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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Ty Farris – “Run Toward the Monster” review

Detroit veteran Ty Farris teaming up with Apollo Brown to produce his 12th LP. Emerging up up under the name T-Flame being featuring on a lot of projects throughout the mid-2000’s until the very end of the decade, it was at that point where he started to put out solo stuff at a prolific rate by dropping 11 mixtapes, all 11 of his previous albums & 4 EPs. Standouts include the Room 39 duology & the No Cosign Just Cocaine series, the Machacha-produced Malice at the Palace & the Graymatter produced Sounds That Never Left My Soul. Coming off Enigma with an Attitude & Timing of a Tarantula, we have 2 of the Motor City’s finest joining forces suggesting you Run Toward the Monster.

After the “Run” intro, the first song “Follow My Soul” makes for a passionate boom bap intro talking about listening to his intuitions in this cold game whereas the 2nd & final single “No Celebrations” speaks of the relentless grind it takes to reach the top. “Details” disses wankstas who portray fictitious crime they’ve committed in their music while “Authenticity” featuring Mickey Diamond finds 2 talking about their legitimacies.

“Ctrl Alt Delete” brings a bit of a psychedelic, boom, bad vibe instrumentally proclaiming his 3rd eye doesn’t ever sleep leading into “Beautiful Struggle” talks about the journey to where he is now wasn’t an easy one, but he wouldn’t have changed shit. “Sacred” works in some sampling for Ty to explain the way he feels every time he’s in front of a microphone just before “Cold is the Gun” talks about never buckling under pressure.

Kicking off the final leg, “Street Patriots” speaks of another day in the battlefield for his kind of people chopping up a vocal sample while “Traffic” talks about still going although most who were hustling beside him have fallen off. The lead single “Flawless Victory” featuring Top Hooter teams up over a flute warning of what their results will be in any beef until finishing up by asking God to have mercy for the “Young Rebels” trying to survive the fight.

A fitting soundtrack for the cold months & colder realities, Run Toward the Monster reserves the arguable right of possibly becoming the greatest musical statement of Ty Farris’ entire career for it’s grittily emotional & unapologetically honest. Apollo Brown’s production has a heavily grimy, soul-drenched grit to it compared to Funeral for a Dream earlier this summer & T-Flame’s lyrics are amongst the most mature he’s ever penned, tackling issues like survival or self-awareness & standing your ground.

Score: 4.5/5

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Bronze Nazareth – “Funeral for a Dream” review

Grand Rapids, Michigan emcee/producer Bronze Nazareth enlisting Detroit veteran Apollo Brown to produce his 6th solo album. Known for being a member of the group Wisemen alongside his late brother Kevlaar 7 & eventually the Wu-Tang Clan’s in-house production team the Wu-Elements, he would also go on to build a solo career for himself beginning with The Great Migration almost 2 decades ago & School for the Blindman only 5 years later. Bundle Raps & Ekphrasis produced entirely by Leaf Dog & Roc Marciano respectively became his strongest output since his debut, coming off producing Things I Seen for Termanology a few months ago to deliver Funeral for a Dream.

“Banshee Walk” after the “Next Dream” intro chops up a vocal sample for a boom bap instrumental with synthesizers talking about the streets being alive & keeping the cannon sharp prior to “Enough Lord” sampling gospel music asking God to chill in the same week Malcolm-Jamal Warner predeceased WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath and the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, Real American Beer founder, Real American Freestyle Wrestling (RAF) co-founder & known racist Hulk Hogan.

Apollo removes the drums completely on “Right There” talking about a person he knows having it all in front of him & fucking it up somehow while “Blue Albacore” gets back on the boom bap vibes slowing down the pitch of the sample used comparing success to a diamond suggesting that you gotta be moving mountains sometimes. “Lavender” goes for a heavier chipmunk soul direction tapping in with Love Jones on the outro hoping for critics to withdraw once he pivots the law while “Wheels of Misfortune” flexes about no one having bars like him.

“Meeting in the Clouds” combines chipmunk soul & boom bap together for a crushing tribute to his late brother Kevlaar 7 until “Faded Pictures” talks about envious individuals watching him shine wanting to turn him into a distant memory. “Smorgasbord” continues the distinct sampling to get on his luxurious fly shit & after the chipmunk soul collab “Lemon Glue” featuring Eddie Kaine talking about teaching you unexpected lessons, “The Quiet Years” drumlessly ends the LP by talking about being unbreakable.

Marking the longtime Mello Music Group in-house producer’s debut under his own label Escapism Recordings after leaving MMG this past winter, Apollo Brown & a close friend since his childhood Bronze Nazareth have caught up with one another for an obituary regarding the bond they’ve had for 4 decades strong beginning their individual careers simultaneously as teenagers saying goodbye to the dream itself because of them realizing the goals they had have been achieved by now.

Score: 4.5/5

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