Brad Beatson breaks the bank via Penny Arcade
Next to “Prescription,” I found “Hoover Street” to be the most unsettling track on Oxymoron. The video reminds me of always wanting to be older when I was young, looking up to whomever and wishing I could trade places just for a day. We see Q’s inspiration for the bucket hat and his loyalty to his uncle. We see he’s thankful for his grandma’s gifts but ultimately isn’t satisfied since he’s hit the street, and felt the sense it brings.
It’s an incredibly powerful video, and editing a present day, devasted ScHoolboy over the younger actors is especially poignant. It’s honest and moving, like the best of ScHoolboy’s work.
It’s been 3 months since Oxymoron was released and the record still bangs. Maybe not as hard as it should, but that’s because we’d heard the best beforehand. When I say we, I mean the select corner of the Internet who needs to know everything about our favorite rapper the second it happens. Because of this, Oxymoron didn’t live up to our expectations, and that’s a little unfair. Watching this video and reading this profile makes me take a step back and remember why I tuned into the Yawker in the first place: He’s extremely open, speaking honestly on whatever jumps into his mind. Oxymoron might not be remembered as a classic, but moments like this remind me how potent Q can be.
