We all know, through the decades, Brooklyn has been a massive hub of talent within hip-hop. names such as Biggie, Jay, Kane, Foxy, Kim, Ol' Dirty Bastard, M.O.P., Boot Camp Clik, Joey Bada$$, and many others have laid BK as their home. As one of the most heralded boroughs within New York, Brooklyn has seen its fair share of emcees come and go throughout the ages of hip-hop. One of the more consistent and tremendously talented emcees to emerge over the past two decades is Skyler Taylor, aka Skyzoo. The Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn native has a penchant for jazz and hip-hop to where he knows how to blend the two of them excellently, while still keeping the boom-bap New York is fully patented by and the lure of the streets as well. Clearly influenced by two of his favorites ever in Jay and Biggie, Sky exudes the aura of Brooklyn, and his damn near undefeated discography represents this. From his earliest mixtapes dating back to '04 with I'm For The People to later ones before his full-length album debut, Cloud 9: The 3 Day High including Back For The First Time, The Greatest Flow On Earth, and the acclaimed, Corner Store Classic, Sky was shown to be someone to proudly hold the Brooklyn flag down, and that he has continued to do within his twenty year career. Among the most underappreciated emcees around, Skyzoo is most likely on the list of your favorite emcee's favorite emcee. Without question, he has among the most consistent discographies in all of hip-hop, certainly of his generation. He has collaborated with the likes of Griselda, Heltah Skeltah (RIP Sean P), Wale, Styles P, Talib Kweli, and Rapsody among others and even can brag about winning Best Emcee for 2002 and 2008 in the Underground Music Awards. Clearly, Sky has been nobody to play with, and his discography reflects this and then some. With that being said, let's get into it.
15. The Bluest Note
Production: Dumbo Station, artist
Guests: N/A
We get it started with his 2020 offering, The Bluest Note, with Italian jazz ensemble, Dumbo Station. The album is a clearly a love note to jazz music, with some boom-bap behind it. Still reflecting on his Brooklyn roots and his love of hip-hop, he does so over tremendous jazz outputs by the Italian ensemble and makes for an interesting and intriguing combination. This EP has some pretty good offerings here such as "The Caveat", "Sing Comfortably", and the ode to Roy Ayers, "We (Used To) Live in Brooklyn Baby, all of which are very enjoyable listens. When one mentions jazz rap classics over the years and decades, albums such as Blowout Comb, the Jazzamatazz series, August Greene, Reachin', Illadelph Halflife, Do You want More?!??!!, and the god of the jazz rap albums, The Low End Theory. However, The Bluest Note EP is not a farfetched idea to out this somewhere within the top twenty over the past two to three decades. Sky always wanted to a jazz-esque album, as the genre is his other favorite style of music, and with The Bluest Note, he and Dumbo Station crafted an album he can be very proud of and adds to his very formidable legacy.
14. Cloud 9: The 3 Day High
Production: 9th Wonder
Guests: N/A
After several mixtapes to create buzz around him, it was album time, and in 2006, he linked up with NC's legendary 9th Wonder to present, Cloud 9: The 3 Day High. 9th's soulful chops and nicely sampled loops mixed Sky's highly talented pen game was a great marriage for this effort. Mr. Douthit had already been establishing himself as one of the true greats at this time fresh off efforts such as little Brother's exceptional, The Minstrel Show, his collab with longtime collaborator, Murs, Murray's Revenge, and his own excellent Dream Merchant compilation album. He continued his momentum with this project, and this EP was something that was a welcomed introduction officially to Skyzoo. Practically every cut on here was a bumper such as the bangin' "Way To Go", "the neck-snapping "Mirror, Mirror", and "Live & Direct". Although not a completely perfect release, there's no reason to not give Cloud 9: The 3 Day High a damn good B+ as a grade here. Sky went in and 9th had tremendous production to match his eloquent NY bravado. Both achieved wins here.
