Skyzoo’s
New Album A Dream Deferred out
October 2nd
+
Announces
Label Deal (‘The Faculty’) through Duck Down Music
Features
Jill Scott, Talib Kweli, Raheem Devaughn, and Freeway.
Production
by Jahlil Beats, Black Milk, 9th Wonder, !llmind, Focus and DJ Khalil
amongst others.
Most people never come close to
achieving their dreams. Fortunately, perpetually underrated Brooklyn MC Skyzoo
isn’t one of those people. A model
of consistency in a world of rappers with fleeting popularity, Skyzoo will
release his sophomore LP entitled, ‘A
Dream Deferred,’ on October 2nd. The album will be released on
Skyzoo’s recently established label, ‘The Faculty,’ distributed through Duck
Down Music Inc. The project contains guest features from Jill Scott, Talib
Kweli, Raheem Devaughn and Freeway, among others.
A
Dream Deferred picks up right where
Skyzoo’s debut album, The
Salvation, which peaked at #14 on
the Billboard Top 200 chart, left off. He comments, “The theme behind The Salvation was temptation and making
decisions. A Dream Deferred explains
what happens when those decisions are finally made.” Skyzoo’s production has
matured alongside him. A Dream
Deferred has a bigger sound than its predecessor, containing lush, bright
instruments, 808 drums, and subtle soul samples melding into cohesion. Notably,
the album is slightly jazz-themed; paying homage to the genre in which Skyzoo
indulges during his downtime. In fact, the title A Dream Deferred is an ode to a Langston
Hughes poem of the same name.
The album was co-executive produced by
longtime collaborator and beatmaker aficionado Illmind (50 Cent, Ludacris), who
oversaw much of the live instrumentation, mixed the entire album and produced
four tracks himself. Violinists, pianists, and horn players were recruited to
provide organic elements that create a cinematic feel to the songs. To round out
the production, Skyzoo enlisted hip-hop heavyweights, Jahlil Beats (Meek Mill,
Lil Wayne), Black Milk (Jack White, Random Axe), 9th Wonder (Jay-Z,
Destiny’s Child), Focus (Busta Rhymes, Marsha Ambrosius) and Dj Khalil (Dr. Dre,
Drake) among others.
Videos will be filmed for the first
three singles “Jansport Strings,” produced by 9th Wonder, “Give it
Up,” produced by Illmind, and "Range Rover Rhythm", produced by Jahlil Beats. In
the past, Skyzoo’s videos have been in rotation on acclaimed media outlets MTV,
VH1-Soul and BET. In total, his catalogue of videos has gained over 1 million
views on YouTube. Also, he has received licensing placements in the hit TV-show
Entourage, NBA 2K11, NBA 2K12, Grand Theft Auto 4: Lost and the Damned, and
Kia’s NBA Shootaround.
For Skyzoo, it has always been about
constant elevation. He states, “If you’re not better today than you were
yesterday, you should’ve stopped yesterday. I’m a firm believer in that
analogy.” Surely, the improvement is tangible. A Dream Deferred serves as a portrait of
his growth as an artist up to this point and a passionate offering to his
dedicated fans.
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