Skyzoo is not exactly a rookie. Some may remember him from his appearance on 106 & Park’s Freestyle Friday battles, but most know the Brooklyn native from collaborations with the likes of Sean Price, EPMD, Torae & Reks as well as critically acclaimed mixtape releases like The City’s Favorite and Corner Store Classic. His most notable release to date is his project with 9th Wonder, Cloud 9: The 3 Day High. Now, in 2009, Skyzoo has delivered his long awaited debut LP, The Salvation. The question is whether Skyzoo could deliver the album that many people expect him to make with his pedigree.
A refreshing part of this debut is the absence of guest emcees. Too many artists have begun relying on other big names to assist them and gain attention. This is a Skyzoo album and he keeps it that way. His good chemistry with 9th Wonder continues with standout tracks like “The Beautiful Decay,” “Like a Marathon,” and “Under Pressure.” Sky does seem to be energized by the more intense productions from the likes of Just Blaze, Black Milk & Cyrus tha Great. It is these particular joints that show powerful production can in fact push an emcee to greater levels. Look at the intensity and concentration laced in Sky’z flow, especially on the Just Blaze banger, “Return of the Real.”
Skyzoo’s introspective side emerges more on tracks like “Dear Whoever” & “For What It’s Worth.” Sky is a good lyricist, but does not force intricate wordplay when it isn’t necessary. His flow becomes a major strength as he’s right at home on basically every cut on the album. He definitely catches your ears on tracks such as “Penmanship” with lines like “I’m numb now cause all along what I’m giving you / is more than you imagined any ballpoint pen could do / hauling all minimal I ain’t roll a sleeve yet / breath of fresh air and I ain’t breath yet / third lap around and I ain’t leave yet / if I talk different or it come across different, all of this is just a reflex.”
The album does have its fair share of flaws though. “Easy to Fly” misses the mark with its predictability & surprisingly weak hook from the usually consistent Carlitta Durand. “Metal Hearts” doesn’t live up to the other 9th Wonder productions on the album, sadly. The skit at the end of “The Shooter’s Soundtrack” drags on way too long, and thus, kills the flow of the album at a terribly critical point in the project. Lastly, “The Necessary Evils” is a little too dated to be on this fresh project. It’s a great track, sure, but in comparison to a variety of tracks on The Salvation, it sounds out of place and untimely.
Nevertheless, there is a certain feeling of the beats running into each other as well. This is not to say the production is bad, but it becomes stagnant. Sky’s beat selection is too safe at times; he strays away from the more intricate backdrops and often chooses run of the mill beats that he can easily flow over. This safety net keeps Skyzoo in his comfort zone, which contributes to his at times boring monotonous flow. If he had stretched himself away from standard drum patterns and picked more challenging compositions, it could have lead to more memorable tracks.
Skyzoo succeeds in creating an album that lives up to the hype that he has created for himself over the last few years. Evidently, it’s not a flawless effort and it won’t be considered timeless. There are missteps but there is too much good to let the bad knock it down. The Salvation is a solid debut that shows that the seemingly seasoned Skyzoo still has room for improvement, but could make something really special if he reaches his potential.
80/100
Return of the Real
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The Beautiful Decay
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Penmanship
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I still haven’t heard the album yet. SMH @ me. Nice review Justin. Can’t believe I’m the only one commenting as this album has been getting love in other post and in the C-Box.
Anyhoo…..just waiting for Best Buy to get it in.
I must admit… I ran thru once and were surpriced by his skills.. Then I had two danish albums to listen to and I got Brother Ali’s new album, so Ive got the second listen waiting, but he’s cool and he’s got a nice voice, some nice flows and a bunch of greats songs…
Great review J, and I pretty much agree with the whole thing. The skit after Shooter’s Soundtrack should’ve been shortened a bit and made into a seperate track. The safe beat – monotonous flow is imo by far the weakest point of the album. I also wish “True Love” would’ve been there, but still, overall a great album. Looking forward to more from Sky.
Agree with most of the review and the rating, but “Metals Hearts” and “The Necessary Evils” are 2 of my favourite tracks! Both could be on the soundtrack to “The Wire”, just that raw and real.
wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Boring ass album
I really didn’t expect that much from this album and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve been kinda ignoring the Skyzoo hype train but after two straight listens I already know imma ride this straight through the winter.