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13. The Salvation
Production: !llmind, 9th Wonder, Just Blaze, Nottz, Black Milk, others
Guests: N/A
Fresh off his aforementioned acclaimed mixtape, Corner Store Classic, Sky officially delivered his debut full-length album, The Salvation. Much of this album was pretty much autobiographical and letting people into his world and his upbringing. Clearly seeing things from a young man's point of view becoming an adolescent, the album is honest and poignant, and definitely backed by some of the best production Sky has ever spit over. From the intro of a group of young women being presumably on a street corner singing the old Black Gospel song, "Jesus on the Main Line" is very nice A Capella and transitioning over into a beautiful sounding piano piece provided by Cyrus The Great to start the album off very dope. From there, the tremendous nature of this album begins with the introductory cut, then goes into the Just Blaze-produced, "Return of The Real", then catapults into the soulful samples of "The Beautiful Decay" provided by previous collaborator, 9th Wonder. The album doesn't let up in terms of quality with other burners such as "Popularity", the introspective "Dear Whoever", and "For What It's Worth", as these cuts all show him being open with his thinking through his pen with no frills or any shyness. He lyrically glides over a rugged Black Milk-produced, "Penmanship", and goes the softer route on "Easy to Fly", but no less engaging. Skyzoo made his impressions known way more apparent with The Salvation, and the results are truly wall to wall satisfying. He would deliver even better albums than this as you'll see, but this was a great way to set his own standard and it was a high bar.
12. Barrel Brothers (w/ Torae)
Production: DJ Premier, Apollo Brown, Marco Polo, !llmind, Khrysis, Antman Wonder, Black Milk, Oh No, Jahlil Beats, others
Guests: Random Axe, Blu, others
The pairing of Skyzoo and Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY emcee Torae goes back to Sky's mixtape days. Their single, the Preemo-powered, "Get It Done", had been making rounds and the pairing was an instantly successful tag team. The two highly skilled emcees finally brought their talents together to become the Barrel Brothers. They released the self-titled album in 2014, and this was a whole knocker. The two feed off each other like other legendary pairings like EPMD, Mobb Deep, Outkast, or Nice & Smooth, and sound excellent together. Sky's technical prowess and conversational tone mixed with the aggressive, to the point style of Torae and this album was as classic boom-bap NYC as it got at that time. Nothing deep on this album folks. Just hard-ass beats from the likes of Antman Wonder, !llmind, Khrysis, and Apollo Brown (including the monstrous Preemo-blessed "Aura") and stinging rhymes from both guys. The Barrel Brothers album contains plenty of bumpers such as the Random Axe (the short-lived supergroup consisting of Guilty Simpson, producer/emcee Black Milk, and the late, great Sean Price)-assisted "All in Together", "The Hand Off", "Tunnel Vision", and "Memorabilia". If you miss that old mid-nineties boom-bap flair within hip-hop, try Barrel Brothers on for size. This is a big highlight for both emcees.
11. A Dream Deferred
Production: !llmind, Jahlil Beats, Focus, 9th Wonder, DJ Khalyl, Black Milk, others
Guests: Jill Scott, Freeway, Raheem DeVaughn, Talib Kweli, others
With the critical success of his prior albums of The Salvation and his collab with !llmind, Live From The Tape Deck, he delivered A Dream Deferred, and it was absolutely a worthy follow up to both. Where The Salvation was more or less a story about a young child that fell in love with hip-hop and knew it's what he wanted to do yet still had moments of insecurity and honesty, A Dream Deferred sees him growing into his adolescence and further exploring his future place within hip-hop, yet still having moments of complexity and anxiety. The album is intricately narrated to exhibit his high, lows, and in-betweens just trying to come up in the game. From his humble, yet hungry, ambitions on the Jill Scott-assisted, "Dream in A Basement" to stardom hope with cuts like "Range Rover Rhythm" and the Freeway-assisted "Pockets Full". As most starving artists tend to do, they hit hangups, and question the desire to keep pressing. Examples of this include "Glass Ceilings" and "Realization", but with "Jansport Strings", he looks to one of his childhood lyrical heroes, Chi-Ali, as inspiration to succeed in the game. Whether he acknowledges the types of sacrifices needed to maintain on cuts like "How To make It Through Hysteria" and "The Cost Of Sleep" or shouting out heroes that he hopes to aspire to be, especially as a product of Brooklyn, like the Talib Kweli-assisted "Spike Lee Was My Hero", A Dream Deferred shows Skyzoo now coming to terms with being an emcee, whereas The Salvation had him questioning whether this was what he wanted to do or not. Based upon this excellent album, we are glad he made the choice to stick it out.
