''Setbacks'' is the debut studio album by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

recording artist

ScHoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...

, released for digital download on January 11, 2011, under

Top Dawg Entertainment Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) is an American independent record label. Specializing in hip hop and R&B artists, TDE is based in Carson, California. The label was founded in 2004 by record producer Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, who is the chief exec ...

(TDE). The album features guest appearances from fellow

Black Hippy Black Hippy was an American hip hop supergroupKendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1985), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. Rock signed with local independent label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2005. He secured a major lab ...

and

Ab-Soul Herbert Anthony Stevens IV (born February 23, 1987), better known by his stage name Ab-Soul, is an American rapper. Raised in Carson, California, he signed to indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) in 2007, where he eventually formed We ...

, as well as vocals from singer-songwriters Alori Joh,

Jhené Aiko Jhené Aiko Efuru Chilombo (; born March 16, 1988) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and rapper. Aiko embarked on her musical career in 2002, as a backing vocalist and music video performer for the R&B group B2K. She was signed by the ...

and

BJ the Chicago Kid Bryan James Sledge (born November 23, 1984), better known by his stage name BJ the Chicago Kid (or simply BJ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Sledge is best known for frequently collaborating with Top ...

. The album's

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

was handled by Lord Quest, Willie B, Focus...,

Rahki Columbus Smith III, better known by his stage name Rahki (sometimes Rahki Beats), is a Grammy Award-winning American record producer and songwriter from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is known for his work with mentor DJ Khalil and acts such as Emi ...

, Phonix Beats, Tae Beast, DJ Wes, King Blue,

Sounwave Mark Anthony Spears (born February 28, 1986), known professionally as Sounwave, is an American record producer and songwriter. He is a frequent collaborator of rapper Kendrick Lamar, having worked on all of his projects since his 2009 self-title ...

and more. Schoolboy Q titled the album ''Setbacks'' due to the limitations he experienced and endured before releasing the album. After the release of ''Setbacks'', the album reached number 100 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, number 12 on the

Top Rap Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

, number 25 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

and number 13 on the

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

chart. Only a few weeks after ''Setbacks'' was released, it already had 4,395 units and was praised by fans and critics alike.

Background

In 2012, in an interview with ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', Schoolboy Q spoke on the concept behind ''Setbacks'': "The concept behind ''Setbacks'' was o talk aboutall 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 Wit 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." Two weeks after the album's release ScHoolboy Q released it for free via his Twitter feed. The free version doesn't include "LigHt Years AHead" and is replaced with "Live Again" which also features Kendrick Lamar. The free version also features a new bonus track titled "Fuck Ya Hip Hop" featuring

Big Pooh Thomas Louis Jones III (born February 12, 1980), better known by his stage name Big Pooh (or Rapper Big Pooh), is an American rapper, who, along with fellow rap artist Phonte, is a member of the acclaimed North Carolina hip hop group Little Brot ...

and

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, Fr ...

Reception

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 100 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart and had sold 17,000 copies in the US as of February 2014.

Critical response

''Setbacks'' received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the album's production, features and lyrics. iHipHop gave it a 3.5 out of 5 rating mentioning "While ''Setbacks'' is a misleading title, ScHoolboy Q does leave room for critique. Despite his overwhelmingly impressive flow, Q rarely says anything worthy of raising an eyebrow."

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave it 4 out of 5 stars commenting "Dividing his time between socially conscious rap and bud smoker’s anthems, ScHoolboy Q makes quite the impression on his debut “street album"". They called ''Setbacks'' polished, funky, well-balanced, and rewarding.Setbacks – ScHoolboy Q
Allmusic.com

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Schoolboy Q albums Albums produced by Sounwave Albums produced by Focus... Albums produced by Tae Beast Albums produced by Willie B Top Dawg Entertainment albums