Video After The Jump
In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with rapper, actor and ghostwriter:
SKYZOO
He's been helping carry the torch for NY's underground since the early 2000's. Here's what we discussed with one of Brooklyn's finest.
• How he got his nickname from his family as a toddler.
• The artist and song that made him want to pick up a mic at 9 years old.
• Where his love of basketball began.
• The influence of Biggie, Bad Boy and Diddy's iconic string selections.
• Fans' separation of "pop-hop" from "hip-hop".
• Meeting 9th Wonder and the rest of the Justice League.
• Writing his album 'Music For My Friends' from the perspective of his 13-year-old-self.
• Exploration of Sky's song 'Money Makes Us Happy' and rappers shamed over success.
• The legacy of the late, great Stack Bundles and how ahead of the times he was.
• Working with rapper Che'Noir and producer Apollo Brown on '...As God Intended'.
• The importance of the media's representation of the black family.
• His father making him write essays for movies 'Boyz N The Hood' and 'Malcolm X.'
• Why he felt it was important to write the song 'A Song For Fathers'.
• Discussion about his love of the film 'Strapped'.
• A desire to write the blackest album ever with 'In Celebration Of Us'.
• Culture vultures living in a "make-believe ratchet play world".
• Losing his voice while on Tour in OKC and being forced to lip sync.
• His love of Jazz music and a dream coming true with 'The Bluest Note'.
• How he got into ghostwriting and the roadblocks he ran into.
• Why he doesn't use the N-word in his own rhymes.
• Comparing and contrasting 'Snowfall' against 'The Wire' and if one is better.
TIME STAMPS:
2:52 -- The interview kicks off with the origin of Skyzoo's name. They discuss how his family came up with the nickname when he was a toddler as well as labels suggesting that he change it. He also gets into starting his music career after being let go from Morgan Stanley, what artist and song made him want to pick up a mic at 9 years old and why he feels like his music is akin to a sociology experiment.
8:53 -- Skyzoo is asked about where his love of basketball began. He talks about growing up in his neighborhood with a hoop on every corner, his earliest raps full of b-ball references and freestyling while shooting free throws. They also discuss Sky paying homage to his influences in his rhymes which are apparent in songs like '’95 Bad Boy Logo', Sky growing up on Biggie's block and fans' separation of "pop-hop" from "hip-hop".
18:37 -- Skyzoo speaks on when he met producer 9th Wonder and the rest of the Justice League. He talks about 9th dropping beat CDs on him often which eventually led to them recording twelve songs together in just three days time. He also answers the question of how he and 9th both got in with Duck Down records around the same time and writing his album 'Music For My Friends' from the perspective of his 13-year-old-self.
26:28 -- They go on to explore Skyzoo's 'Money Makes Us Happy' that deals with people's complicated relationship with the mighty dollar. Sky and Talib give their take on the tug of war that occurs while trying to balance substance within a capitalistic society, artists being shamed for how they found success and why Skyzoo feels like he's happy with his move out of Bed Stye to Atlanta.
31:11 -- Skyzoo talks about the legacy of his friend - the late, great emcee Stack Bundles. They discuss how much impact he had on the New York street rappers coming up during the mix-tape era before he was shot and killed in 2007. Sky also goes on to talk about his experiences working with rapper Che'Noir and producer Apollo Brown on '...As God Intended'.
36:57 -- Skyzoo details why the media's representation of the black family is so important to him, how he felt watching Spike Lee films growing up as a Brooklyn kid, his father making him write essays on movies like Boyz N The Hood and Malcolm X, Sky and Talib linking up to do the song and video 'Spike Lee Was My Hero' and his process of writing the song 'A Song For Fathers'. Feeling it was important to pay tribute to the fathers that deserve it.
45:31 -- Skyzoo discusses his love of the film 'Strapped' that was highlighted with references spoken in the song 'Bamboo', the two worlds Sky felt like he was living in growing up, his wanting to make the blackest album ever when he penned 'In Celebration Of Us' and people saying it was the rap version of Solange's 'A Seat At The Table'. They also discuss culture vultures living in a "make-believe ratchet play world" and outsiders dictating black art.
54:22 -- Skyzoo speaks on one of the most frightening moments of his career when he lost his voice while on tour with rapper Elzhi to promote 'Retropolitan', forcing Sky to lip sync the entire show in Oklahoma City. They also explore Skyzoo's deep love and appreciation of Jazz music, he is asked to give us a quick "Jazz For Dummies" class, and they discuss one of his dreams coming true when he made a live Jazz album with 2020's 'The Bluest Note'.
1:03:58 -- Skyzoo digs into the profession of ghostwriting. They discuss producer Illmind introducing him to the job, the fact of most ghostwriters being emcees that didn't "make it" for one reason or another and the process of custom-tailoring the rhymes for the rappers he writes for. Sky also explains why he doesn't use the N-word in his own rhymes and they go into the question of if 'Snowfall' is better than 'The Wire'. Doing a deep compare and contrast of both shows.
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