10. An Ode To Reasonable Doubt
Production: Antman Wonder
Guests: Torae, Sha Stimuli, others
It's no secret that one of the most iconic albums to ever emerge from those Brooklyn streets is Reasonable Doubt. What Jay did for Brooklyn at that time in '96 was easily identical to what Biggie did for them in '94 with Ready To Die and what Kane did in '88 with Long Live The Kane. These albums redefined Brooklyn as the borough of kings. Skyzoo was one such person that was heavily influenced by it. As an homage to Reasonable Doubt, Sky linked up with Antman Wonder to present An Ode To Reasonable Doubt. Similar to Elzhi's rendition of Illmatic, ELmatic, Sky recreates the scene of Reasonable Doubt with identical production from the album, however, instead of it being an album mostly revolving around the drug game and the streets, AOTRD is mostly about hip-hop and his love of it while coming up in the game. While "D'Evils" was a Premo-powered monster that highlighted the ills of the coke game, Sky presented "Praying Against D'Evils", he gave big ups to Jay and how he managed to survive the streets to become who he eventually became. Likewise, Jay's "Regrets" was about the pitfalls of what that life can bring, Sky's "The Truth About Regrets" is more motivational and is about regretting things in your life is a waste. With a philharmonic musical feel to it, again much like ELmatic had composer Will Sessions, Antman Wonder, although hip-hop producer, is also an arraigner and composer himself and provided the live instrumentation for the project. One has to imagine Jay gave Sky props for recreating this remarkable album, and definitely An Ode To Reasonable Doubt is a valiant tribute to one of the greatest albums hip-hop has ever produced.
9. Music For My Friends
Production: Apollo Brown, !llmind, Thelonious Martin, MarcNfinit, Antman Wonder, Jahlil Beats, others
Guests: Black thought, Bilal, Westside Gunn, Jadakiss, Saba, others
Staying with how hip-hop impacted his childhood through adolescence left off with A Dream Deferred, Skyzoo presented the even more autobiographical, Music For My Friends. This is more of a conceptual album than an album that's specifically themed, where a thirteen-year-old Sky is chronicling his life in Bed-Stuy in a way so many of us can identify with growing up in the hood. It isn't necessarily an album that revolves around tons of drug deals, violence, and unrelentingly disturbing imagery, but more so the eyes of a kid growing up somewhat like Chris did in "Everybody Hates Chris" to a degree. On cuts like "Suicide Doors" the Westside Gunn-assisted "Luxury", and "Civilized Leisure", we see him observing people rolling through the upper sections of Brooklyn and how he wishes those moments were him. This extends into the wonderful Black Thought/Bilal-assisted "Money Makes Me Happy", in which both emcees spit about the beauty of money and how money can bring about friendships and bonding. We get more sentimental moments and moments of introspection on cuts like "The Moments That Matter", "Meadow of Trust", and the intriguing "The Experience". He presents a very nicely executed ode to his mother on "Women That Can Cook" in which he measures whatever future girlfriend he has to be able to have the same skills as her, however the one and only Jadakiss assist him on "See A Ki", and the two of them spit about street dreams and making it big in those regards as well. There's no doubt Misic For My Friends is a relatable album to everybody in some sort of fashion, especially the thirty and over crowd that came up roughly the same way he illustrates on this album. Over engaging and fitting production that is mostly jazzy boom-bap from the likes of Thelonious Martin, frequent collaborator MarcNfini, Antman Wonder, and !llmind, Skyzoo delivers and a refreshing and poignant look at how most of us did when we were his age on this album and how we yearn for days so simple today.
