon.^[8][9]

Soon after Ride's success, Flex wanted to explore his passion for car racing and developed a unique way to get it done with a new one-off Spike TV show race event - The Funkmaster Flex Super Series Invitational.^[10] The race featured 60 hungry late model stock car drivers from across the country turning laps at The Waterford Speedbowl in Conn.^[10] Flex went behind the scene to see what it takes to become a winner in racing while bringing out celebrities like Orange County Choppers, LL Cool J and Lil' Kim to watch the event.^[10] Monica Taylor Enterprise - Rare Footage of Super Series

ESPN noticed Ride with Funkmaster Flex and decided they wanted a show to help them reach more automotive enthusiast who watched racing, NASCAR and sports. Flex came a calling with a show focusing on custom cars and interviewing leading sports celebrities from the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball and the world of Hip Hop including Danica Patrick, Terrell Owens and Jason Giambi. The show was called All Muscle with Funkmaster Flex and began airing early 2007.^[11]

Later in 2007, Flex shifted his focus to influencing automotive design. Based on what he was witnessing at the competitions at his various Custom Car & Bike Show tour events, he decided he wanted to push the envelope with these amateur designers with a new show - Car Wars with Funkmaster Flex on ESPN.^[12] With initial sponsorship from Castrol and later Ford Motor Company, Car Wars asked different car customizers from across the country to modify existing vehicles for cash prizes. The show developed lots of noteworthy designed Ford Expeditions, Ford Fusions and other vehicles. If featured famed automotive designers like Patrick Schiavone, former Ford North American Truck & SUV Design Director now Vice President of Design at Whirlpool and Ford Explorer Exterior Design Manager, Melvin Betancourt and Louis D'erasmo of Valanca Auto Concepts.^[13]

For Fast Machines with Funkmaster Flex, Flex returned to Spike TV and his customization roots once again focusing on making some exciting muscle and modern car customization for celebrities like a 1955 Chevy Bel Air for Dale Earnhardt Jr., a 1966 Pontiac GTO for Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine, 1970 Chevy Chevelle for the U.S. Marines. It also featured a fantastic interview with Royal Purple race driver Kathryn Minter.^[14]

In 2010, Flex returned to his MTV roots with a new show - Funk Flex Full Throttle. Flex was back doing what he does best: interview the most buzzed-about hip-hop artists - with his signature raucous, familiar style - and complete car customizations that have made him a legend in the automotive world. Whether Flex was on location at Spring Break, the New York Auto Show or hanging in his tricked-out garage the show was exciting. Full Throttle also integrated reality elements as Flex directed his team of car customizers at various builds and allowed viewers inside the lifestyle of Hip Hop stars - be it clubbing with Diddy, or helping Swizz Beatz select a top-of-the-line dream ride.^[15]

Stay tuned for the second season of Full Throttle and a potential new Hip Hop lifestyle series from Flex in the future.

Funk Flex - On the Road[link]

Flex developed and promotes an annual eight-city Funkmaster Flex Custom Car & Bike Show Tour, bringing the most exclusive and expensive candy colored rides to fans in cities from Miami to Atlantic City.

The tour moves across the country and has featured artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj and Fabolous. Each stop showcases the hottest customized rides in competition for cash prizes, model and recording talent search. In 2010, Flex added the Funkmaster Flex Lifestyle Expo. The Expo featured sneaker and DJ battles, video game competitions, skateboard demos along with discounted prices on the hottest shoes, fitted hats and underground gear.^[16]

The Tour also showcases the premiere show for sneaker enthusiasts and Street Wear Culture, "The International Sneaker Battle." The Battle brings together sneaker enthusiasts and everyone involved in the culture of Hip Hop, graffiti, DJing, sneakers, clothing, art, and overall fashion.

Flex also loves to show off his personal collection of muscle cars at each stop. He has amassed over 40 cars in his collections. Here are his favorites.^[17]

1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass - A car his father once owned and started his passion for American muscle cars.

