1. Free Jewelry 2. St. James Liquors (feat. Aaria) 03:59 3. A Tour of the Neighborhood (feat. Al Skratch) 4. Rich Rhetoric 5. Bodega Flowers (feat. BJ The Chicago Kid) 6. Something To Believe In (feat. Raheem DeVaughn) 7. Humble Brag 8. I Was Supposed To Be A Trap Rapper 9. Plugs and Connections 10. The Scrimmage (feat. STLNDRMS) 11. Culture-ish (feat. Karriem Riggins & Monica Blaire) 12. Bed-Stuy Is Burning (feat. Hypnotic Brass Ensemble) 05:07 13. What Money Taught Us (feat. Xiolynn) 14. Soft Eyes (feat. Blakk Soul)
2. "i was mad this wasn't out today, lol" In response to Reply # 1
Convinced myself it was dropping today, was all ready for it, listened to half of Retropolitan yesterday as a bit of a warm-up...
Then realized it's next week.
That's alright though, gives me more time to play through some of his records before getting into it. He's easily among my favorite rappers right now and he generally has a really good ear for tracks, too. Haven't seen a list of producers yet but with his streak right now I'm not too worried.
Both singles have been good too (could do without the hook on the most recent one).
7. "Another great effort from Skyzoo" In response to Reply # 0
Dude has no misses in his discography to me. My only real complaints after a few listens is Sky has fallen in love with the trumpets to where he overdoes it, some of these tracks don't need and it starts to sound like overkill. Also, he needed a different singer on Soft Eyes than Blakk Soul, perfect beat and vibe and he just butchered the hook. Raheem probably would have floated over that.
8. "Bed-Stuy Is Burning is just a beautiful song" In response to Reply # 0
it's weird that with all the things happening in black communities now, a song like this that tackles things like gentrification head on is a rarity instead of the norm
__________________________________________ 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
16. "Try his album produced by Pete Rock, Retropolitan" In response to Reply # 10 Sun Jun-13-21 08:36 AM by Oak27
I recommend that because most Skyzoo albums don't move me much for all the reasons people have already stated, but that album I really enjoyed. The one produced by Apollo Brown is another one I like more than the average Skyzoo album.
23. "not Anonymous, but my personal fav is Mona Lisa (w/ Joell Ortiz)" In response to Reply # 22 Tue Jun-15-21 10:10 AM by Oak27
I think most people's favorite tends to be either Trophies (w/ OC) or The Left's Gas Mask.
I think Dice Game (w/ Guilty Simpson) is a great project as well.
Also keep in mind I have a hard time separating favorite overall album v. favorite set of instrumentals, so these may not necessarily my favorite albums of Apollo's strictly based on beats, but the overall package of beats and raps. That being said, beats typically drive my overall enjoyment of an album moreso than raps.
This may be his best ever IMO. I'm not sure if he dumbed the flow down of if I just have gotten smarter, but I found this to be one his most easily digestible albums lyrically. Nothing against his skills, but alot of it always misses me.
The production and arrangement on that is ridiculously good and he floats just right on it.
Feeling like the second half of the record as a whole is just a crazy streak but the whole thing is no joke.
On the conversation about his style and flow: All I'll say right now is his rhymes are super dense and the flow is relentlessly driving -- he doesn't take a break and doesn't let the listener do so either, and I think that makes it hard to find an anchor for your ears. You're literally trying to catch up line for line, verse for verse.
I've come to terms with not understanding half his slang (which I think half of it is shit he makes up, lol) and just enjoying finding new lines to admire on every listen. In the big picture though I find him pretty accessible - might not understand every line but get the gist of a verse or a track as a whole - and his subject matter is much more diverse and rich (imo) than a lot of other top tier folks right now.
I do get the whole thing about his flow being monotonous but he switches up here and there, usually to good effect. "Reasons" from The Bluest Note comes to mind, probably one of my favorite tracks from him:
19. "Been chipping away at this album" In response to Reply # 0
I've had to skip a few songs due to some of the beats, like the Roy Ayers Sunshine flip.... I couldn't hang in there with it, but overall, love me some Skyzoooooo and lyrics are dope as per usual.
... and yeah, he def stays in his lane, and I have no complaints there.
i have a few AOTY contenders but i think this one is taking it. i think it has potential to be an all time favorite.
its interesting hearing a full skyzoo album again after those two EPs last year and the retropolitan joint. he goes to another level on this.
i loved the two EPs last year but i kind of forgot how much care he puts into full lengths.
definitely going to keep this in heavy rotation for a few weeks. the i was born to be a trapper song is the only one that i didnt really like the vibe of but i want to hear it again to catch the story. i liked it but didnt love it as much as the rest.
32. "belated father's day reminder:" In response to Reply # 0
Skyzoo put out "Milestones" last year, an EP on the theme of fathers/fatherhood. Probably not as thorough as The Bluest Note but still a good listen and something worth pulling out if the holiday's got you thinking about the topic at all.
33. "Culture-ish is bananas…" In response to Reply # 0
incredibly good. Still feeling out the album, as a whole. Don’t think it will end up being one of my faves, from Sky…but it will definitely get some more play.
...I'm from the era when A.I. was the answer, now they think ai is the answer - Marlon Craft
This isn't always the case, but sometimes Mello Music Group does secondary variant reprints in different colors for their LP releases. They did this for the Skyzoo Retropolitan album and a pre-order is currently available for one.
It's possible one may drop for All The Brilliant Things some months down the line. I'm not sure if Mello Music Group announces the variant reprints in online newsletters, so your best bet might be to keep your eyes on that website some months down the line.
"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.
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