Skyzoo – “Luxury Tax” review

Brooklyn, New York veteran Skyzoo reuniting with Detroit, Michigan producer Apollo Brown for his 10th solo LP. Emerging in the underground off the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, he continued to make a name for himself with a consistent discography. Highlights include The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, The Easy Truth, In Celebration of Us & my personal favorite: the Pete Rock produced Retropolitan dedicated to his home state. All the Brilliant Things built itself around gentrification & The Mind of a Saint was dedicated one of my favorite shows Snowfall, coming off the Old Soul Music-backed Keep Me Company & the superior Views of a Lifetime counterpart EP to celebrate a decade of The Easy Truth with a proper sequel.

After the “Soapbox 2” intro, the opener “Abundance” kicks things off with a boom bap instrumental talking about there being no typos regarding what one’s type is whereas “Detours” keeps the dusty vibes rollin’ so he can shout out all the alternative roads he had to take “God Given” retains the traditional boom bap sound talking about his discography being stronger than it was when he began 2 decades earlier while “Keep It Close” expresses a desire of being someone this person can spend their days with.

“Table Manners” confesses to being up in here feeling like he’s got 2 plates on him & for those who have his back to stay by him just before “Learned Behavior” ends the 1st half talking about his people looking at him like an exodus & that ringing true today. “Rose Tinted” leans towards a jazzier direction instrumentally depicting a part-time trapper & activist while the crooning “Scrape the Bowl” flexes his vinyl collection could buy him a condo.

Meanwhile on “No Discounts”, we have Skyzoo soulfully talking about the prices remaining long as he’s still here while “Hear Me Out” discusses bringing everyone around him. “The Blind Spot” featuring Blu & eLZhi finds all 3 lyricists talking about being around eternally but once “Under the Lights” assures the illumination’s bright enough, “The Rearview” sends off Luxury Tax advising one can’t be afraid of the corners if they need their own bouquet of flowers.

The Easy Truth has always been one of my favorite entries in Skyzoo’s discography, so the idea of them running it back an entire decade later for Luxury Tax had me more excited than I was for some of his recent material & am overjoyed to say it’s certainly the finest album he’s made since Retropolitan. Apollo Brown’s soulful production matches the consistency of the extended play Sky gave us 9 months earlier for a cultural celebration rooted in duality & evolution.

Score: 4.5/5

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Skyzoo – “Views of a Lifetime” review

Brand new extended play & the 6th overall from Brooklyn, New York veteran Skyzoo. Emerging in the underground off the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, he continued to make a name for himself with a consistent discography. Highlights include The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth, In Celebration of Us & my personal favorite: the Pete Rock produced Retropolitan dedicated to his home state. All the Brilliant Things built itself around gentrification & The Mind of a Saint was dedicated one of my favorite shows Snowfall, coming off the Old Soul Music-backed Keep Me Company to discuss the Views of a Lifetime.

“Tags at the Moma” produced by Camoflauge Monk talks about scheming for 20 cans a day over a boom bap instrumental whereas “Pardon Me” flexing that he was cut from a more Godly cloth. “The Wager” takes a drumless approach thanks to Cartune Beatz asking for the specifics of a bet & once “Sky is Like” homages one of Nas’ greatest singles ahead of Light-Years next weekend, “Devotion” talks about finishing the school of hard knocks with honors over a crooning Conductor Williams beat.

Thelonious Martin jumps behind the boards for “Love Day” incorporating a flute & a soul sample comparing himself to Gil Scott-Heron wearing a Carmelo Anthony jersey while “Hope & Pray” takes a few minutes talking about wishing nothing but the best for the person he has mind. “The Soloist” blends jazz rap & boom bap courtesy of The Other Guys suggesting he might be better off by himself while “Half Bloom” strips the drums talking about taking on more than he had to.

Picking up where Keep Me Company left off last Black Friday, this new extended play 53 weeks later deals with looking back on what was after you’ve settled into this new world of the growth Skyzoo’s last album explored & I’d actually say I’d prefer Views of a Lifetime over it’s predecessor. I feel like the production’s stronger & the 1st Generation Rich Inc. founder reflects on how his previous life has changed drastically & it got him where he is currently.

Score: 4.5/5

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Skyzoo – “Keep Me Company” review

Brooklyn, New York veteran Skyzoo signing to Old Soul Music for his 9th solo LP. Emerging in the underground off the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, he continued to make a name for himself with a consistent discography. Highlights include The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth, In Celebration of Us & my personal favorite: the Pete Rock produced Retropolitan dedicated to his home state. All the Brilliant Things built itself around gentrification & coming off The Mind of a Saint dedicated one of my favorite shows Snowfall, he’s calling for everyone to Keep Me Company.