1969 Dodge Charger R/T - The first muscle car he ever purchased, even though he admits he isn't really a Mopar fan.

1970 Chevy Chevelle SS 502 - Flex's favorite and the one car he will never part with.

1967 Ford Galaxie G-Machine - One Flex's favorite Ford products.

Controversy[link]

Things got ugly in 2002 after Flex was accused of attacking Power 105.1’s Steph Lova. According to reports, the attack stemmed from allegations made during a Nas interview with Steph Lova in which the rapper claimed Flex had been taking payola. In the end, Flex pleaded guilty to harassment, and was also ordered to stay away from the Power 105.1 DJ.

Auto design - Flex style[link]

In 2005, Ford Motor Company opened its Dearborn design studio doors to Funkmaster Flex to look at how to customize its product line-up and add exposure to the brand. To date, Flex has worked on a lot of innovative projects for Ford.^[18]

2006 Ford Fusion - Flex is named the first customizer to transform the Fusion for the street.^[18]

2008 Ford Expedition Funkmaster Flex Edition - Flex follows his idol Carroll Shelby and is given the opportunity to have a limited edition Expedition with unique design cues with his name on it. The car is revealed for the first time at the New York Auto Show.^[19]

2009 Ford Flex - Flex reveals his version of the new crossover at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) along side Hip Hop artist Nelly.^[20]

2010 Ford Taurus SHO - Flex tricks out the iconic Taurus for 2009 SEMA show.^[21]

2010 Ford Explorer - Flex tricks out the all-new redesigned Explorer for the 2010 SEMA show.^[22]

2011 Ford Fiesta - A contest to win an all-new 2011 Ford Fiesta receives over a quarter of a million entries on FordUrban.com^[23]

Video games[link]

Flex is a featured DJ on The Beat 102.7 in the 2008 Grand Theft Auto IV - The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.^[24]

He is a celebrity adversary and a unlockable free agent fullback in season mode of ESPN NFL 2K5. He also has an unlockable team, the Baurtwell Funkmasters.^[25]

Flex was an unlockable character in Def Jam: Vendetta. In that game, he was the in-game narrator of almost all fights. Except in After Hours matches, which don't have narrating.

Flex's music is featured in his own game - Funkmaster Flex's Digital Hitz Factory.^[26]

Discography[link]

• The Mix Tape, Vol. 1 (1995)
• The Mix Tape, Vol. II (1997)
• The Mix Tape, Vol. III (1998)
• The Tunnel (1999)
• The Mix Tape, Vol. IV (2000)
• Car Show Tour (2005)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Funkmaster Flex at the Internet Movie Database
• Funkmaster Flex at Discogs

Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986),^[3] better known by his stage name ScHoolboy Q, is an American hip hop recording artist signed to Top Dawg Entertainment and Interscope Records. Hanley is a member of Black Hippy along with Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul. In a 2011 interview when asked about what encouraged him to start rapping, Hanley explained that it was something he was "born to do": "I was just chillin’ man, but rapping’s just something I was born to do. I don’t know when I started rapping. I don’t know how I started rapping, but I know I wrote a verse and I was stuck ever since," he explained.^[4]

Preceded by two mixtapes, his first independent album Setbacks, reached #100 on the US Billboard 200 chart in 2011, selling close to 1,000 digital copies in the first week.^[5] On January 14, 2012, he released his second independent album Habits & Contradictions. The album debuted at #111 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 3,900 digital copies in the United States.^[6]

Biography[link]

