A record release is always a gamble—and in cases like Schoolboy Q’s major-label debut “Oxymoron,” released this month, the game is even more complicated. The Los Angeles rapper’s mixtapes and digital albums have likely done less for his solo career than his membership in the Black Hippy posse with Kendrick Lamar, hip-hop’s Grammy-nominated (ouch) phenomenon of 2013. With “Oxymoron,” Q is out to establish himself as a star independent of his associate’s fame.

He’s in good company. This week’s Playlist celebrates four other musicians who came out from behind the shadows of imposing contemporaries:

Casey Veggies

The youngest founding member of radical hip-hop collective Odd Future, Veggies released his first mixtape at 14. He left Odd Future shortly thereafter, but is still close with the group, contributing verses to Earl Sweatshirt and Tyler, The Creator’s albums while featuring them and other OF members on his mixtapes. In the meantime, tours with Mac Miller and others led him to a management deal with Roc Nation and record deal with Epic, with his first solo album due this year.

“PNCINTLOFWGTKA,” and “Hive,” collaborations with other Odd Future members, showcase Veggies’ harder side:

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Veggies’ debut album is likely to include more introspective cuts like 2013’s “Baby Don’t Cry”:

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