Peace Just. Nice review. Very well written.
Definitely a very good album!
Just waiting for my money to come through before i cop it. An artist like Sky needs support on his debut.
dope album..good review..i agree with the skit at the end of “the shooters soundtrack” is way too long..im personally not a fan of skits, especially ones that are blended into the song..def needed a few more intense songs like “the return of the real.” i personally like “under pressure”, dear whoever” & “the return of the real”..the whole album is solid, no skip button needed (except the skit of course).its also great to see albums with minimal guest artist..”lyrics are back”..PEACE
nice review…my favorites are “for what it’s worth”,”dear whoever”,and “necessary evils”. definitely on of the top 5 rap albums of 2009.
The album is very good in my opinion but Justin’s review is quite on point. for a debut this is passed decent but still falls short of classic.
9th Wonder – Under Pressure WOW. One of my favourite samples ever. What DIlla did wit it on Donuts was sick. but 9th… just plain STUPID. love it
eh, sky can get kinda boring, can’t he?
Not saying that he’s boring all the time, but his low toned voice doesn’t help. I feel like there’s a bundle of excitement, yes- I said bundle- loaded up in him, for him to translate that into his voice, I feel like it would be this album x10
9th pushed this hard though, he has a lot of faith in Sky…
That “Beautiful Decay” song is a problem… Just listened to the album. Pretty solid joint, gonna take a few more listens to form a better opinion. After the first listen though, I liked it.
This album is great…I don’t want a perfect album from Sky, it gives me something to look forward to. An artist can’t be everything.
Also, not to stray, but, you can’t call any album “classic unitl, at the minimum,, 1 year after release.
Give it some time.
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4-5 yrs should be the minimum to consider something a classic in my book. Yr isn’t long enough.
this lp is an exquisite piece of work. The Shooter’s Soundtrack & Dear Whoever are so serious!!! BTW I don’t necessarily agree with you guys time table as far as classics are concerned. I remember when I 1st heard Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. It didn’t take me 4-5 years to recognize I was listening to a classic. Same goes for Little Brother’s The Minstrel Show…didn’t take 4-5 years…I honestly can’t say it even took me 1 year to recognize I’m listening to something special here. I could go on & on… Fugees- The Score, Mobb Deep- The Infamous, Midnight Marauders…I simply couldn’t stop playing that lp. Certain lp’s I instantly know…like YES!!! this is it!!! Not to compare Skyzoo’s lp to any of the before mentioned. But I’m sayin’ 4-5 years???
i disagree with the classic thing. a classic is a classic. Some sh*t jus IS. a dope album is a dope album time is nothing. My “classic” albums spoke to me about 1996’s relevant topic 98’s situations but i stil l2 it now and hear nows struggles. doesnt make it any betta 2day than it was last year. dats like saying u gotta be married ten years to appreciate a woman. “It dont take a whole day to recognize sunshine”.
i love this album, but i was kinda disappointed because i honestly liked the power of words better.
the beats could’ve been a little harder, and maybe skyzoo should get somebody else to write hooks for him cuz repeating the same phrase ad naseum gave me a headache halfway through the album, but sky did come through where it counted by blacking out on the verses…solid debut
I love that crazy drum and cymbal smash chorus on shooter’s soundtrack
shit is nuts
btw.. BIG SHOUTS TO SKY FOR DROPPING OUR NAME IN THE THANKS SECTION OF HIS ALBUM
GO BUY THIS ALBUM
That’s sum cool shyt Deez, I just got the cd yesterday and I haven’t opened it…jus’ to know the name got dropped..I’m opening it now, yippie !!!
he doesn’t list that many names in terms of all the blogs either, so it’s extra dope
That IS dope that Sky recognized kevinnottingham in his credits.
Listened to this today. Dope ish.
An 80. Too Low! I dig every joint. Popularity is the only one that i feel wasn’t necessary, along with necessary evils. Everything else is flawless. Easy to Fly and Metal Hearts are two of my favorites. The way he chops Metal Harts is ill. Best Album of Year to me
EASY TO FLY IS A BANGER WHAT ARE YALL TALKING ABOUT!!!lol one of 9ths best beats
It might sound lame to begin every comment by complimenting you guys on the way you review albums
However, all the props are justified and need to be communicated as i can’t think of any other site that continuously proves its solid knowledge of our beloved music culture!!!;)…with that being said, good review once again! 
