Ron Burgandy Member since Sep 16th 2005 1599 posts
Thu Jun-18-15 07:21 AM
"Why hasn't NY fully embraced Skyzoo?"
Seems like they're always looking for somebody to hoist the flag. He's way more NY than Troy Ave or ASAP. And dude has yet to put out a subpar project....I don't get it
Is it fair or accurate to say that MCing isn't the focus in popular hip-hop these days? When listeners talk about what draws them into a song, I don't often hear them talk about wordplay or lyricism anymore.
23. "yup New York stopped setting the pace and started copying everyone else" In response to Reply # 4
Jay-Z's retirement (2003-2006) killed New York, Atlantic didnt care about Little Brother, Lupe Fiasco became a weirdo, Wale had to water his brand down for a look, The Roots jumped ship completely, Joey Badass wins because he sounds old school (not because he's lyrical), Action Bronson wins because he's white and funny, Kendrick wins because he talks about "real" things etc.
basically Skyzoo isn't very marketable and there's no winning movement for him to align with
13. "he's just ok, but the alum he did with Torrae(double barrel) is dope" In response to Reply # 0
also, he's usually saying the same shit with the same flow on most of his songs. he raps like a jay-z clone. I just heard a new joint from skyzoo i didn't feel.
15. "Last time I checked him, he was pretty bland" In response to Reply # 0
>Seems like they're always looking for somebody to hoist the >flag. He's way more NY than Troy Ave or ASAP. And dude has yet >to put out a subpar project....I don't get it
I haven't listened to him in 3 years honestly, I've heard he's stepped it up but I have been lazy about giving him another chance.
his stuff. I want my rappers to be larger than life in some way. I heard the Spike Lee song once last year and enjoyed it, but I never went back to it. He may be making music for people my age to appreciate, but truthfully I'm not going to take a break from listening to my mid-nineties stuff to listen to him.
19. "Also you're bugging if you think NYC youth would relate to him more " In response to Reply # 0
>Seems like they're always looking for somebody to hoist the >flag. He's way more NY than Troy Ave or ASAP. And dude has yet >to put out a subpar project....I don't get it
than ASAP, Shmurda, Manolo Rose, etc. We have to get rid of this outdated idea of what NYC is. You want 20 year olds to embrace a 30 year old rapper that sounds like a lot of 40 year old rappers. Doesn't make sense to me. NY has changed so much since the 90's. On top of all that, he just doesn't have much of an "it" factor. I don't think 30-40 year old rap fans get excited about him either. At least Bronson had a novelty factor going on, Skyzoo isn't that fortunate, he's just a "good" rapper.
NY rappers from my age group (born around '82) got a really bad wrap right as we were coming of age the climate for hip hop changed DRAMATICALLY and niggas wasn't trying to hear a certain sound from NY anymore niggas from NY either stuck with the old sound and went underground or catered to what was going on in the mainstream and went 'pop' so to speak (or if they were anything like me got tired of people telling you how to do your art and giving you suggestions on how to cater to the mainstream and damn near gave up BUT I'M BACK BISHES)
i swear i need to do a documentary about this i want to get niggas like grafh and skyzoo and others to speak on it
31. "yea pretty much" In response to Reply # 30 Thu Jun-18-15 10:57 AM by SHAstayhighalways
recently there was an article going around Facebook about people born from like '78-'84 regarding that age groups relationship with technology that was pretty accurate that age group is different compared to generation x-ers and so called millenials and i'd love to see someone analyze that age group/generations relationship with music in a similar way.
blackrussian Member since Oct 17th 2010 6498 posts
Thu Jun-18-15 11:02 AM
32. "you should, i'd watch it" In response to Reply # 29
>i swear i need to do a documentary about this >i want to get niggas like grafh and skyzoo and others to speak >on it > >
was it you who said something a while back about how there's so much good hiphop coming out the last few years from new artists, it feels like our generation dropped the ball or something
36. "RE: i'm gonna be blunt" In response to Reply # 29
We (that generation) entered into the music industry at an extremely weird time.. 05-08
There was so much noise and no one understood what to do nor were the "powers that be" willing to allow a shift.
NYC suffers from not having had a real grassroots scene. A&R's don't go to a random bar in Brooklyn or Queens searching for talent (unless it's indie or rock). They go to SOBS. And having a good/packed show at SOBs means you've already crossed a certain threshold.
I always felt like NY was too close to the source
But in a place like Chicago.. you couldn't just walk into universal and try to get a deal. so you bubbled built a strong fan base.. strong artist community then by the time NY Label heads heard about it it was huge.
