Skyzoo
(born Gregory Skyler Taylor
, December 24, 1982, Crown Heights, Brooklyn) is a New York hip hop emcee.
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Biography
Born Gregory Skyler Taylor in 1982 in Crown Heights, he grew up in
Bedford-Stuyvesant.
[1] [2] He was nicknamed Skyzoo by his parents after the
Skyy disco song (his middle name is Skyler).
He began rapping at the age of nine and went on to work with producers
Jay Dee and
9th Wonder, releasing several mixtapes in the hope of securing a record deal.
He lost to
Jin on BET's 106 & Park freestyle contest, but went on to have tracks used as both the theme to
ESPN's
Whiplash TV
and the soundtrack to a
Guinness advert, and set up his own Custom Made Entertainment company.
[3] He has also had a long association with
North Carolina rap crew the
Justus League, whom he was introduced to via his friend
Chaundon, and who he describes as his "second family".
[4] Jay Dee's death in 2006 prompted Skyzoo to pay tribute with the song "Sky's Last Donut".
He worked with 9th Wonder on his debut album,
Present Cloud 9: The 3 Day High
, which reputedly took only three days to record.
[5] He also contributed to three tracks on the
Hall of Justus album
Soldiers of Fortune
.
He released the critically-acclaimed
Corner Store Classic
mixtape in 2007, and released a remixed version, including some new material, as a digital download album in 2008.
[6] Corner Store Classic
was rated 'XL' (4/5) by
XXL Magazine
.
[7] In 2007, he stated that he had a second album ready, called
The Salvation
, but was waiting for a major record deal before releasing it.
[8] It is scheduled for release in August 2009 on
Duck Down Records.
[9]
He cites as influences hip hop artists such as
Notorious B.I.G.,
Jay-Z,
Nas,
N.W.A.,
Big Daddy Kane, and
Kid 'n Play, as well as artists such as
Sade,
Nirvana and
John Coltrane, and cites Coltrane's
A Love Supreme
as his favorite album.
[10] He credits
J Dilla as his biggest inspiration and favorite producer.
He has been critical of the direction that Hip Hop has taken, stating "People are taking the 'whetever we gotta do' method, resulting in gimmick records. I'm about making money but it has to be with dope records".
[11]
Discography
;Mixtapes
- I'm For The People
- Back For The First Time
- The Greastest Flow on Earth
(2005)
- Ghetto Celebrity: The Mixtape
(2005)
- The City's Favorite: The Mixtape
(2005) Custom Made
- The Way You Get Down
(2006) D.B.R.G./Custom Made
- Corner Store Classic
(Mixtape) (2007)
- The Power Of Words
(Mixtape) (2009)
;Albums
- Present Cloud 9: The 3 Day High
(2006) Traffic
- Corner Store Classic (The Remixes)
(2008) (Digital download album)
- The Salvation
(September 29, 2009) (First studio album) Jamla Records/Duck Down Records
- Barrel Brothers' Corner
(with Torae) (TBA)
References
- Cordor, Cyril "Skyzoo Biography", ''Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation
- "FEATURE:The Next Next?", ''XXL'', November 10, 2008
- Ivey, Michael (2006) "Skyzoo - Brooklyn Water", ''Nobodysmiling''
- Kayser, Brian (2006) "Skyzoo", ''Hip Hop Game''
- "Skyzoo's 3 Day High On Cloud 9", ''MVRemix'', November 2006
- "Skyzoo To Drop Corner Store Classic-Remix Mixtape", ''Hip Hop DX'', April 7, 2008, Cheri Media Group
- Rawlins, Ashmi (2008) "Skyzoo ''Corner Store Classic''", ''XXL Magazine''
- Rhett, Starrene (2007) "Features: Skyzoo: Going Nowhere But Up", ''Hip Hop DX'', Cheri Media Group
- Ortez, Edwin. "Skyzoo Signs to Duck Down Records, Debut Album in August", hiphopdx, May 9, 2009.
- "Skyzoo interview", Bhagat Vinyl
- "Off the Radar: Skyzoo", ''The Source'', October 2007