1986-2009: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Hanley was born October 26, 1986, on a military base in Frankfurt, Germany. While there, his parents decided they were no longer staying together, therefore his mother chose a last name for him at random. That is why no one else in his family shares his surname. His father remained in the Army, but his mother took Hanley to Texas for a couple years, before going to California.^[1] He grew up in Los Angeles, California on 51st Street, neighboring Figueroa and Hoover Street. He claims to have been playing football since the age of six years old until he was 21. He played receiver, cornerback, and tailback, however in college he just played receiver and returner. After graduating Crenshaw High School, Hanley went on to attend Glendale Community College, Los Angeles City College, Southwest College and West Los Angeles College where he played football for the West Los Angeles Oilers: "I went to West L.A. college, I went to Southwest college, LACC, and Glendale. I didn’t really get the school like that. I would go to practice and go home. I wasn’t really paying attention in class. I was just in there making sure I did enough work so I could still be eligible. I wasn’t really trying to pass the class. I was just trying to be eligible to play football." As to how he came up with his stage name: "When I was in school, all the homies called me Schoolboy. I wore glasses and I had a 3.3 in high school, before fucking up my senior year gang-banging. My name’s Quincy, so I just stick to Schoolboy Q."^[7]

Growing up on Hoover Street he joined a street gang, the 52 Hoover Crips: "I was gang-banging at 12. I was a Hoover Crip. My homies were doing it and I wanted to do it. I can’t really explain that. I didn’t get into it with another hood or anything like that. I was just following the leader." Before turning to music Hanley became a drug dealer selling Oxycontin, and for a short time crack and marijuana: "I was selling Oxycontin. I sold crack a little bit, but I didn’t make a whole lot of money selling crack or weed or any of that. I made a lot of money selling Oxycontin. I used to go out of town and get it. You just sit back, your homie tell you about this person, and that person spread the word. And then they come to you. You don’t need to get that hype. So I was selling all types of shit. Got beat up, beat shit up."^[8] In 2007, he was arrested for a crime he won't disclose and says he was sent to jail for six months, half of which he finished on house arrest: "When I was 21 I got arrested and went to jail. I got a felony charge and they gave me a strike too. I don’t be putting out what my charge was but it wasn’t a sexual thing."^[1][8]

He claims to have written his first verse when he was 16, but wasn't serious about music until he was 21. Music became his way of expressing himself: "I wrote my first verse when I was 16. I wasn’t really rapping, but you know everybody wrote a verse before. I wrote the verse but I wasn’t really fucking with it. By 21, I started to really get into it and gained a passion for it. You got to let your aggression out, so you got to get in the booth and let it out. I was really working on my craft, studying music, and I became Q. I did all of it, school and the streets. I was just lost; I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was just trying to do something. Then I found music and it was just over after that. I made my first little bit of money doing music, after that I wanted to get used to doing it, and I kept rapping. Then it became something that I had to do."^[9]

In 2006 he began to work with Top Dawg Entertainment, recording at their studio "House of Pain" and collaborating with their artists. His first time at the studio he worked with his soon to be Black Hippy cohorts Jay Rock and Ab-Soul: "I walked in and the beat was playing. Ali told them that I rap. Punch told me to jump on the beat. It was a record that Jay Rock and Ab-Soul were writing to, so then I wrote it. Punch liked it and he told me to come back through. I kept coming back, kept getting better, and eventually they signed me to TDE." On July 29, 2008, Hanley released his first mixtape titled Schoolboy Turned Hustla. After the release of Schoolboy Turned Hustla, he signed a deal with Top Dawg Entertainment in 2009, where he formed Black Hippy with fellow label mates and frequent collaborators, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul.^[10][11]

In 2009 Hanley was involved in a short "beef" with fellow west-coast rapper 40 Glocc. Hanley released a diss track titled "Ezell (40 Glocc Killa)" where he questions 40 Glocc's gang-banging. Hanley has went on record as to why they were "beefing": "He made some false statements about my boy, Tyga, that's my little brother. He did a lot of fake stuff with Wayne, a lot of lies, rumors and childish shit that I really didn't like, and I really felt disrespected by this clown saying all this shit so I just had to like air it out". He went on to say "It's over with, I did what I did, I said what I said and I won't diss him no more, because it's obvious he ain't on my level...so why categorize myself with a loser?".^[12] He released Gangsta & Soul, his second mixtape on May 14, 2009, which included the diss track.

