ScHoolboy Q has put a year on his next album. The rapper told a crowd during his Blank Face LP anniversary tour that THank Que is planned for 2027, offering the most concrete release window yet for a project he first discussed over the summer.
“New album called THank Que coming out next year,” Q told the audience. “I promise you that.”
He paired that album promise with an even broader statement about his future: “Ten-year anniversary, and I’mma be around for the 20th, too. I promise that. I will never retire.”
The comments matter because they frame the anniversary celebration as a continuation, not a farewell lap. Blank Face LP arrived in 2016, making the current run a chance to revisit a major point in Q’s catalog while looking toward a new release cycle. The artist’s reference to being present for the album’s 20th anniversary points to 2036, though it is a declaration of intent rather than a detailed long-term release plan.
A firmer window for THank Que
Q had already revealed the title THank Que in July, when he said he was wrapping up a 12-song album he had been working on “for a minute.” At that point, there was no release year attached. His latest onstage statement narrows the expectation to 2027.
That is still a window, not a complete rollout. No precise date, track list, guest list, label detail, format information, or single has been established in the information available. The reported 12-track count comes from Q’s earlier comments and is the clearest indication so far of the project’s intended scope. Fans should therefore treat 2027 as the stated target, while waiting for official details that typically define an album campaign.
In music-release terms, an album title and target year establish the broad outline of a project, but they do not necessarily settle its final schedule. Finishing an album can mean recording is close to complete, while the eventual release can still depend on decisions around final sequencing, mixing, artwork, distribution and promotion. None of those later steps have been detailed for THank Que, so there is little basis to infer a particular season or month.
The album will follow 2024’s Blue Lips. That release arrived after a five-year interval between Q’s studio albums, making the newly stated 2027 timetable notable in simple calendar terms: it suggests a shorter gap than the one before Blue Lips, if the plan holds. It does not, however, tell listeners what THank Que will sound like or whether it will connect stylistically to either of the preceding records.
Related coverage includes ScHoolboy Q Says ‘THank Que’ Is Set for 2027, Vows He Will Not Retire.
Why the Blank Face LP anniversary is the immediate focus
Before the next album era begins, Q is devoting October to the 10th anniversary of Blank Face LP. The 2016 album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and later received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. Its song “THat Part,” featuring Ye, was also nominated for Best Rap Performance.
Those milestones help explain why the record is the centerpiece of an anniversary tour. A Billboard 200 peak refers to an album’s highest position on that chart, while a Grammy nomination recognizes work considered in a specific Recording Academy category. Neither fact predicts the reception of a future record, but both place Blank Face LP among the more commercially visible and awards-recognized releases in Q’s discography.
The 10-city tour began October 1 in Atlanta. Its itinerary included a second Los Angeles date after the first sold out. Q is set to perform at The Novo in Los Angeles on October 12, followed by stops in Phoenix and Oakland; the run is scheduled to end October 17 in Las Vegas.
Anniversary tours can serve several functions at once. For audiences, they create a focused opportunity to revisit a defining album in a live setting. For an artist with new work on the horizon, they can also place an upcoming project in conversation with an established chapter of the catalog. In Q’s case, the available comments point more toward that second function than toward nostalgia for its own sake: he is revisiting a 2016 record while actively discussing a new 12-song album and rejecting retirement speculation in unmistakable terms.
Not a retirement statement
Q’s promise that he will “never retire” is as central to the moment as the 2027 album date. The language removes one easy interpretation of a career-spanning anniversary tour: that it might be a prelude to stepping away. Instead, he explicitly described himself as intending to remain active through the 20th anniversary of Blank Face LP.
That does not amount to a formal roadmap for the next decade. Q did not outline future albums, tours, collaborations or release frequency beyond THank Que. But the statement does provide a clear answer to the immediate question raised by a milestone tour and a new album title: he is presenting the next record as part of an ongoing career, not as a sign-off.
There is a useful distinction between an artist’s personal commitment and a release confirmation. Q’s words directly support both an intention to keep making music and a stated 2027 target for THank Que. They do not establish additional projects or guarantee a wider schedule years in advance. Keeping that difference in view makes the announcement more meaningful, not less: the specific promise is substantial on its own.
What listeners can reasonably expect next
For now, the known outline is concise. THank Que is the announced title. Q previously described it as a 12-song album. He has now said it is coming in 2027. It follows 2024’s Blue Lips, and its rollout is arriving in the shadow of the 10-year celebration for Blank Face LP.
- Album: THank Que
- Release target: 2027
- Previously stated length: 12 songs
- Previous studio album: Blue Lips (2024)
- Current live context: the October 2026 Blank Face LP 10th-anniversary tour
That leaves plenty unanswered, particularly around the music itself. There is no supplied evidence about producers, features, song titles, themes, cover art or lead singles. There is also no reason to assume the anniversary-tour set list will reveal the shape of the next album. The cleanest takeaway is simply that Q has moved THank Que from an untimed work-in-progress to a publicly stated 2027 release target.
The timing also situates Q alongside other rap artists using new records to extend, rather than close, reflective career stretches; Gucci Mane’s planned Against All Odds release is another recent example of an artist presenting forward motion through an explicitly reflective title.
For ScHoolboy Q, the immediate calendar remains about honoring Blank Face LP. The larger message is about what follows: THank Que is aimed at 2027, and Q says he does not intend to make this anniversary tour a goodbye.
