Album Review: A Dream Deferred by Skyzoo

This one’s on Chi-Ali. When the Native Tongue-associated child-rapper’s “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number” flashed up on Ralph McDaniel’s Video Music Box show in 1991, it inspired a young Skyzoo to start rhyming himself. Two decades later, and after a series of mixtapes and worthy-if-not-spectacular albums, A Dream Deferred finally confirms Bed-Stuy Sky’s arrival as a fully-fleshed artist.

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Skyzoo may just be the most accessible “über lyrical miracle” rapper since Ghostface’s heyday. He’s an MC that seems custom fitted for these times. His flow acts like a falling Tetris piece, locked into a constant rhythm and yet able to assume a myriad of forms on its way to the end point. The voice follows suit, with a nasally drawl that feels very Houston or Atlanta yet backed by a gnarled sort of urban confidence that could only truly resonate from underneath the corner store street lights of ‘90s Brooklyn.

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P.O.S. :: Chill, dummyDoomtree RecordsAuthor: Patrick TaylorI've been a fan of Stefon "P.O.S." Alexander since his debut nearly 10 years ago. On "Audition" and 2009's "Never Better," he proved himself to be one of the few artists who could successfully meld punk rock and hip-hop. Fellow Minnesotans ….

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Skyzoo’s A Dream Deferred takes listeners through a scintillating story of one’s come up, climax of success and and struggle to maintain it—all via the skilled rhymes and stellar narration from the Brooklyn MC. With production from the likes of !llmind, 9th Wonder, Jahlil Beats and DJ Khalil, the album accomplishes a smooth, yet almost cinematic feel. The implementation of live instrumentation from pianists, violinists and horn players only add to the hip-hop, yet jazzy vibe.

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Make no mistake, Brooklyn, NY-based Skyzoo was on the brink of falling into that netherworld of hip-hop inertia many an MC has been exiled to after ultimately not living up to the hype. After a critically well received yet underperforming debut project, A Dream Deferred attempts to rectify the situation. The album gets bonus points off the bat for enlisting the inimitable Jill Scott on vocals in the intro.

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