2010–present: Independent albums and Black Hippy[link]

Although Hanley did not release a project, 2010 had him touring, doing guest appearances and had him in the studio working with the rest of Black Hippy and on his then-upcoming project Setbacks. On January 11, 2011, exclusively through iTunes he released Setbacks, his first independent album under Top Dawg Entertainment to critical acclaim.^[13] The album reached number one-hundred on the Billboard 200 selling 787 units it's first week.^[14] Two weeks after the album's release Hanely took to Twitter and gave the album away for free.^[15] By the time Q's first album, SetBacks, was released in early 2011, he'd quit gangbanging altogether.^[16] Setbacks propelled Hanley into the spotlight and allowed him to earn a large internet following: "The concept behind Setbacks was [to talk about] all the shit that’s the reason why I can’t rap. The reason I can’t accomplish what I want to accomplish is because I’m doing all this dumb shit. I put it all together on the album. Like, ‘Druggys With Hoes,’ I’m out here drugging and I’m not even trying to fuck with hoes. ‘Kamikaze,’ I’m not even trying to rap—keep going broke. Different shit like that, I sum it up all in one album. My life did a whole 180 after that dropped. A lot of people still didn’t know the name though, but a lot of people did. It was weird. It just took me to the right spot. I made some fucking money off the project, it helped me see that I needed to do more positive shit in life, and it made me into the person I am now. All I do now is just chill. I’d rather just chill, work on my music, be with my two-year-old daughter, and smoke weed and shit."^[17]

Hanely headlined his first show on March 11, 2011, at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California.^[18] In March 2011 Hanley was arrested at the 2011 South by Southwest music festival and explained that he was ultimately jailed because of marijuana possession: "I got sent to jail for some weed. That was all bad. And I was the one that broke up the fight," said Schoolboy Q. "And then my manager Dave he thought he was Tupac Shakur, ‘Don’t touch my artist! Don’t touch my artist! Don’t touch my artist!’ I’m cool. I’m his artist. I’m like whatever. I’m straight then he kept going crazy. My ass went to the pen…Yea, I got away and then everybody walked out like Tupac in MGM. Police was like ‘Aww, there they go.’ Of course I’m the only one with all the weed."^[19]

On September 22, through his Twitter feed, Hanley announced the title of his second full length project to be Habits & Contradictions. He described the album as a "prequel to Setbacks".^[20] On September 26, 2011, he released the first offering off of Habits & Contradictions, a song titled "Druggys Wit Hoes Again" featuring Ab-Soul. On October 19, 2011, he leaked "There He Go", followed by "Oxy Music" on October 28. On October 31, he was featured on ASAP Rocky's critically acclaimed mixtape LiveLoveA$AP, on a song titled "Brand New Guy", which was well received by the public. To keep promoting Habits & Contradictions he released "My Hatin’ Joint" on November 15, 2011. On November 29, 2011, a music video for "To tha Beat (F'd Up)" from Setbacks was leaked,^[21][22] later that same day Hanley officially released a music for a track titled "Sacrilegious" for Habits & Contradictions.^[23] On January 2, 2012, Hanley released another song, "Blessed" featuring Kendrick Lamar and announced the album's release date to be January 14, 2012.^[24]

