ScHoolboy Q, “Hoover Street”
Grandma said she loved me, I told her I loved her more / She always got me things, that we couldn’t afford / The new Js and Tommy Hill in my drawers / Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, see Golden Eye was away at war
ScHoolboy Q may be one of my favorite rappers on this list, and “Hoover Street” is a great reminder why. Not only does it sample Spheroe, a late ‘70s jazz-rock supergroup based in France, but it drags you back in time with it as you listen to Q take you through the trials of his childhood living on the West Side of Los Angeles. His uncle would steal from his mother, addicts would find new ways to score, and Q eventually joined the 52 Hoover Crips—but his grandma, despite her money problems, would always buy him video games.
