Song of the Year-Blue Yankee Fitted by Skyzoo & Torae produced by Illmind

by Dan-O

Even though it’s become unhip to admit it; you love NY hip hop. If you are not from NY and you encounter someone from there and speak to them long enough they will make you yearn for it. Tell you things like “You don’t know anything about Italian Icees!” As singular as the boom bap sound became (and to some extent boring) when it’s done well it feels so right. When Skyzoo says New Yiddy you can feel Big Daddy Kane gold rope chain power equipping the song with something extra.

The album this comes off of, The Barrel Brothers, is absolutely excellent. Skyzoo is a clever writer of dense imagery and metaphor while Torae is less trickster more muscle. Together they add up to more than their sum and make every song feel infinitely listenable with lines you may have to catch on the third listen. I go back and forth from song to song with “Sky killed him on this one!” and “Torae…damn!” That’s what was supposed to happen this was an event album the internet forced together but this time….it worked out.

P.S. On an album with a lot of big names the one I was happiest to see repeated in the production credits was Illmind who makes this kind of elegant car stereo destruction as well as anyone in the business. I’m not saying Illmind is the best of this or that. I just love seeing his name.