8. Retropolitan
Production: Pete Rock
Guests: Pete Rock, Styles P, Griselda, Elzhi, Raheem Devaughn
When it comes to legendary NY producers throughout the past few decades, names like RZA, Marley Marl, DJ Premier, Havoc, and Da Beatminerz come to mind immediately. Another name that fits right in with this group is Mount Vernon's own Pete Rock, who along with CL Smooth, were one of the most acclaimed duos of the early to mid-nineties with their highly acclaimed albums of Mecca & The Soul Brother and The Main Ingredient being heralded as two of the most influential albums to come out during that time period. Pete rock has continued to bring forth excellent musical boardwork contributing to projects from the likes of Inspectah Deck, his late, great cousin Heavy D, Smif-N-Wessun, Nas, AZ, and even more recent stuff including his work with Griselda, Smoke DZA, and Flee Lord. Sky linked up with "The Choco Boy Wonder" in 2019 to bring forth Retropolitan, and this was a tremendous showing between this emcee/producer duo. Aiming for a nineties feel with the style and production for the album, they deliver and deliver very nicely on highlights such as "It's All Good", the Styles P-assisted "Carry On Tradition", "Penny Jerseys", and "Homegrown". They put together a posse cut of the year candidate with East Coast All-Stars" featuring the Griselda gang of Westside Gunn, Benny The Butcher, and Conway The Machine, along with Detroit rhyme animal, Elzhi, while "One Time" has Raheem Devaughn guest croonig over what has somewhat of a R&B feel to it and comes off still very dope. One thing about Skyzoo is he's an old soul, and with Retropolitan, he and Pete Rock conjure up NY in the nineties with an updated, modern edge to it. Sky clearly is having fun on this album but shows no less skill on this highly dope album. As far as Pete Rock, one has to imagine how the forthcoming album with another hip-hop legend, Common, will turn out in July!
7. Milestones EP
Production: MarcNfinit, !llmind, others
Guests: N/A
One thing we don't hear about enough of in hip-hop (or music in general if we are being honest) is praise of active fathers. While Chris Rock's old joke about "the big piece of chicken" is funny, it tends to fit within hip-hop. Aiming to change that, Skyzoo gave his father, and all other active fathers, their own Father's Day gift of 2020 in the form of Milestones, an EP strictly for fathers. The theme of the EP revolves around the relationship between Cuba Gooding Jr and Lawrence Fishburne's characters in the all-time classic movie, Boyz In The Hood, Tre and Furious Styles. They were father and son and had a stern and disciplined, yet loving, relationship. Very similar to Tre's upbringing, Sky's parents were divorced when he was young and at one point, he was sent to stay with his father. Every cut on this project reflects this upbringing and his experiences with his father and puts special emphasis on fathers in young boy's lives. Cuts like "At Least I Got One", "Duffle Bag Weekends", and the celebratory "Father's Day" all exemplify the positive influence and impact fathers can have on their children, and especially how much his father had on his. He also reflects on himself being a father and dropping jewels to his own son. On perhaps the album's highlight, "Turning 10", he directly infuses himself as Tre and how it was with him when he was the same age as Tre when he went to go live with Furious. Not a long EP (well, duh it's an EP), but Milestones is such a welcomed project for those fathers that think and rightfully feel they deserve more than the proverbial "big piece of chicken". No disrespect to all our mothers out there. We rightfully salute you, however, at this moment, and with this truly excellent project, it's about the fathers, including himself.
6. The Mind of A Saint/TMOAS: Deluxe Edition
Production: The Other Guys
Guests: N/A
One of the most acclaimed series over the past few years is Snowfall. The show revolves around Franklin Saint, a one-time nine to five worker who turned drug dealer and subsequently a street kingpin in Los Angeles. The story is set in the mid-eighties, when the crack epidemic was crippling the ghettos of the nation, especially within big cities such as Los Angeles. As fascinating as the show can be, Skyzoo imagined himself as Franklin. His premise was to capture how he envisioned Franklin as a hustler turning into a rapper during this time period. He turns this premise into an album entitled, The Mind of a Saint. Sky transforms into Franklin, and he details his mountains and valleys, while trying to break into the industry, yet having a hard time leaving his ways alone. Very much like the show, Franklin gets tired of friends getting killed, friends turning on him, and him amassing a body count of his own, not to mention he became a father and wanting to be a better example for his child, but the streets kept calling him. Very descriptive cuts on here such as "Straight Drop", "Eminent Domain", and "Brick by Brick" has him spitting like they personally came from Franklin's rhyme book if he were to have one. He hits his home run with "Apologies in Order", where he actually gets reflective and realizes his ways have costed him people and have amounted in consequences that he wishes he could change. This makes the way for "purity", which is more or less an extension of "Apologies in Order", however it's a pretty innovative track as well due to Franklin meeting up with the father of late emcee, Nipsey Hussle, and they have a rather candid encounter. Sky bringing Franklin into our modern, current world was a brilliant move, and put such a balance with the eighties' mindset with today's world. Earlier in 2024, he delivered the deluxe version of this already fantastic effort, and this keeps us in Franklin's head, as well as tackle rather complex situations and gets just as revealing and honest with stellar cuts such as "God Bless the King", "My Creshendo", and "Recipe for Desire". For a hustler and kingpin, Sky has Franklin in vulnerable moments throughout this album, and pouts a bit more humanity and depth into this otherwise cold-hearted, money-hungry hustler. Production was handled by Washington, D.C. duo, The Other Guys, who incorporate a sound that's jazzy, boom-bap, and mid-tempo at times, but found a way to bring these elements into the what the eighties would sound like. What Skyzoo and The Other Guys did with The Mind of a Saint, along with its seven-track deluxe edition, is beyond impressive. Sky delivered one of the most exceptional character transformations to appear on wax for a whole project in years, and this easily ranks among his most memorable efforts.
