Skyzoo’s "Keep Me Company" is a study of resilience and memory, capturing life shaped by enduring legacies. Each verse unfolds like a chapter in an epic, rooted in strength and identity. Through vivid imagery, Skyzoo invites listeners into his world, where cultural inheritance and self-growth coexist. His lyrics honor the past while reaching forward, blending introspection with grit. The production, textured and reverent, amplifies his vision without overshadowing it. Keep Me Company is both anthem and testament, a fierce reminder of survival’s beauty, the dignity of struggle, and the poetry found in perseverance. The project features Chuck D and production by JR Swiftz, Sir Williams, DJ Manipulator, Marc Nfinit, ANKN, Leo Confident and more. Listen to Keep Me Company...
"When making this album, I wanted to do something that creatively pushed a button. Something that served a purpose while trying to understand both sides of the fence that it represents. The idea of a fictional character, Franklin Saint, and what his innermost thoughts could be when dealing with the fictional world he’s caught within. What makes it so intriguing is that his character and his world are mirrors of a time and era that really happened. The birth of one of the world’s most addictive drugs and how its ripple effect took on a life that may seemingly never die. The crack era was one of the worst chapters in black America’s story. Using the “Snowfall” series as a vehicle to delve into both sides was truly fascinating as an emcee. It’s a project that is layered beyond measure. If you’ve never seen Snowfall, you’ll think it’s a really great album, but if you’re an avid fan of Snowfall, you’ll truly feel as if Franklin, the conflicted boy genius turned millionaire and career criminal, truly did pick up a pen and pad to write his life story over a bed of beats. It was one of the most intense projects I’ve ever written. The idea of becoming a fictional character which represents actual real life events, making sure to hit every detail, be it from both the show and our real world, was a writing work out like no other. I’m honored to have been able to do so, and I’m honored that The Other Guys trusted me to step outside of a box and truly push the envelope with this. Enjoy, and remember, like they told us in the 80’s: just say no." - Skyzoo. Peep The Mind of a Saint below...
Skyzoo continues to master his craft with his fifth solo album and ninth overall, All the Brilliant Things. For this time around, the clever and intricate MC from Brooklyn touches the highs and lows of gentrification on “Bed-Stuy Is Burning” and keeps it strictly in the borough on “St. James Liquor“. Other tracks include “Free Jewelry, “Humble Brag”, “Rich Rhetoric”, and more. Dubbed his first project since last year’s Milestones EP, All The Brilliant Things comes with 14 tracks with guests Aaria, Al Scratch, BJ The Chicago Kid, Raheem DeVaughn, STLN drms, MBtheLight, Karriem Riggins, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Xiolynn and Blakk Soul. - via Rap Radar. Hear Sky's new LP below...
"The idea for this project came from me noticing the landscape of how fathers are represented in hip hop. Outside of Will Smith’s “Just the Two Of Us” and a handful of others, the majority of the records in hip-hop that speak on fatherhood have a negative connotation. I wanted to change that narrative, as it’s not the only one that exists. Myself being a father, there are a ton of others like me who are engulfed in hip-hop and are also 24hr a day dads, whose kids mean the world to them. I wanted to showcase that. I started this project in August 2019 as one song, and it grew into an entire project within a week, and I’ve been sitting on this idea since the summer/fall, waiting for Father’s Day weekend to come around. This is a conceptual EP, where each song is a story that holds hands with the ones before and after it, all about my life as a kid, growing up with my father always in my life, and how that’s now shaped me as a father myself. It’s named “Milestones”, after my son Miles, and also signifying the milestones that us dads reach in life as we grow into fatherhood. This is solely about growing up with a dad, being a dad, and the importance of it all. To all the fathers out here who are lovingly and actively doing the work, this one is for us." - Skyzoo
Retropolitan includes 12-tracks, all produced by Pete Rock, with features from Styles P, Benny The Butcher, Conway, Westside Gunn, Elzhi, and Raheem DeVaughn. It is more than an album of beats and rhymes - it’s two generations of legendary native New Yorkers putting it down and pulling no punches! Skyzoo and Pete Rock use this album to create a love letter and a wakeup call to the city, as they have witnessed its culture stripped away layer-by-layer. - via MMG. Listen to it below...
Famed lyricist Skyzoo is back with another one ... After dropping off the EP, Peddler's Theme last year, he returns with In Celebration of Us, which celebrates himself, his culture, and his people. Unapologetically pro-black with it's message, it is being delivered at the beginning of Black History Month. With a sonic backdrop from Grammy-nominated producer, !llmind, Apollo Brown, and more, this album is sure to be inspire, and evoke a response. Support the latest from the 718 below...
Peddler Themes serves as a prelude to Skyzoo’s upcoming album In Celebration of Us, which is scheduled for a Winter 2017/early 2018 release. The EP picks up where Skyzoo left off on his previous project Music for My Friends, continuing the album’s sound and reflective/nostalgic content of what Sky learned from and did during his neighborhood days. A nice EP, listen below...
