The Easy Truth

by Skyzoo

Overview

The Easy Truth is the first collaboration between two highly prolific hip-hop artists, Detroit beatmaker Apollo Brown and Brooklyn MC Skyzoo. The pair prove to be a nearly perfect match, seamlessly blending Midwest and New York sensibilities and delivering no-nonsense tales about sky-high ambitions and harrowing street scenes. Skyzoo confidently reflects on his dreams but stays grounded in reality; "less dreaming, more living," as he states on "Innocent Ambition." Brown generally sticks to hard-hitting breakbeats and heavy drum machines, with a thick layer of vinyl crackle coating several tracks. "On the Stretch & Bob Show" simulates a late-night freestyle on the massively influential Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, which ran throughout the '90s on Columbia University station WKCR and helped launch the careers of nearly every successful New York-based hip-hop act from that time period. The track starts out with samples from Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito introducing a guest, with Skyzoo's voice spliced in, before a slamming "Funky Drummer" break kicks in and he delivers a raw, off-the-dome rap. Brown is skilled at taking lighter sounds (such as the Carpenters sample on "Spoils to the Victor") and pairing them with harder beats without sounding jarring. The production certainly evokes N.Y.C. legends such as Large Professor and DJ Premier, as well as Detroit's J Dilla and his disciples, but it never feels like a stuck-in-time retro exercise. There's a timeless quality to both Brown's powerful beats and Skyzoo's lyrics, which sound "beautiful like the truth," as label Mello Music Group is fond of saying. ~ Paul Simpson

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2024
Label:	Mello Music
UPC:	0634457178410
Rank:	146438

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Apollo Brown   Primary Artist
Skyzoo   Primary Artist
Joell Ortiz   Featured Artist
PAttYCraSH   Featured Artist
Conway   Featured Artist
Young Nik   Vocals
Westside Gunn   Featured Artist
Sean Taylor   Trumpet
Stalley   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Joell Ortiz   Composer
Apollo Brown   Producer
Skyzoo   Executive Producer
Eric Morgeson   Mastering
Lorenzo Rosado   Engineer
Tate McBoom   Engineer
Kick James   Cover Photo,Logo
Chris McAlindon   Photography
Amond Jackson   Engineer
Katrin Newman   Composer
Erik Stephens   Executive Producer,Composer
Jean Goode   Graphic Design
Michael Tolle   Executive Producer
Gregory Taylor   Composer