“Community Service” featuring a spoken word out from JRose is this jazzy boom bap opener produced by JR Swiftz discussing scriptures written in threads seemingly holding us all together & the aptly titled voluntary work lasting for eternity whereas “Finder’s Keepers” keeps the jazz rap vibes going talking about not leaving until finding what you came for. “Home Away from Home” addresses still being the one they call up even though he’s been gone while the atmospheric boom bap joint “Ayinde in the March” talks about the corner getting immortalized soon as it dies.

As for “Drug Free School Zone”, we have Sky acknowledging that his footprints are on the soapbox trying to rebuild pride ahead of “Prayers for the Customers” getting back on the jazz rap tip warning to not run around like you one of them after you done with them. The bare-boned yet layered all at once “Courtesy Call” featuring Chuck D advising to stand down if murder’s involved, but then the soulful “Esoteric” describes the feeling as abstruse.

“Record Store Day” after the “Store Runs” interlude playfully talks about women in record stores, which is very much my type personally while “Sleeping Beauty” pushes further towards the final leg of his Old Soul Music debut by talking about your presence speaking volumes before you even say a word. “Wins of the Father” points out that being proud goes both ways on top of sending an open letter to his seed & “Jazz in the Projects” sends it off with an 8-minute jazz rap closer hoping you win the wars you haven’t told anyone that you’re fighting.

Centered on the idea of growth, Keep Me Company shows Skyzoo at his most vulnerable since he speaks on his current personal state along with the effects of the past & the assumptions of the future. Feeling alone in this growth spurt of sorts, Sky come across people who felt the exact same way & lets everyone know that they should fear none if they’re in the middle of their own spurt too since the blessing of growth can be sometimes disguised.

Score: 4/5

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Skyzoo – “The Mind of a Saint” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Brooklyn veteran Skyzoo. Emerging in the underground off the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, he continued to make a name for himself with a lengthy yet very consistent discography. Highlights include The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth, In Celebration of Us & my personal favorite: the Pete Rock produced Retropolitan. Last time we heard from Sky was a year & a half ago when he dropped the gentrification-themed All the Brilliant Things, but is returning to dedicate The Mind of a Saint to one of my favorite shows ahead of it’s final season next month: Snowfall.

“Eminent Domain” is a jazzy boom bap opener produced by The Other Guys encouraging to picture opportunities by rewriting the rules whereas “Views from the Valley” takes a more soulful route in terms of sound acknowledging how the angels look different on the other side of the city. “Panthers & Powder” brings back the jazz with some kicks & snares admiring the beauty within all of it leading into the spacious “Straight Drop” talking about how it’s God levels in the town when they up.

Moving on from there with “100 to One”, we have Sky acknowledging that he has more to say than a few 16 bars & a hook on here saying it’s best to act like you ain’t know over a swooning beat with some trumpets leading into the piano-infused “Bodies!” opening up about everyone Franklin has killed so far deserved to die. “The Balancing Act” blends some horns & crooning vocals together talking about being the messiah type while “Brick by Brick” returns to the boom bap kicking that outside shit for the 1 time. The penultimate track “Apologies in Order” is an endearing open letter with the beat having a glistening quality to it & “Purity” is a solemn 7-minute closer with talking about becoming the oracle.

“Cold Kiss” starts the deluxe run on a soulful boom bap note calling the pallbearer “the right plug for you” while “Recipe for Desire” smoothly talks about making biblical money. “My Crescendo” returns to a jazzier vibe discussing redemption with a pistol out the window while “God Bless the King” hops over kicks, snares & horns seeing if he match the rain out in South Central even though it’s not a frequent occurrence. After the “People Pleaser” interlude, the 7-minute “Give You Anything” discusses Franklin’s mother going to prison for killing Teddy McDonald & “The Freedom Dance” ends the bonus track run seeing Franklin at rock bottom much like the series finale itself.

There’s always been a source of inspiration for every single body of work that Skyzoo has put out & it’s amazing how he continues to be consistent after all these years because I don’t see how anyone who has the sane amount of love for hip hop & Snowfall would dislike this album. He excellently captures what Franklin Saint’s innermost thoughts could be when dealing with the world he’s caught within & the production playing to the conventional jazz/boom bap hybrids we’ve come to know & love him for.

Score: 4/5

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Skyzoo – “All the Brilliant Things” review

Skyzoo is a 38 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York rising in the underground off l the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High. He continued to make a name for himself with a lengthy yet very consistent discography that includes the full-length debut The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth, In Celebration of Us & my personal favorite: the Pete Rock-produced Retropolitan. Last time we heard from Sky was a year ago with the Father’s Day-themed EP Milestones & knowing his grind, he’s back at it with his 7th album.

“Free Jewelry” starts the album off by sampling Gap Mangione’s “Diana in the Autumn Wind” & lyrics looking back on Sky’s career whereas “St. James Liquor” is a celebratory boom bap banger. Al Skratch of all people appears on the jazzy “A Tour of the Neighborhood”, is which literally a look into the area they grew up in. “Rich Rhetoric” is a intricate breakdown of the wealthy backed by a dusty beat while “Bodega Flowers” incorporates some kick-drums & a somewhat funky bass-line accompanying lyrics about appreciation.

