Top Dawg Entertainment is mainly centered around three things: raps, the black struggle, and the homies. Kendrick Lamar shouted the latter out on “Hood Politics,” ScHoolboy Q is loyal to his (and doesn’t really care much for yours), and the TDE president Dave Free and Kendrick also form a directorial duo known as the Little Homies (they co-directed the “DNA.” video) . The homies doesn’t just refer to a TDE’s tight circle, though—it’s a guiding principle.
Earlier today, ScHoolboy Q posted a TDE’s studio rules on his Snapchat. It’s a list of commandments that’s been circulated since engineer MixedByAli posted it on Instagram four years ago. Within that time, Lamar went from black uplift spokesman to a legitimate Top Five Dead or Alive contender, and ScHoolboy got it together to make a great album. Still, the TDE commandments are still law, and the rules have reappeared unchanged. They are as follows:
1. If you ain’t one of the homies don’t be Instagramming you creepy muthafucka. I don’t wanna look on yo twitter and find a creepy ass pic of me or one of the homies, matter of fact, No Twitter or Instagram in the studio! Act like you been around a bunch of rich niggaz from the bottom before!
2. If the homies just met you and decide to clown your bitch azz, sit there and deal with it. It’s part of the creative juices.
3. Don’t touch, ask, or reach for Q’s weed, unless he thinks you cool enuff to pass it to you. We only smoke stersonals around here boy.
4. Shut up and look ugly for the homies.
5. Remember these rules and you might get a meal out the food budget!
For a fairly disciplined, close-knit collective, these guidelines are pretty inclusive. Be chill, let ScHoolboy Q make fun of you, and maybe we’ll feed you seems like a fair deal.
TDE's studio rules deserve to be carved into tablets of stone pic.twitter.com/PqfI2ikAi9
— andy (@aboynamedandy) June 6, 2017
[h/t @aboynamedandy]
