Mixtape Review-Thought Waves by Sky.P

by Dan-O

Thought Waves is a young collection of music. It’s a project Sky.P will look back on and chuckle at when he’s older and has thicker skin but he’ll always value it, probably for the same reasons I do. It’s not just skillfully produced with pitch perfect temperament and great guest verses filling things out (example: Caleborate on Stretchin’) it bubbles over with an earnest emotional personality that while at times comes across as naïve, its mesmerized by the possibilities of a life in hip hop. This is such a welcome change from the cynicism prevalent in rap. On Stretchin’ he promises that everything you get from him will be the best of him and openly wonders if conscious rap really exists. Sky.P never dresses himself as a man with the answers. Thought Waves is about exactly that.

On the Waves of Thought finale he explains that going to see a concert featuring B.O.B. and Lupe changed his life and made him want to be a rapper. He produces the song himself and the piano behind his hushed voice describing the amazement he had at that moment when Lupe came out(“30 seconds later Lupe had entered and everybody went and looooost it. Man that energy he had it was awesoooome and the crowd hella loud singing alooooong, before that moment I had never really known that you could touch so many people…”) is downright embarrassing but in a good way. This project is not defined by the need to win in rap; it’s about the decision to dedicate your life to rap. We rarely get let into an artist’s experience like that. By the time Jay started rapping he was rapping about the money he already made and that he didn’t need rap money to be rich. Countless others come out fully formed on their debut; Sky.P is working himself out with no interest in boasting himself into a superhero position or barking at anyone.

That willingness to share would grate if he couldn’t back up his approach with results. One is a wonderfully crafted smooth song about having fun with a woman THAT NEVER becomes insulting to the woman. It has a marvelously catchy chorus and breezy pace that is Sky in his sweet spot. He’s the opposite of crunk. Best song of the mixtape is Rememberful (I do love Dance Vibe Chill Make and all Nate Fox production) because he taps the glimmering nostalgia perfectly without sacrificing ferocious drums. The chorus feels like staring into a snow globe and just losing yourself in the past (This is something we all do right? No. Ok, just me then.) I love that Sky produced the best song on his mixtape and at least five others, all good. He seems to know where his sound is at its best and strives to hit it right at its Native Tongues feeling center.

You can finish a first listen of Thought Waves and say this kid is a silly oversharer  and not hardcore enough for you. Totally fine. What you can’t say is that everyone sounds like this. Sky.P isn’t joke singing with a bad voice he can nail a chorus, produce a spellbinding beat, and lead you on a personal journey that won’t insult anyone. That’s a fair load of talent and 0not possessed by everyone. Thought Waves is a young man’s mixtape and on the days when the world makes you feel old, you will need it.

stream or download Thought Waves below: