Skyzoo & !llmind

Live From The Tape Deck is Skyzoo's second record, pairing the Brooklyn, NY rhymer with New Jersey beat-maker !llmind. Sky's agile flow easily finds the open spaces in !llmind's heavy, yet minimalist, beats. A former English major, Skyzoo is writerly whether he's chronicling his come up on "Langston's Pen" or telling a story with colours on "Krylon." He shows his diversity on "#Allaboutthat," a sweet love song built upon a taut guitar loop and warm soul sample. But Sky's verbosity occasionally gets the better of him, with conceptual tracks "Frisbees" and "Kitchen Table" sounding especially forced. He still struggles to hold the listener's attention over the course of an album, though guest spots help. "The Now Or Never" is a keys- and guitar-driven banger with fierce verses by Buckshot and Styles P, while the blaring horns on "Barrel Brothers" bring out the best in Sky and fellow BK spitter Torae's back and forth rhyming. Live From The Tape Deck is an enjoyable throwback to the one MC/one producer era. Bang it in your benzi box.