Skyzoo - The Salvation

[lynskey]

1) The Opener (produced by Cyrus Tha Great) 9/10
2) Return Of The Real (produced by Just Blaze) 5/10
3) The Beautiful Decay (produced by 9th Wonder) 9/10
4) My Interpretation (produced by Best Kept Secret) 8/10
5) Popularity (produced by Nottz) 5/10
6) Like A Marathon (produced by 9th Wonder) 10/10
7) The Shooter’s Soundtrack (produced by Cyrus Tha Great) 6/10
8) Under Pressure (produced by 9th Wonder) 8/10
9) Penmanship (produced by Black Milk) 7/10
10) Dear Whoever (produced by Illmind) 8/10
11) For What It’s Worth ((produced by Eric G) 8/10
12) The Necessary Evils (produced by Needlz) 9/10
13) Easy To Fly featuring Carlitta Durand (produced by 9th Wonder) 8/10
14) Bottom Line (produced by Eric G) 7/10
15) Metal Hearts (produced by 9th Wonder) 8/10
16) Maintain (produced by Nottz) 9/10



My personal favourite of '09 so far, If he left Popularity and Return of The Real off it would of been up their with Long Hot Summer for me.
9/10

[djskillz]

Definitely a 9/10 at least for me. One of the best of '09 for sure.

[copywrite]

Decent. Skyzoo just bores the shit out of me sometimes.

[CharlesJones]

Skyzoo is the dude that rapped on EPMD's We Mean Business album right? I like his lyrics on EPMD album. I'll check his album out later.

[RynMur]

Great samples and drums for most of the tracks. I’d have to say this is one of the best produced albums of the year without a question.
I love “The Opener”. It’s the perfect way to start an album; plus, skyzoo’s flow sounds so natural on the joint. Just Blaze puts together a nice track for “Return Of The Real”, and Skyzoo’s lyrics and hard flow shows that the first track wasn’t an accident. Then, when you think it can’t get any better, 9th Wonder drops one of 09’s best beats for “The Beautiful Decay” (the production on this screams dilla lives). Skyzoo shows how swagger should be done in his lyrics for this song. The first three songs (maybe even four) is the best start for any album released this year.
We can all relate to “Under Pressure”, but I doubt we can make it sound as good ha. SBK couldn’t have said it better for “Dear Whoever” and “For What It’s Worth” – deep. “Maintain” gives us hope that some real good hip hop is here to stay; Great way to end the album.

What holds this album back is the later half of the album. It does have some gems, but the first half completely outshines the second half (which is still solid). The only track I wasn’t really feeling was “Easy To Fly”.

Top 5: The Opener, Return Of The Real, The Beautiful Decay (fav), Under Pressure, Dear Whoever

Grade: (4.25/5) A-

“Encore, level wise, I’m simple like level nine, and it’s a different air up here, i get a better high”

[claaa7]

i ordered this joint yesterday so should have it before the end of the week, haven't heard one song yet though but it's been getting some rave reviews and judging from the production line-up shit definitely has potential.

[claaa7]

01. The Opener
02. Return Of The Real
03. Beautiful Decay
04. My Interpretation
05. Popularity
06. Like A Marathon
07. The Shooter's Soundtrack
08. Under Pressure
09. Penmanship
10. Dear Whoever
11. For What It's Worth
12. The Neccessary Evils
13. Easy To Fly
14. Bottom Line
15. Metal Hearts
16. Maintain

[claaa7]

i know i'm late on this shit but actually ordered it only a few days after it's release but the store fucked up and i didn't receive it til a couple days back. this shit is really good though, the best debut album from a non-experienced artist (e.g. never been in a succesful group, etc) i've heard in a good while.

the whole album plays nicely from front-to-back and Skyzoo's subject matter is diverse enough to keep it intersting the whole way, his flow and rhyme-scheme is definitely on point although his voice can sound a bit monotone after a while as discussed previously on here. He ain't afraid to get personal and is easy to relate to, something i value high in an MC. production is off the hook too, especially 9th Wonder's shit has been totally incredible lately and here he supplies 5 bangers as well as acting as the exec. other heaterz come from Just Blaze, Black Milk, Illmind, Cyrus The Great and Eric G (who i never heard before but is really coming thru).

i highly recommend this joint!!

[Dr Sleepwalker]

definetely.

easily one of the best releases of the year for me.

[claaa7]

word, also check out his mixtapes "Corner Store Classic" and "The Power of Words" - the illness!

[RynMur]

Definitely in my top 10 of this year. I still think he can improve on his lyrics though.

Top 5: The Opener, Return Of The Real, The Beautiful Decay (fav), Under Pressure, Dear Whoever

Grade: (4.25/5) A-

[claaa7]

^^ i think lyrics are definitely top-notch, reminds me of a younger Jay-Z but it's his flow and delivery that could still improve a bit. still a very enjoyable album, and this is just around the top-5 of the year for me.

[angry!]

spot on claa!!!!

this nigga has a lot of potential!!!! if he can polish up his flow and switch his delivery up hes gonna be hard to deny!!! itd make things more intersting, but as of now hes brining strong lyrics and staying in his element over strong production!!!!

solid debut and officially grabbed my ears!!!!

[Durag]

Just got this in the post today, looking foward to lighting up some weed and listeneing to it.

[claaa7]

while still a dope album i really feel that it lacks replay value which rules out the "potential classic" spot it gave me on the first 5-10 spins. his delivery gets too monotone for 65 minutes and a few of the beats doesn't hold up in the long run. still a nice debut no doubt.