Brooklyn, NY veteran Skyzoo has signed with Old Soul Music to produce his ninth solo record. With “Cloud 9: The 3 Day High,” he rose to prominence in the 9th Wonder underground and continues to make a name for himself with a steady stream of records. Highlights include The Salvation, Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends by !llmind, The Easy Truth by Apollo Brown, In Celebration of Us and my personal favorite: Retropolitan by Pete Rock His home status. All brilliant things are built around gentrification, and Thoughts of a Sage dedicated one of my favorite shows, Snowfall, and he called everyone along with me.
“Community Service” features the spoken word of JRose, a jazzy sizzling opener produced by JR Swiftz, discusses scripture written in the thread that seemingly unites us all, and the aptly titled volunteer work, Lasts Forever , while “Finder’s Keepers” keeps the vibe of jazz rap talking about not leaving until you find what you came here for. Even though he’s gone, “Home Away from Home” remains the same address they call out, while the atmospheric boom-bap joint “Ayinde in the March” speaks to the immortality of this corner once it’s gone.
As for “Drug-Free School Zones,” we have Sky admitting his footprints are on the soapbox, trying to rebuild pride before “Praying for Patrons,” getting back to jazz rap skills, and warning not to mess around like one of you run. On the stark yet layered “Courtesy Call,” Chuck D suggests calling it quits if murder is involved, but then the soulful “Profound” describes the feeling as esoteric.
“Record Store Day,” which follows the “Store Runs” interlude, playfully talks about women in record stores, which is very much my personal style, while “Sleeping Beauty” furthers his Old Soul Music debut by talking about your existence. In the last scene of the show, you read many volumes before you said a word. “Father’s Victory” notes that besides sending an open letter to his seed, feeling proud goes both ways, while “Jazz on the Project” ends with 8 minutes of jazz rap about hoping you don’t win the war you haven’t won yet. Tell anyone you are fighting.
Centered around the idea of growth, Keep Me Company shows Skyzoo at his most vulnerable as he talks about his current personal state as well as the influences of the past and assumptions about the future. Sky felt lonely during this growth spurt, and he met people who felt the same and let everyone know that if they were also in their own growth spurt, they didn’t have to be afraid, because the blessing of growth is sometimes Can be disguised.
Score: 8/10
