Eight years since the lead single from his debut album, The Salvation, dropped, Skyzoo is still “peddling” music about drug pushers. What makes this familiar theme compelling on his latest EP, Peddler Themes, are his personal accounts, supremely dexterous wordplay and sly cultural references.
Peddler Themes is as much a love letter to the 90s as it is an in-depth exploration of the psyche of the hustler. Sky’s 90s rap references have always been aplenty, and that’s no different here. Entire songs are centered around these references, from “‘95 Bad Boy Logo” to “For Real(er).” The former showcases why Sky’s pen should be in a museum one day but is hindered by a lackluster beat. The latter may at first seem like a blatant ripoff of the Wild Style sample at the outset of Illmatic, until it gives way to the 718 MC painting pictures worthy of Nas’ opus: “I seen cops get lower than where the night’s at/I seen dice turn over and push a life back/I sent dough in the mail like, where the kites at?/They make your bro switch cells before you write back.” S-K-Y has always been heavy on name-dropping and references, but he does it in a more digestible manner, unlike another rapping Taylor. For instance, on “Finesse Everything,” Sky gets his point across with a memorable element of The Wire when he spits “You thinking Hasbro, I’m thinking the back door, boarded when the fear come/And Chris and Snoop with a nail gun.” Urban pop cultures references such as these delightfully sneak up on the listener and enhance the audio scenery.
“The theme music for peddlers, call me what you want/But I leave room for measurers, I’m on it from the jump.” – Skyzoo, “The Beautiful Decay”
If there are two things that ultra-lyrical NY rappers struggle with, it can be enticing beats and strong hooks. Skyzoo ensures a bevy of East Coast producers, including !llmind and Apollo Brown, back his bars with low-key, jazzy production that hearkens to a ‘90s Spike Lee joint. “Bamboo,” with its downbeat horns and rapid drums, is a shining example of this. However, a few of the hooks could have done with some fine-tuning. The refrain on “Doing Something” repeats “Me and (insert friend’s name) was just tryna make something outta this.” While the personal touch is welcome, it leaves room for sorely needed variation.
Obvious throwbacks aside, Peddler Themes isn’t simply a nostalgic ride through yesteryear. The content stays true to the EP’s title, and Skyzoo employs skits to complement his rhymes about growing up with and around hustlers. The album opens and closes with a mother who lives in the hood explaining how she and her husband do everything they can to keep their son out of trouble, but can’t be with him every minute of the day. This dispels the misguided notion that hustling is primarily a result of absentee parenting. By the same token, Sky proclaims his own father’s positive influence on his life on “Long Money,” explaining that their discussions “was drowning out the shit in the hallway.” Skyzoo is best known for his lyrical acrobatics, but personal confessions like this one elevate the project from an urban studies course. Rather than grow stagnant like most traditional MCs, Skyzoo has stayed hungry by mining deeper into his soul to craft compelling tunes for not only peddlers, but also listeners, blunt heads, fly ladies and prisoners.
This EP is fire as all hell.
stays in his lane and does not switch up – respectable – this goessss
the mother in the skits is an actress playing Sky’s mother speaking about him.
Ill project, 95 bad boy needs its own write up.
can’t wait for the album.
Even if you’re not from a similar place as him, the imagery places you there.
This guy is superior to any lyricist in rap. Depending on how much you know about MC’ing you would admit he’s the probably the nicest in the game if you know his miracle catalog…Its kind of weak to criticize his hooks, dude gives you so many great bars literally every line. In actuality his hooks go over heads. But this Ep is another timeless release. 4.5/5
I hear you on the lyricism, and Sky is one of my favorite emcees, but the hook stuff has annoyed me since Corner Store Classics. He has so many dope songs but he’ll throw in a hook that’s just repeating the same 2 words over and over and over again and it takes away from how good the rest of the song is.
ex.
‘pockets full, pockets full, pockets full, ok pocket fulls, tell em my pockets full’
“Ride out, ride out, ride out, just ride out”
‘maintain, maintain, maintain, I maintain’
‘now how popular are you? now how popular are you? now how popular are you? now how popular are you?’
‘the cost of sleep, the cost of sleep, the cost of sleep, it’s the cost of sleep’
I get what you mean. But I think he more or less gives listeners brain a break because of such dense lyricism. I think he does that on purpose.
This EP is straight fire I have been a loyal fan since 2011 the guy has some incredible word play!!!! 5 classic New York Hip Hop
This EP is absolutely incredible.
So f’n dope. God damn.
Dope….Skyzoo is consistently great.
Dope
Are we really debating whether Skyzoo is nice or not…Nope. You will never hear anyone this nice in ya life….You won’t…..NaS is my hero so is Hov, BIG, PUN….I love 2pac…. Elzhi is beyond Ill. So is Em and Royce also Lupe….But Skyzoo is thee greatest, nicest, illest, realest and most consistent. So chill.
Another great release from Sky dope beats dope rhymes front to back.
Damn near anything this man puts out is a 5, already can’t wait for the next joint.
This is the kind of hip hop that’s true to form. No gimmicks, no auto tune, no stupid mumble rapping. Just dope beats, and a good message in each song.
This the dude jin killed on freestyle friday? Dope project anyway