…can’t add much, also nice to read the readers’ comments prove, that there are a lot of true and honest listeners out there!…
only one thing i wanted to add because i can’t remember any one mentioning it: i think the highlight of the album and an epic moment in hip hop is “the opener”…i can’t think of any album introduction that hit me the way this one did! Everything about it, the gospel in the beginnig, followed by the piano, the drums and finally the sample, emerging in what i call one of those “perfect beats” (especially for an intro)…and of course Skyzoo’s lyrical unique way of painting perfect pictures that are so deep, honest and intelligent. his complex but yet, when absorbed properly, comprehensible wordcrafting…everything is displayed perfectly in “the opener”!…
i don’t want to talk about the album being a classic or not. i do agree that not all the beats can live up to the standards of a classic album. i still think that it has a lot of classic moments and furthermore makes it really hard to find any other rapper (that’s out there right now) who has perfected his penmanship the way this 25 year old guy has!! i know, there are a lot of other amazing rappers who have amazing lyrical abilities…but often they are not as deep and wisdom-spreading as Skyzoo…sure, a Royce has crazy patterns etc. but in the end he doesn’t tell me a lot about life situations I (and a lot of other people) can realte to…same applies to Papoose…Lupe is one i can think of but haven’t really heard anything in a long time (except some of these songs that’ve been floating around on the internet). Wale is amazing but not as “perfect”. J.Cole is crazy and I’m sure he’ll pretty soon take over this whole thing if nothing unexpected happens and he keeps striving for perfection!!…Joell Ortiz can compete too I guess!…But apart from that I can’t think of anyone else right now. (sure, i might have forgotten someone obvious in the process of writing this…)
I also think Skyzoo is much more likely to drop a classic than a Royce or Papoose. His content is profound, he is humble, he has a good sense of musicality and access to a talented, productive and healthy environment of producers he keeps relying on. He is more about pushing this whole game to the next level than trying to explain why he is the best rapper and writer. He might not be “able” to make those genre-breaking tracks like Wale or Lupe, thus probably not appear on the radar of house or electro music listeners. However, if he keeps improving the way he does and finds the ear for the “perfect beats” throughout the album, he should be able to give us one of those “hip hop classics” everyone likes to refer to and usually associates with the golden era in the 90’s.
I sense a positive “change” in hip hop the way we’ve known it the recent years. Maybe we will have another golden era. With young people like Fashawn, J.Cole, Skyzoo, Wale, Jay Rock, Nipsey (and other of course) who have studied their idols (Jay-z, Nas, 2-Pac, Biggie etc.) very well and are able to paint amazing pictures about relevant things that the young as well as older generation can relate to , there really is a solid foundation of hopeful artists for such a “revolution”.
The fact that a lot of the dirty south stuff is rejected by a lof of people…even those who ran with it in the beginning (no shots at the dirty south, i love a lot of artists from there…but in the end the ones that are really great are the only ones that are still relevant)!…not only because of nas’ hip hop is dead “movement”, Jay’s D.O.A, the more recent Little Young “statmenet” by A&E nor all the other opinions questioning the state of the present Hip Hop world…:)…but also because i think that some of the young rappers, especially those mentioned above as well as a lot of”semi-young” guys (i.e. Evidence, Alchemist Blu etc.) are getting more and more attention for the good music they create and the way they present themselves in the media. They make Hip Hop stand in a good light again. It’s authentic and sophisticated.
More and more people who used to love the early Hip Hop but were fed up and rather preferred listening to electro or other styles are fiending for that good rap shit. I sense that a lot as a Dj. All the 90’s rap parties are packed, people from back in the day return after their 5-10 year electro crusade etc…
I think this is just the beginning. Cole hasn’t even dropped a real album yet and the others just released their debut. But i think its only a matter of time…because if the standards are set that high, the even younger artists (at least the really good ones with a potential of longevity in the music business) will have to adapt to that in order to be considered remarkable!
anyway, back to the subject: Skyzoo “the opener” fuc*in’ EPIC!!! lol…
peace
i would honestly give this a 90/100. just DIRTY.