On January 6, 2012, via Twitter, Hanley announced guest appearances on the album would include ASAP Rocky, Currensy and Dom Kennedy.^[25][26][27] On January 6, Hanley also released a public service announcement for Habits & Contradictions, shot and edited by Dwayne LaFleur.^[28] Hanley sat down with freeOnSmash, for an interview and spoke on some of the tracks from his Habits & Contradictions, the interview was released on January 9, 2012. OnSmash claims "The 17 track project, due out January 14, is a look into Q’s life, with tales of pill selling, life struggle, partying, religious hypocrites, his block and everything in between."^[29] The album was released exclusively on iTunes, with only a few hard copies being sold and signed by Schoolboy Q in L.A.. In early hours of release, the album moved up to iTunes Top 10 Albums chart and stayed over within days after release. The album debuted at #111 on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 3,900 digital copies in the United States.^[6] With only two days at retail the Top Dawg Entertainment release scanned nearly 4,000 units to crack the Top 100, without any marketing or advertising.^[6] The album also debuted on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at number twenty-five, Top Rap Albums at number sixteen, Top Independent Albums at number seventeen and at number three on the Top Heatseekers album chart respectively. Music videos for "Hands on the Wheel" with ASAP Rocky and "Nightmare on Figg St." were later released.

In March 2012, MTV announced that Top Dawg Entertainment, the independent record label Schoolboy Q is signed to, have closed a joint venture deal with Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, marking the end of his career as an independent artist. Under the new deal, Black Hippy cohort, Kendrick Lamar's debut studio album, Good Kid in a Mad City will be jointly released via Top Dawg/Interscope/Aftermath while releases from the rest of Black Hippy (Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHoolboy Q) will be distributed via Top Dawg/Interscope.^[2] On March 24, Schoolboy Q announced #TheGroovyTour; a month long tour with Ab-Soul accompanying him the entire way. The tour kicks off on April 20 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California.^[30] On April 3, 2012, Interscope Records released "Hands on the Wheel" as a single via iTunes^[31] and began promoting the song at Urban and Rhythmic radio formats in North America.

Musical style[link]

Influences[link]

Schoolboy Q cites Nas, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Kurupt, 2Pac, Biggie, Kanye West, Beanie Sigel and Wu-Tang Clan as rappers who influenced him: "But Biggie, Nas and 50 Cent [are my biggest influences]".^[32]

In several interviews Schoolboy Q has stated 50 Cent is the biggest reason he started to take rapping and his music career seriously, even going as far as saying 50 Cent probably saved his life: "We got the same shit going on. Everything he talk about is the same shit I did. I relate to Fifty… I can listen to 50 Cent and tell he really mean what he’s saying. He’s one of them niggas that got away with confidence. Fifty ain’t got the best bars, he ain’t got Jay-Z bars but his confidence on a record…you can’t deny it. I seen where he was doing an interview about Ja Rule during the beef shit, he was saying that any nigga that just getting out of jail that don’t know what to do with himself is getting into the rap game. Recently when I just got out of jail I didn’t know what to do I wasn’t going to try and finish playing football. That’s when I was fucking around with rapping, I wasn’t really rapping but when I heard that I was like fuck it…I really went hard at it. Fifty probably saved my life on some real shit."^[33]

Rapping technique[link]

In an interview with Complex magazine, he says he got his "rhyme-style" from Jay-Z: "I got [my rhyme style] from Jay-Z though. If you really listen to Jay-Z, he has a new sound every time he raps. It’s never the same. He might use a little swag, but it’s always like a different flow. So that’s all I try to do."^[32]

Schoolboy Q has been called very versatile with rapping as proven on his albums Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions. LA Weekly noted on Setbacks: "His style had begun to take shape, with his penchant for stretching vowels like Silly Putty or slurring a word and then snapping back into double time."^[16] As stated he never tries to stick with the same flow: "But at the same time, its just a feeling I can’t really explain. You got to be wiser to stay on the track, but there’s no rules. When you start rapping with rules, it’s when you start sounding boring. You may hear me fuck with my voice, you may hear me do a two-bar pause, you may hear me do an odd 33 bars instead of 30. Give you 14 bars instead of 16."^[32]

Discography[link]

Independent albums[link]

Mixtapes[link]

Promotional singles[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Music videos[link]

As main artist[link]

As featured artist[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Schoolboy Q on Myspace
• ScHoolboy Q at Allmusic