Double 0 DJ/Producer/Artist Producer in Kidz In The Hall ------------------------------------------- twitter: @godouble0 IG: @godouble0 www.thinklikearapper.com
37. "you nailed it." In response to Reply # 36 Thu Jun-18-15 01:15 PM by SHAstayhighalways
>We (that generation) entered into the music industry at an >extremely weird time.. 05-08 > >There was so much noise and no one understood what to do nor >were the "powers that be" willing to allow a shift. > >NYC suffers from not having had a real grassroots scene. >A&R's don't go to a random bar in Brooklyn or Queens searching >for talent (unless it's indie or rock). They go to SOBS. And >having a good/packed show at SOBs means you've already crossed >a certain threshold. > >I always felt like NY was too close to the source > >But in a place like Chicago.. you couldn't just walk into >universal and try to get a deal. so you bubbled built a >strong fan base.. strong artist community then by the time NY >Label heads heard about it it was huge. > >
EDITED TO ADD:
all of the "new" new york acts that are big now had to build a fan base outside of new york before they were recognized for their efforts its a sad state of affairs out here
39. "RE: you nailed it." In response to Reply # 37
Yea..
Or via pitchfork... I think ASAP benefited from being the apple of the white hipsters eye when he dropped. They are/were the only thing that could vault a NY act in relevance.
Double 0 DJ/Producer/Artist Producer in Kidz In The Hall ------------------------------------------- twitter: @godouble0 IG: @godouble0 www.thinklikearapper.com
41. "Is that true of all/most Hip-Hop in 2015, or mainly non-Southern" In response to Reply # 39 Thu Jun-18-15 02:00 PM by Teknontheou
acts?
Honest question, because I stopped paying close attention to Hip-Hop 10 years ago, but I know that, excluding Kanye, Drake and Nicki, everything I hear on Hot and Power is relatively anonymous Southern acts (more power to them - that's not a a knock.)
Edited to add: I think some of those acts are actually from the North but playing up a southern sound and fooling me, precisely because I'm not paying close attention anymore.
One more edit: I see you specified NYC. I wonder what it would take for a grassroots scene to take hold again in NYC that didn't depend on white Hipsters as heavily as the current NYC scene does.
44. "RE: Is that true of all/most Hip-Hop in 2015, or mainly non-Southern" In response to Reply # 41 Thu Jun-18-15 02:03 PM by double 0
Nah.. in 2015 Pitchfork doesn't mint acts anymore. not in the same way..
I was saying that 5-6 years ago if you were an NY rapper and not pitchfork anointed it was a hard road..
EDIT UNO: I don't know if that could ever happen re: a grassroots scene in NY. Maybe if it was built around a venue (rap cbgb's). But the scene in nyc is directly connected to the labels. Everyone knows someone who is an a&r, ent lawyer, blogger etc.. what happens is nothing can gestate and fully form.
Double 0 DJ/Producer/Artist Producer in Kidz In The Hall ------------------------------------------- twitter: @godouble0 IG: @godouble0 www.thinklikearapper.com
46. "The grassroots scene is the open mic circle jerk" In response to Reply # 36 Thu Jun-18-15 07:27 PM by micMajestic
>We (that generation) entered into the music industry at an >extremely weird time.. 05-08 > >There was so much noise and no one understood what to do nor >were the "powers that be" willing to allow a shift. > >NYC suffers from not having had a real grassroots scene. >A&R's don't go to a random bar in Brooklyn or Queens searching >for talent (unless it's indie or rock). They go to SOBS. And >having a good/packed show at SOBs means you've already crossed >a certain threshold. > >I always felt like NY was too close to the source > >But in a place like Chicago.. you couldn't just walk into >universal and try to get a deal. so you bubbled built a >strong fan base.. strong artist community then by the time NY >Label heads heard about it it was huge.
I was a part of it at one time, and I had a whole lot of fun, but it is what it is. You can easily forget that your real objective is to get at least 30-50 people to show up just to see you. So most don't make the jump from the open mics to SOB's, and don't really understand why. Homeboy Sandman was the only one that I saw come up from that scene and make real waves. He was creative, steadfast, and worked harder & smarter than everyone else. Mr. Exquire (who is super talented as well) did that scene too, but I think he really popped because of the internet buzz of "Huzzah".
50. "Thought the first reply would be...because his name's Skyzoo" In response to Reply # 0 Thu Jun-18-15 08:21 PM by Anonymous
I think a lot of people nailed it though.
Sha is right...he's in a random generation.
He can come off as boring due to his voice and lack of energy.
His hooks don't always work.
Also...to catch on you have to work with certain producers. Even MCs back in the day before it went pop worked with the big name producers to help with the recognition.
All that said...he's dope to me and A Dream Deferred was quality from top to bottom.
51. "he's a perfect artist to get broken on radio in the vintage NY way" In response to Reply # 0
(through DJs that play what's good and not what's trendy or programmed), and unfortunately he missed that era by a few years. Also a rapper's ability to rap is last in line of importance on the factor chart nowadays, so when your rapping ability is your main draw as an artist, instead of something like how well your purse matches your shoes, then you're bound to get lost in the sauce at some point. But personally, my opinion is that he's probably better off not being a part of the system. It wouldn't do him any favors, and not because of any shortcomings people think he has as an artist.
__________________________________________ CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!! ------------------------------------ Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this
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