5. Peddler Themes EP
Production: !llmind, MarcNfinit, others
Guests: N/A
To prepare us for his 2018 effort, In Celebration of Us, he dropped an EP entitled Peddler Themes. Simply put, Sky was in his lyrical bag with this one. Fresh off his dynamite 2016 album, The Easy Truth (see shortly), Sky is as hungry as we've ever heard him. Two things that we've covered he's about: jazz and old school. Growing in the birth state of hip-hop, Sky's love of the game is as obvious as a tattoo on an arm, and tracks like "For Real'er", "Finness Everything", and the THUMPING "Let It Fly" are all showcasing Sky's ability to just let loose with his lyrical gifted wordplay and way above average penmanship. The image of "peddling" still has him in an era of growing seeing the drug pushers and hustlers growing up around his way, but also bring the nineties into his aura with cuts like "'95 Bad Boy Logo" and the quite dope "Bamboo". The EP is only eight tracks long, but not a single track is wasted or beneath what it could be. With stellar production from the likes of Apollo, !llmind, and MarcNfinit, Peddler Themes was a virtual shoutout to his nineties days, both in the cool and the not-so-cool. While he was preparing In Celebration of Us, he gave us one hell of a treat to chew on.
4. The Easy Truth
Production: Apollo Brown
Guests: Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, Stalley, Joell Ortiz, Patty Crash
Detroit production wizard, apollo Brown, has been an entire sizzler for about a decade and a half now, but he started to come into his own within the early to mid 2010s with projects that saw him collaborating with the likes of O.C., Guilty Simpson, Planet Asia, Locksmith, and Joell Ortiz. Not to mention his own compilation albums of Grandeur and especially the ridiculous, Sincerely, Detroit. It was only a matter of time before the two worked with each other for a full project, especially since Apollo provided tracks on previous Sky albums Music for My Friends and Peddler Themes. In 2016, the two dropped The Easy Truth, and Apollo provided not just some of the best production of his career, but certainly of Sky's career as well. Apollo's brand of thumping snares with typically soulful samples in the same type of nod with 9th Wonder works in several places here on The Easy Truth. In other areas here, he just provides thumping 808s with meticulously layered production that will bump yet keep that neck going. Sky excels over both of these formulas on cuts like "Jordans & A Gold Chain", the Joell Ortiz-assisted " A Couple Dollars", and "Spoils to The Victor". Temptation and its urges are a common element here, as well as the vital need to stray true in spite of things that will lure you away from who you are. One such example of this is possibly the best produced cut on the album, "Visionary Riches", in which Sky battles himself against the luxuries of fame. Similarly, tracks like "Care Package" and the 90s-spirited "On the Stretch & Bob Show" have Skyzoo's niche of underground hunger with vivid nostalgia front and center. Sky's ability to have that Brooklyn aura about him places him in a category only the likes of Jay, Big, Kane, and maybe even the likes of the aforementioned Ortiz can be a part of. Those cats that, no matter who's production they're over, they're unapologetically Brooklyn, and with The Easy Truth, Sky and Apollo display a chemistry that make you believe they're in a late nineties time warp, but with a modern listening atmosphere. This is without question career high points for both guys.
