Saturday, Baird Point is set to be filled with screaming students, flashing camera lights and live music. The combination of veteran rapper T.I. and the up-and-coming Schoolboy Q has caused mass hype over the hip-hop themed Fall Fest. Before you get to your bucket hat on, here are 12 songs that’ll help you get to know the artists playing at the biggest concert this semester.
Listen to them individually yourself, or follow us on Spotify: TheSpectrumUB and listen to all of the tracks below on our “Fall Fest Playlist.”
Schoolboy Q – “Man Of The Year”
The single off Q’s album, Oxymoron gained popularity after the music video was released of the artist dancing around on a beach in his signature bucket hat. The artist starts in with short, repetitive lines until he gets to the first verse, which flows straight from the chorus without missing a beat. The artist’s style is evident here with heavy, choppy lines.
Schoolboy Q – “Break The Bank”
A personal favorite, this song in particular is unlike most of Q’s other music. The song has long verses, talking about Q’s life growing up and how he “Got off my behind / wrote me some sweet lines / ’cause one day my story gon’ pay.” The chorus is catchy, and features Q singing, as opposed to his usual rapping. Once the song comes on, it’ll be hard to resist joing in.
T.I. – “No Mediocre”
This is one of T.I.’s new songs and that came out in June 2014, featuring Iggy Azalea. The song is unlike most of T.I.’s music and the new sound is more similar to artists like 2 Chainz or French Montana. His chorus is smooth, only to be broken up by Iggy’s upbeat verse that follows. The female rapper holds her own with fast-paced lyrics and an easy transition back into T.I’s part.
T.I – “Bring ‘Em Out”
This throwback came out in 2003, as the artist was beginning to blow up with his album Urban Legend. The song includes pieces of Jay-Z’s song “What More Can I Say.” T.I. comes in after the intro with saxophone in the background, quickly spitting lines until the chorus hits. The repetitive chorus is perfect for singing along to at the concert, once you realize the only three words you need to know are in fact, “bring ‘em out”.
Ab-Soul – “Mixed Emotions”
Ab-Soul’s track is heavy, immediately putting down a beat with heavy bass. His rhymes are slow and purposeful, using few words that hold great meaning. The song is off his album Control System, which came out in 2012. “Mixed Emotions” has a long intro, taking its time to set the tone before jumping into heavy, bass-oriented verses.
Bas - “Golden Goals”
The up-and-coming artist is part of J.Cole’s label and this track features J. Cole himself. The song sounds most similar to music from The Weekend, starting off quietly then building to Bas’ verses. Bas’ specialty is speed and his ability to lay down wordy lines is displayed in this track.
ScHoolboy Q - “Gangsta”
One of the harder songs on Oxymoron, “Gangsta” leads with a piano, bass beat one-two punch and this opening song on Q’s first album on a major label is a great exhibition of Q’s hard-as-rock lyrical style.
T.I – “What You Know”
This early 2000s classic is one of T.I.’s most popular songs and won a Grammy for Best Rap Song. This iconic throwback off of his album, King, is one of the songs that helped T.I. ascend into stardom.
Ab-Soul - “Gone Insane”
“Gone Insane” is one of Ab-Soul’s finest lyrical songs that he has ever released. The production of the song is simple; he raps over a series of repeating guitar riffs. The song has three verses, and he laces each line with an impressive and winding number of references to different pop culture icons. “Gone Insane” is an ode to Ab-Soul’s subtle genius.
Ab-Soul ft. ScHoolboy Q – “Sopa”
“Sopa” features Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul coming together to create a hip-hop classic. The bass is deep and loud and keeps the song swinging easily through both Ab-Soul and Q’s verses. “Sopa” is easily among Ab-Soul’s most popular songs off Control System.
Schoolboy Q ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Birds & the Beez”
Schoolboy Q’s first album, Setbacks, had a few gems on it. “Birds & the Beez” shines the brightest off of Q’s debut. The song opens with Q rapping his verse about drugs and money, a production leaden with brass and horns. The beat cycles through the song, and only serves to best draw out Q’s and Lamar’s brilliant verses. “Birds & the Beez,” made before either Q or Lamar were household names, is a release that showed the raw potential of both artists when they were on the cusp of their meteoric rise.
email: arts@ubspectrum.com
