Reasonable Doubt, the debut album that made Jay Z a respected lyricist in the rap game long before multi-platinum plaques and Beyonce dominated his byline, recently celebrated its 20th anniversary of existence and Genius had the genius idea to recruit one of the more credible degrees of separation from the OG Shawn Carter to complete the trilogy on arguably his best storytelling rap.
Midway through Reasonable Doubt, Jigga harbored on his experiences as a drug dealer and painted a cinematic encounter on rival crews encroaching on his territory and ultimately paying a 100% tariff for their trespasses. The song “Friend or Foe” (produced by DJ Premier to boot) is on the shortlist of the reasons why Jay Z’s first album is a Hip Hop classic and its ’98 sequel (which appeared on the criminally underrated — albeit disjointed — In My Lifetime, Vol. 1) helped solidify its legacy.
Skyzoo has never been forced to be stand in Jay Z’s shadow like say a Memphis Bleek, but the similarities between himself and his fellow Brooklyn lyricist have always been glaring. On “Friend or Foe 3,” S-K embodies the character of the son of the wild Jamaican from the series’ second installment and enacts his revenge on Hova, serving as a disgruntled bastard child with a score to settle.
In other words, it’s the male Nikki Bell looking to get even. Listen to Skyzoo’s “Friend or Foe 3” down below and stream Reasonable Doubt on TIDAL here. In case you need to brush on your “Friend or Foe” trivia, the videos from Jay Z’s versions can also be found below.
Damn Sky Killed it!!!! Firah!!
Shit was kinda hot. Nice to hear a youngin spit some heat and be able to play off Jay’s FoF backstory.
I wouldnt be calling skyzoo a youngin, hes 33 and has 8 albums under his belt in the past 10 years
I wouldnt be calling skyzoo a youngin, hes 33 and has 8 albums under his belt in the past 10 years
Word? Damn I never heard of him I’m thinking he a new kid, well it’s fresh to me
How you never heard of Skyzoo son?
This shit CRAZY! Just when you thought this part of the game was dead, somebody somewhere is being creative.
Dope track.
Work on your typing and grammar Mr. Editor. Trash.
Dope