Skyzoo

Brooklyn MC Skyzoo's 2009 debut, The Salvation, drops with a curse-load of hype nipping at its heels. One of the first artists inked to wunderkind producer 9th Wonder's Jamla Records, Skyzoo stoked the excitement with a heralded mixtape, Corner Store Classic, a high-concept compilation touting his attempt to forge the intersection where 21st century gangster and enlightenment rap collide. On the brilliantly simple "Penmanship" (featuring slick Black Milk production), he boasts "they say I write a little different," and like Talib Kweli, Nas, and many other N.Y.C. rappers before him, the statement is true, and also like his forebears, what makes it so is near-impossible to define; it just is. There's something perfectly unadorned about Skyzoo's rapping style, as if he's preternaturally confident in his words and has no need to create a steady character with gimmicky inflection; on "Popularity," he posits he's "one of one and ain't the type for all the repeating." That said, he's a keen mimic when he wants to be. On the aforementioned "Popularity," he playfully glides into the Clipse's phrasing, even tossing out the Virginia duo's catch phrase "What It Do." 9th Wonder pulls another rabbit-steady beat out of his hat with the smooth '70s scratchy-soul groove of "The Beautiful Decay," while Skyzoo breathes poetic-hard life into one of hip-hop's oldest stories, the sonnet to the city's urban splendor. When he goes into the standard old-school borough-by-borough (plus surrounding burgs) shout-out, the fact that we've been here before is moot, his love is positively infectious. Skyzoo's passion for his craft runs deep and, perhaps egged on by an all-star production cast eagerly supplying the freshest of beats, the soul pours out in his flow. The Salvation is no revelation by any means, nor is it apparently trying to be, but it is a satisfying debut, a solid fulfillment of the promise built up by a young lion wordsmith. ~ Jason Thurston - Billboard Magazine

Over the past few years, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, MC Skyzoo has made quite a name for himself, thanks to his 2006 9th Wonder–collaborative album, Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, and well-conceived mixtapes like 2007’s Corner Store Classic. Now he finally unveils his proper debut, The Salvation, where the nimble lyricist employs metaphor-driven verses to exhibit music’s saving graces.

On “For What It’s Worth,” Skyzoo contemplates working a day job in lieu of falling for the streets’ allure, spittin’, “There’s too much money in cocaine for me to be playin’ the broke game/Or at a 9 to 5 with no-names.” Then he briefly turns to hustling on “The Necessary Evils,” before culminating his journey from the block to the top on “Maintain.” Undoubtedly, lyrics remain Sky’s calling card, but he wisely enlists a balanced set of producers, like Just Blaze (“Return of the Real”), Illmind (“Dear Whoever”) and 9th Wonder (“Under Pressure”), for the album’s standout selections.

Not every moment is praiseworthy, however. On “Easy to Fly,” he succumbs to cliché: “Let me Birkin your bag, Giuseppe your Nikes/And G4 you for the rest of your life,” while the wordy “Bottom Line” ultimately becomes indigestible. Still, overall, Skyzoo’s first official effort is a good look for fans in need of a little salvation. —JAEKI CHO - XXL Magazine

Skyzoo, (he of the incredible debut Cloud 9: The 3 Day High with 9th Wonder) sidekicked by an equally decorated producer Illmind, who has backdropped for both the underground (Akrobatik, El Da Sensei, Boot Camp Clik, etc.) and the overground (50 Cent, Eminem, LL Cool J). The bar set for the project, sound-unheard, is therefore high, and lofty expectations are often an unfair predecessor to a listening session. The leaks “Frisbees” and “Speakers On Blast” did nothing to lower said-bar and the packaging, both literal (complete with a fantastic artwork booklet) and figurative (superb features from Rhymefest, Buckshot, Styles P., Torae & Heltah Skeltah), point to a release worthy of at least your Itunes gift card. - URB Magazine