"After years of mutual respect, circling each other in collaborations, tours, style and respect, two titans of their craft have finally collided in Apollo Brown & Skyzoo’s “The Easy Truth.” The album is everything you’ve dreamt it would be: breakneck instrumentals and syllables crafted to make your head spin. The marriage between Detroit instrumentals and NYC wordplay has never been more cohesive. Themes range from police brutality to NY ambitions; Skyzoo shows you the world the way he sees it. Recorded and produced in Detroit, “The Easy Truth,” is the perfect distillation of hiphop influences. Every moment on the album is a loaded question, a perspective positing a notion of truth, the convergence of grit and symphony. Joining the artists on the record are Joell Ortiz, Westside Gunn, Stalley, Conway and Patty Crash, a reciprocal band of guests that only add depth and richness to the duo’s chemistry." - Mello Music Group. This came out dope, check it out below...
Ahead of the release of Skyzoo's A Dream Deferred album, Skyzoo and DJ Prince dropped this mixtape in 2012. With some audio from Skyzoo talking on various topics spliced throughout, it takes you on a nice trip through some of Skyzoo's best tracks, which also include snippets, freestyles and underground gems. DJ Prince has held it down for Skyzoo for several years and was also a key factor in the Film Skool Rejekt's mixtape back in '08. Check out the Best of Skyzoo mixtape below...
Coming off of the success of his critically acclaimed sophomore LP "A Dream Deferred" and the heralded "Barrel Brothers" collaborative album with Torae, Skyzoo returns with his third solo effort "Music For My Friends". The album finds Sky back to what he's known for best: vivid storytelling, using elite lyricism to paint the scenes. Backed by production from !llmind, Apollo Brown, Jahlil Beats and more, with guest features from the likes of Jadakiss, Black Thought, Elzhi and Bilal, "Music For My Friends" is sure to fill the void of New York City soundtrack storytelling that Skyzoo's fans have been yearning for since his last solo release. Another real solid release, check it out below...
As of 2010 - when this mini-documentary was released - the 9 years prior Chi Ali was an inmate at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, NY home. In 2000, he killed his former girlfriend’s brother and was captured a year later after being featured on America’s Most Wanted. This mini-documentary was shot sometime around 2009, and while it tells the story of a young kid who made a mistake, he's since paid his debt to the state and has been a free man since 2012. I met Chi-Ali in Atlanta some years back, I'm thinking it was October of 2012? I remember because the Skyzoo track "Jansport Strings" was out paying homage to Chi-Ali & fresh out on parole, Chi-Ali jumped on the Remix. A couple months after that, he was on a joint with Fat Joe called "Games & Things" too. If you believe in rehabilitation or redemption at all, you've gotta believe a full life is still ahead of that man, so I'm sure another documentary or at least an updated one will be done sooner or later.
Chi Ali was the youngest member of The Native Tongues that included De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, The Jungle Brothers, The Beatnuts and more. He started rapping when he was 14, making guest appearances on songs by Black Sheep and De La Soul. His one and only album "The Fabulous Chi Ali" came out in 1992 when he was 16, and became an instant classic of the Golden Era. In 2000, he committed the crime of murdering his girlfriend's brother. He was on the run until he was caught and arrested in 2001 and began serving a 14-year sentence for the offense. He was released released from prison on September 12, 2012, after serving 12 years for second-degree murder. Chi-Ali shares, "You don't wanna come to jail ... I mean ... it's like a whole other world!" Heed that warning from Chi-Ali's cautionary tale and watch his mini-documentary below to hear more of his story.
For years, fans of both Skyzoo and Torae alike have asked the two to collaborate on a full length LP, after the multiple singles they've released together over the years. Classics such as the DJ Premier produced "Get It Done" and "Click", the !llmind produced "Barrel Brothers" of of he and Sky's 2010 Live From The Tape Deck, the album has been called for by their following since 2006. The idea behind Barrel Brothers is what the people have asked and come to know the two wordsmiths for; pure lyricism. Skyzoo, known for his picturesque storytelling and jazz/ orchestral background, and Torae, known for his gritty Coney Island depictions of life with a vintage but modern lyrical approach, have briefly put their normal forte's to the side and crafted this album with one game plan in mind; lyrical exercise over hard New York City soundscapes. The current resurgence of NYC hip hop is perfect grounds for two of its premier flag holders to continue doing what they never stopped doing in the first place; representing the city. Listen to the LP below...
Skyzoo & Torae aka The Barrel Brothers have their collaborative album dropping soon but they've dropped off this dope "Pre-Loaded" promotional mix in advance of the LP. Hosted by the BBAS family, DJ E-Holla, it's a quick mix of their previous collaborations, from “Get It Done” to “Cash Still Rules” and everything in between. The Barrel Brothers are about their BARS, peep the mix below...
