Los Angeles – Schoolboy Q has a lot to prove with his major label debut, Oxymoron. He’s the second member of Black Hippy to release an album on a popular record label, the first artist being critically-acclaimed Kendrick Lamar. He’s also the first member to release an album in 2014, setting a precedent for his collaborators and fellow members for the rest of the year. Critics expected a grandiose record, and what Schoolboy Q delivered was something better: an unapologetic, essentially Schoolboy Q sound.

If he was stripped down to a trope, Schoolboy Q would be the “rough around the edges” slacker, the rapper out of Black Hippy that would gladly drink with you, and then some. “Collard Greens,” the first leading single from Oxymoron is evidence of this. Whereas his predecessor Lamar rose to popularity with a song condemning the peer pressures behind partying (“Swimming Pools [Drank]), Schoolboy Q relishes in rapping about his nightly antics (and ironically enough, Lamar has a feature in this single).

From the get-go, Q is unabashed with this lifestyle, even when his daughter’s voice opens up the entire record with a seemingly proud proclamation: “My daddy’s a gangsta!” The first couple of songs are fun, and it’s no doubt they’ll end up being party anthems for the next months, but by the fourth track, when Q and guest feature 2 Chainz are claiming that they know that fact already, bragging about their elevated status, it almost becomes a question of satire or honesty. Q can definitely whip out some bangers, but is that all Oxymoron has to offer?

It isn’t until “Hoover Street” that Schoolboy Q starts painting vivid, deeper pictures of his life, and suddenly the tracks become far more sinister. Q flips to the other side of the coin, recalling memories of his childhood living in poverty and gangbanging. But the most sincere moments in the entire record lie in “Prescription/Oxymoron,” where Q opens up about selling prescription pills and his addiction to Oxycontin. Meanwhile his daughter’s voice whirls throughout, the petite voice previously bragging about her father being a gangsta now asking why he won’t wake up. The song is chilling in its fragility.

And yet what’s interesting about Oxymoron is that it presents itself with no pretense and no agenda. With Schoolboy Q, what you see is what you get. That’s why we can get a song about weed and brews, and a couple tracks later, have a song about the realities of harsh neighborhoods. The production is outstanding, as expected from a Top Dawg Entertainment record, and the rest is simply Q.

Schoolboy’s Q second single off Oxymoron is “Man of the Year,” in which he claims the title. At this point, it’s too soon to tell. While Oxymoron is undoubtedly bold and brash, there are contenders out there that can take that spot. But Schoolboy Q is a definite nominee. And with Oxymoron being a clever mix of both superficial and poignant songs, it wouldn’t be surprised if he takes it all home by the end of 2014.