The sky is truly the limit with this young MC
03:00PM ET September 18, 2009
Contributor: Nadine Graham
A Rocky Williform Company
Rating:
Skyzoo has to be supremely confident in his lyrical skills in order to call his latest offering The Salvation. The Brooklyn-born lyricist is all about disproving the belief that younger rappers are detached from the essentials of the hip hop culture, wandering aimlessly in the void of gimmicky tracks and regurgitated ideas. So, it's as if Skyzoo named his body of work Salvation- with a wink. Based on the sound of the album, he's apparently a true student of the game, and has no desire to forget what he's learned.
The LP begins with the reiteration of the spiritual theme through music. A small group of women expressively sing "Jesus On The Mainline" during "The Opening." From there, Skyzoo dives right into the revival, so to speak. He flows effortlessly over the Just Blaze-produced "Return of the Real," vowing to "remind" us of what genuine rhyming feels and sounds like. Without much disturbance, he moves between the tracks that boast boom-bap beats, as if they came from a recording session in the mid-90s.
There's an abstract theme of hopeful optimism amid all the quick-fire wit and bravado too. On "My Interpretation," produced by Best Kept Secret, Sky insists, "I follow the aroma and the aura of what it might be is bringing me closer/ Higher than I ever been/ Caught it while I'm catching it/ And tryna keep it caught takes precedence..." He has the same sort of poetic introspection on "For What It's Worth," where he talks about being "lost between Plans A and B... Tryna be what I can be/ But it feels like time keep walking away from me..."
With talented producers behind him, including 9th Wonder and Black Milk, Skyzoo succeeds at single-handedly providing inspiration on the lyrical side of things. Sure, he occasionally falters on the album (the noticeably lackluster "The Shooters Soundtrack"), but overall, Skyzoo's created an appealing body of work that organically yields the spirit of salvation.
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Skyzoo has to be supremely confident in his lyrical skills in order to call his latest offering The Salvation. The Brooklyn-born lyricist is all about disproving the belief that younger rappers are detached from the essentials of the hip hop culture, wandering aimlessly in the void of gimmicky tracks and regurgitated ideas. So, it's as if Skyzoo named his body of work Salvation- with a wink. Based on the sound of the album, he's apparently a true student of the game, and has no desire to forget what he's learned.
