“I’m more proud just being an MC that tells the story of New York. When you heard Snoop, you knew he was from LA. When you heard Kanye, you knew he was from the Midwest. I want people to know when you hear Sky, you know he’s from New York. You can hear it in the way I rap. You can hear it in the things I talk about, the stories I tell, it’s all there.’’
– Skyzoo
It starts with the lyrics.
They’re his building blocks, his tools.
The lyrics are why Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg felt confident enough to put a 27-year-old, unsigned lord of the underground among Nas, Andre Benjamin, Lil’ Wayne, and Talib Kweli as the top lyricists of the present day.
They’re why he was crowned “Best Lyricist” at the Underground Music Awards.
His lyrics tell a story. The story paints a picture. The picture shows the world he knows from all its perspectives.
But at the same time, his punch-lines come in blistering combinations. His metaphors stretch for bars, oftentimes flying overhead. He toes the line between THIS AND THAT with ease and comfort.
With his critically-acclaimed debut album “The Salvation,” Skyzoo, who is signed to Grammy award winning producer 9th Wonder’s Jamla Records imprint, was both Brooklyn’s narrator and curator. Anchored by vivid storytelling chased by youthful humor, the album hit the Billboard Top 200 charts at No. 14, the fourth-highest position among new artists. Working with a cast of producers that included 9th Wonder, Just Blaze, Nottz, Black Milk, Best Kept Secret, and Illmind, he created a sonic successor to hip hop milestones “Reasonable Doubt,” “Ready to Die,” “Illmatic” and “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx”, and was instantly labeled a hip hop classic.
But the urge to set aside the story telling and simply spit rhymes was always there.
It’s the reason he searched for the instrumental to Nas’ landmark “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and Now, along with Illmind, the 27-year old emcee released one of 2010’s most highly-anticipated albums, “Live from the Tape Deck” on Jamla/Duck Down Records. The idea is a simple one: beats and rhymes. The gravity of The Salvation will be replaced by raw hip-hop. With features from Sean Price and Rock of Heltah Skeltah, Torae, Styles P, Buckshot and Rhymefest, the pair create the feel of classic, 90s-era cassette tape rap for an iTunes generation.
“If they lend me their ears, they’re also lending me their eyes,” Skyzoo said. ”When you hear my music, I promise you, you’re going to hear something that you’ve never heard before, and you’ll see something you’ve never seen. It’s that real.”
It’s a generation he’s more than in tune with. Leading up to the release of The Salvation, he took to YouTube to give fans glances into his creative process. With “Live From the Tape Deck,” he does the same, posting weekly episodes with insights into the album.
As CEO of AudioWorx Entertainment, he has his eyes and options open, developing ideas for ventures into film, television and merchandise. But rap is still the root.
From his 2006 EP “Cloud 9: The 3-Day High” with 9th Wonder to his collaborative work with Pete Rock, Lloyd Banks, Hi-Tek, Jake One, Flo-Rida, Maino, Little Brother, EPMD, N.O.R.E, Wale, Talib Kweli, Buckwild, Sean Price, and Don Cannon, to nationwide tours with the likes of Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Pharoahe Monch, and his Duck Down Records label mates, he’s worked with a hip-hip’s who’s who. His songs have been the backdrop for HBO’s “Entourage,” Rockstar Games’ “Grand Theft Auto 4: Lost and the Damned,” 2K Sports’ “NBA 2k11,” and ESPN.
Above all else, he is a student. As a part of the VERSES series for Court Dunn and 2DopeBoyz, he perched atop a park bench outside of a caged-in basketball court and recreated the haunting opening verse to Jay-Z’s “Regrets.”
The lyricism is intrinsic, no matter the form. His skill set is beats, rhymes, and life. But having proven himself as a narrator, he now wants to re-establish the rhymes.