3. Live From the Tape Deck
Production: !llmind
Guests: Heltah Skeltah, Torae, Styles P, Buckshot
We've mentioned Sky's fondness of him growing up as a hip-hop child, especially within the nineties. The nineties have been said to be the start of the commercial era of hip-hop, but also among its most diverse and breakout. Aiming to bring back that type of era and feel, Skyzoo collaborated with frequent collaborator, !llmind, to bring forth Live from The Tape Deck, which according to him was NOT his follow-up to his very dope aforementioned full-length debut, The Salvation. Instead, it was just more of a street appetizer for A Dream Deferred. This is just a simple formula of beats and rhymes here, and frankly, that's all that's needed. Sky's flow and delivery is so full of confidence and eloquent wordplay throughout this album, as !llmind provided him with top to bottom outstanding boom-bap from the word jump. Cuts like the dope collab with Heltah Skeltah, "The Burn Notice", the graffiti themed "Krylon", and the bangin' "The Winner's Circle" are just as repeat worthy of Sky cuts as you'll hear. Your speakers will likely receive damage from the bass of the KNOCKING "Speakers on Blast", but you'll get neck braces out for the likes of "Kitchen Table" and the Torae-assisted "Barrel Brothers". The album concludes with the fabulous "Langston's Pen", which has Sky just going for his with no hook until the tremendous production fades out. Sky and !llmind wanted to construct an era with Live from The Tape Deck that's no longer around. An era where, you bought cassettes. When you bought a cassette, the whole thing had to be dope because doing a bunch of rewinds and fast forwards was too time consuming. Best believe this was a very worthy album to be a cassette, as there isn't a blemish on this album production-wise nor lyrically. No heavy concepts. No thinking man rap. It's just Sky showing his superb lyricism over !llmind's equally excellent production. Whether it's a tape deck or your preferred streaming sub service, Live from The Tape Deck is everything you need for just raw hip-hop.
2. In Celebration of Us
Production: !llmind, MarcNfinit, Apollo Brown, Cardiak, others
Guests: Raheem Devaughn, Jake & Papa, others
In previous albums from Skyzoo, it mostly centered around his growing up in the NY streets while becoming immersed in hip-hop and discovering who he was as a young man as well as a young artist. He would also bring us into his love of nostalgia and vivid memories of why he fell in love with hip-hop in the first place. Following up 2016's aforementioned The Easy Truth, he dropped In Celebration of Us, another autobiographical album that also highlights our successes (as well as soke our flaws) as a Black community and how he relates to them. He starts off excellently with the opener, "Everybody's Fine" (which includes a poignant conversation between two men and one of them having a moment discussing his need to change his ways for the better good of his soon to be son). Long track, but the cut is a bumper and certainly starts in the right direction. he follows suit with other very highly enjoyable cuts such as "Forever in A Day", "Parks & Recreations", the mean "Hoodie SZN", and "Remembering the Rest", all of which have commanding lyrical performances from Sky with guest spots from Saba Abraha and WordsNCurves. He gets conscious and thought-provoking on cuts like the utterly dope, "Black Sambo", the touching "Love Is Love", and the alarming "The Stick-Up Tape from Menace". He hits a particular high point on the Jake&Papa-assisted "Collateral", in which, as tremendous of a performance as he gives throughout the cut, he starts to name drop every single stereotype associate with the Black community as a means of how we appear to others within various sectors of the society. Also, he conures up the thematic spirit of Common on the crazy "The Purpose". Concluding with the upbeat and neck-moving, "Honor Amongst Thieves", Sky hit a knockout with In Celebration of Us. Arguably the most community-centered album he's delivered, In Celebration of Us is a stellar piece of work that shows his success and failures that all of us within the Black community can identify with in some way. We may not be perfect in any way, shape, form, or fashion, but as Sky points out in his own way, pat of realizing our beauty, is experiencing the ugly, and Skyzoo demonstrates that with all kinds of precision here.
