"Heavy is the crown, but love the way fit on," Skyzoo spits on the chorus of "Carry the Tradition," making bearing that weight sound less like a burden than a feat he was born to accomplish. Such boasts aren't hyperbolic on that track from the criminally underrated underground rapper's new LP, Retropolitan. On top of the Jenga intricate wordplay and varnish smooth flow we've come to expect from Sky, the esteemed New York MC has also recruited none other than Pete Rock to provide the proper instrumentals for his Big Apple odes.
Yes, that means Rock riddles this new LP with the kind of gritty, strategically looped jazz samples that he offered to NYC luminary Nas on his landmark LP Illmatic. But Sky must've been all the more humbled when Rock upped that ante by dusting off a soundscape left over from the mid-'90s period when he was crafting "The World Is Yours" for Esco.
Indeed, Retropolitan track "It's All Good" is worth savouring like a 25-year-old single malt, thanks to its tight loop of sliding piano notes that evoke melancholy and nostalgia pouring over your mind's eye. And just like carefully carved ice in on-the-rocks scotch, Skyzoo rises to the beat's occasion, floating up intricate lines about the aftermath of Biggie Smalls' cremation and describing an encroaching circle of crooked cops, the latter of which will give you chills.
| A1 | Men Like Us (Intro) |
| A2 | Glorious |
| A3 | Truck Jewels |
| A4 | Carry The Tradition |
| A5 | Homegrown |
| A6 | It's All Good |
| B1 | Ten Days |
| B2 | Richie |
| B3 | Penny Jerseys |
| B4 | One Time |
| B5 | Eastern Conference All-Stars |
| B6 | The Audacity Of Dope |
