Bedford-Stuyvesant emcee Skyzoo's highly anticipated sophomore album A Dream Deferred is out today, marking the followup to his critically acclaimed debut album, The Salvation. On his sophomore effort, Skyzoo teams up with frequent collaborator !llmind (who serves as co-executive producer) to craft a deeper, bigger sound than the sample-based The Salvation. The album begins with the Fresh-sampling "Dreams In A Basement", produced by !llmind and featuring Jill Scott, who sets the tone for the rest of the album in the chorus: "Sometimes I wonder, will I ever sleep the same? Cause I, I let these dreams keep me awake." The album follows with the lead single, "JanSport Strings", produced by 9th Wonder. Skyzoo then transitions to "Pockets Full", an ode of sorts to Notorious B.I.G., featuring Philadelphia's Freeway. Next up is the dubstep-inspired "Give It Up", the second single off the album. "Glass Ceilings" is next, followed by a personal favourite, "Range Rover Rhythm", produced by Jahlil Beats. The pace of the album slows down for the next two tracks, the smooth, Jessy Wilson-assisted "The Knowing", followed by "Drew & Derwin", featuring an excellent guest performance from Raheem DeVaughn (another highlight from A Dream Deferred). Skyzoo is joined by Jared Evan on the dreamlike "Realization", which is followed by "The Rage Of Roemello". On "Make It Through Hysteria", Skyzoo provides some of the most memorable bars from the album, finishing the song with a spoken word piece: "No handouts used, because none was ever given [...] See, when I said I wrote on the back of light bills, I really meant that [...] I wrote, and I wrote, because no one else spoke. No judge, no jury, just purely how it goes." Next up is "Steel's Apartment", a look into Skyzoo's past, where "it all started at Steel's Apartment". Skyzoo is then joined by none other than Talib Kweli for "Spike Lee Was My Hero", before closing out A Dream Deferred with the introspective "The Cost Of Sleep". Overall, A Dream Deferred is a thoroughly solid album, and a carefully crafted storyline well worth paying attention to. Check out the making of A Dream Deferred below (via Vibe TV). For more on Skyzoo and A Dream Deferred, check out our recent interview with him.
Interview by: Martin Bauman Fresh off the release of his latest mixtape, the lyrically dense Theo vs J.J. (Dreams vs Reality), Brooklyn emcee Skyzoo is gearing up for the October 2nd release of his sophomore album, A Dream Deferred. Fans of Skyzoo will know A Dream Deferred has been a long time coming, ever since the release of his critically acclaimed 2009 album, The Salvation. Since '09, Skyzoo has released 2010's Live from the Tape Deck, as well as 2011's The Great Debater mixtape, but neither were intended as the follow-up to The Salvation. With the October 2nd arrival of A Dream Deferred, the time has come. The Come Up Show recently caught up with Skyzoo, and we talked about A Dream Deferred, idolizing Penny Hardaway as a kid, and growing up two blocks from Notorious B.I.G., among other things.
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Brooklyn emcee Skyzoo just dropped his latest mixtape, Theo vs J.J. (Dreams vs Reality). Conceptually, Theo vs J.J. (Dreams vs Reality) serves as a followup to The Great Debater and a precursor to A Dream Deferred. The mixtape features production from the likes of !llmind, 14KT, Jahlil Beats, Thelonius Martin, and others. Early favourites include "Look What We Have Here", "Fulfillment", "The Ellis Wilson Painting On The Wall", and "FGR (First Generation Rich)". Stream and download/purchase the mixtape below.
"With this project, I wanted it to be a bridge between “The Great Debater” and “A Dream Deferred”. This mixtape literally picks up where “The Great Debater” left off and leads you directly into “A Dream Deferred”. The tape is split into 2 parts, Theo Huxtable and JJ Evans. The first half of the tape has me rhyming as if I were Theo, with the world from his point of view. Being well off, having to live up to a family's expectations due to their success, etc. The second half is from JJ's view, with the sound being slightly more aggressive and the stories built with an "in need of something" attitude. The tape is the idea of the vast contrasts of a life that my people and I dreamed of and aspired to as kids (Theo) versus a life that was more of our reality (J.J). This one is for us. Enjoy." - Skyzoo
Bedford-Stuyvesant emcee Skyzoo's highly anticipated sophomore album A Dream Deferred is out today, marking the followup to his critically acclaimed debut album, The Salvation. On his sophomore effort, Skyzoo teams up with frequent collaborator !llmind (who serves as co-executive producer) to craft a deeper, bigger sound than the sample-based The Salvation. The album begins with the Fresh-sampling "Dreams In A Basement", produced by !llmind and featuring Jill Scott, who sets the tone for the rest of the album in the chorus: "Sometimes I wonder, will I ever sleep the same? Cause I, I let these dreams keep me awake." The album follows with the lead single, "JanSport Strings", produced by 9th Wonder. Skyzoo then transitions to "Pockets Full", an ode of sorts to Notorious B.I.G., featuring Philadelphia's Freeway. Next up is the dubstep-inspired "Give It Up", the second single off the album. "Glass Ceilings" is next, followed by a personal favourite, "Range Rover Rhythm", produced by Jahlil Beats. The pace of the album slows down for the next two tracks, the smooth, Jessy Wilson-assisted "The Knowing", followed by "Drew & Derwin", featuring an excellent guest performance from Raheem DeVaughn (another highlight from A Dream Deferred). Skyzoo is joined by Jared Evan on the dreamlike "Realization", which is followed by "The Rage Of Roemello". On "Make It Through Hysteria", Skyzoo provides some of the most memorable bars from the album, finishing the song with a spoken word piece: "No handouts used, because none was ever given [...] See, when I said I wrote on the back of light bills, I really meant that [...] I wrote, and I wrote, because no one else spoke. No judge, no jury, just purely how it goes." Next up is "Steel's Apartment", a look into Skyzoo's past, where "it all started at Steel's Apartment". Skyzoo is then joined by none other than Talib Kweli for "Spike Lee Was My Hero", before closing out A Dream Deferred with the introspective "The Cost Of Sleep". Overall, A Dream Deferred is a thoroughly solid album, and a carefully crafted storyline well worth paying attention to. Check out the making of A Dream Deferred below (via Vibe TV). For more on Skyzoo and A Dream Deferred, check out our recent interview with him. 
Interview by: Martin Bauman Fresh off the release of his latest mixtape, the lyrically dense 
Brooklyn emcee Skyzoo just dropped his latest mixtape, Theo vs J.J. (Dreams vs Reality). Conceptually, Theo vs J.J. (Dreams vs Reality) serves as a followup to The Great Debater and a precursor to