1. All The Brilliant Things
Production: STLNdrms, MarcNfinit, Thelonious Martin, JR Swiftz, others
Guests: Raheem Devaughn, Al Skratch, BJ The Chicago Kid, others
If there's one thing that Skyzoo bleeds, it's New York. More importantly, his proud borough of Brooklyn. He has never strayed from keeping it all Brooklyn, no matter who he guests with or what album he delivers. With his prior album, the aforementioned In Celebration of Us, Sky provided praise and commentary on the Black community with our highlights and our growth. He goes another route with his superb offering of 2021, All the Brilliant Things. He brings us to New York, not just as a child or adolescent. Not even just as an emcee coming into his own, but as a grown man that sees changes going on within his home state and his own borough. Some are celebratory, some not so much. Either way, he's reflective of everything on here like a man that's seen it all throughout his life. He starts off with the knocking "Free Jewelry", in which he spits words of wisdom and schools the younger generation various items to reflect on. He then takes us on a stroll through his Brooklyn streets with the returning Al Skratch-assisted "A Tour of The Neighborhood" and also the tremendous coming of age cut "St. James Liquor". Sky has seen plenty of contemporaries sadly leave this world including the likes of Prodigy, Phife Dawg, and past collaborator, Sean Price. Thus, on the BJ The Chicago Kid-crooned "Bodega Flowers", he expresses how much he wants to be respected and appreciated while he's still around and not when he's dead and gone. While other standouts include the Raheem Devaughn-assisted, "Something to Believe In", "Rich Rhetoric", "The Scrimmage", and especially the FANTASTIC, STLNdrms-produced, "Plus & Connections", which has Sky cautioning people the price of not taking advantage of opportunities that come your way and also not being more aware of real estate agents wanting to take what you've earned and therefore gentrifying. Speaking of gentrification, the most sobering cut on the album is the horn-laced knocker, "Bed-Stuy Is Burning". This cut details the angers and frustrations over his Brooklyn neighborhoods being whitewashed and shames those of the community that allow that to happen for the dollar. He begs various cities across the country, "Speak [insert city here] don't let this happen to you", but sadly this is happening more and more throughout the years. Other important cuts such as the ode to Black community spending/investing in "Culture-ish", the essential nature of saving money "What Money Showed Us", and the surprising "I Was Supposed to Be a Trap Rapper", which has Sky GLIDING over a not bad trap beat on the closeout of the cut. Skyzoo is New York tried and true, and All the Brilliant Things is a testament to what that means. With his most exemplary and exceptional album to date, Sky has showed his dedication to his craft as a witty and insightful emcee, as well as an honest and open one as well. Important and necessary, All The Brilliant Things will make you revisit not only how it was growing up in the good way, but also see changes that may not be great either.
Skyzoo is clearly a generational emcee that should be mentioned among the very greats that he idolized and wanted to pattern himself after from "The Big Apple". Only because he emerged during a changing time within hip-hop is the reason he's not a bigger household star today. Many have said he came in the wrong era, however, to his fans and those that have kept him in constant rotation know he's among the best around within his generation. Twenty years deep and his discography is as consistently crazy as anyone in current hip-hop, and with other future projects in the works, Sky will only continue to cement his legacy in the game as one of the most gifted spitters and writers hip-hop has produced within this century.
Peep some of his finest cuts:
Apologies In Order (production: The Other Guys)
Bed-Stuy Is Burning (production: Rashid Hadee )
St. James Liquor (production: Kenny Keys)
Speakers On Blast (production: !llmind)
Way To Go (production: 9th Wonder)
Money Makes Us Happy feat. Bilal and Black Thought
The Truth About Regrets (production: Antman Wonder)
The Cost Of Sleep (production: Tall Black Guy)
Visionary Riches production: Apollo Brown)
Let It Fly (production: !llmind)
Sing Comfortably feat. Dumbo Station (production: Dumbo Station)
Bamboo (production: MarcNfinit)
Could've Struck the Lotto*
The Hand Off feat. Torae as Barrel Brothers (production: Khrysis)
Popularity production: Nottz)
Duffle Bag Weekends (production: Tuamie)
It's All Good (production: Pete Rock)
Memorabilia feat. Torae as Barrel Brothers (production: Antman Wonder)
The Mirror (production: 9th Wonder)
The Stick-Up Tape From Menace (production: Avenue Productions)
*from his mixtape, The Great Debater Revisited *
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