Meanwhile on “Something to Believe In”, we get a sample of the iconic Roy Ayers joint “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” along with the concept of being blessed even when Satan is testing him & even though “Humble Brag” speaks for itself conceptually, the vocals in the background are pleasant to the ear. “I Was Supposed to Be a Trap Rapper” takes a look at Skyzoo’s past with JR Swiftz’ production constantly switching from gritty to jazzy while “Plugs & Connections” has rich instrumental & the theme of this is: “ain’t nobody tell nobody what’s to be expected”.

“The Scrimmage” has a hypnotic vocal sample as well as lyrics about minding your limits while we go back to into jazz territory for “Culture-Ish”, which is about passing it down until the baton’s gone. The song “Bed-Stuy’s Burning” speaks on the gentrification of the titular neighborhood accompanied by a live band while the self-produced penultimate track “What Money Taught Us” tells us just that over some keyboards. The album then ends with “Soft Eyes”, which is a glossy romance tune.

It’s always a rejoicing thing whenever this dude drops a project & this is no different from that. Not just because the production has some jazzy undertones to it & some great sample choices, but the whole concept of new era of cultural appropriation is well executed.

Score: 4/5

Skyzoo – “Milestones” review

This is the 6th EP from New York veteran Skyzoo. Rising to prominence with the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, the man continued to make a name for himself with a lengthy yet very consistent discography. This includes his full-length debut The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth & In Celebration of Us. But I really think it wasn’t until last September where he really outdid himself & dropped his magnum opus Retropolitan, which was entirely produced by the revered Pete Rock. However with Father’s Day coming around the corner, Skyzoo is celebrating with Milestones.

The opener “Memory Serves Me” fondly looks back on the early years of his childhood over a jazzy boom bap beat & keep in mind: This is a sound that’s prominently featured all over the entire EP. Following that is the next song “At Least I Got One”, where Skyzoo speaks on being grateful for having a father figure in his life in such a profoundly fashion.

The track “Turning 10” then talks about his relationship with his father adjusting as he got older & this subject matter is continued on in the song right after “Duffel Bag Weekends” as he looks back on what it was like for him having to visit both his parent’s individual houses as an adolescent.

Then the track “Eyes Wide Shut” continues to speak from the heart as Skyzoo discusses how his father has ”been up” since the Christmas Eve he was born & that he himself has “been up” since late 2017. The song right after is a touching dedication to all fathers worldwide & then “Duly Noted” is a great way to finish things off as we delivers a long verse full of wisdom on top of a blissful piano lead.

Skyzoo has always had an impeccably consistent discography & this is no exception at all. I really love the way he incorporates the jazz elements into the production & it’s refreshing to hear an MC talk about fatherhood in a more positive fashion.

Score: 4/5

Skyzoo – “Retropolitan” review

Skyzoo is a 36 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York that first gained attention in 2006 with his 9th Wonder debut album Cloud 9: The 3 Day High. This was followed up in 2009 with The Salvation & then the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck the following year. Then after taking 2011 off, he came back with his 3rd & final Duck Down album A Dream Deferred. Zoo would go on to form his own label First Generation Rich Inc. & make his debut on there with Music for My Friends in 2015. He would then drop the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth under Mello Music Group the following year, but would go back to dropping projects on FGR at the beginning of last year with In Celebration of Us. But almost 2 years later, he’s teaming up with MMG once again for his 8th full-length album & has enlisted the revered Pete Rock to produce it from front to back.

After the “Men Like Us” intro, we go into the first song “Glorious”. Where talks about how he’s just that over a boom bap beat with a soul sample & some horns. The track “Truck Jewels” with Pete sees the 2 getting fly over a woodwind infused instrumental & the song “Carry the Tradition” with Styles P lyrically needs no further explanation, but I really like the claps in the beat a lot.

The track “Homegrown” talks about keeping it just that over a funky instrumental while the song “It’s All Good” is a positivity anthem with an instrumental that was made during the illmatic sessions. The track “10 Days” finds Rich Porter talking to Azie over a euphoric instrumental while the song “Richie” is vice versa over a boom bap beat with some keyboards.

The track “Penny Jerseys” reflects on his block over the same sample that Gang Starr used for “The Planet” while the song “1 Time” finds Zoo paying homage to a number of things over a smooth beat. The penultimate track “Eastern Conference All-Stars” with eLZhi & Griselda Records is an triumphantly epic posse cut & then the album ends with “The Audacity of Dope”, where Sky comes through with a bar-fest over a soulful boom bap beat.

Personally, this is the man’s best work to date. You can really tell that he & Pete Rock took their time in crafting a near perfect love letter/wakeup call to NYC & a nonchalant chemistry.

Score: 4.5/5