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Music Review: @Skyzoo x @Torae – Barrel Brothers

Mark Harris
Feature, Music, The Studio

Barrel-Brothers-cover-art

 

In hip hop, greatness has a tendency to appear in pairs. Run DMC was one of the most legendary microphone masters in the 80’s. EPMD made plenty of waves when they dropped. The same can be said for the “ante up kings” M.O.P. Even Ghostface Killah and Raekwon is considered a dynamic duo of sorts. When emcees come in pairs, there is a good chance that greatness is sure to follow.

 

Taking a note of recent history, duos such as Tiron and Ayomari and the ever celebrated Run The Jewels have carved out lanes for themselves. So, witnessing Skyzoo and Torae’s long awaited collaborative project helped make collective hip hop heads sigh in relief.

 

And, as expected, that sigh of relief evolved into synchronized head nods from the perfectly crafted NY music the Barrel Brothers put together.

 

If anything needs to be mentioned, it should be told that the lyrics on this album are relentless. Take the change-switch up on “Hand Off”. On this track, it takes Skyzoo only a minute to snap off with lines like “first 48/ couple days I grew a name/she told her friends the way I stepped in it/they start to call me elephant” and “Nowadays, you be surprised how much clappin’ in the air a get ya/shit is a thirst trap like a Tahiry picture”. Torae is not slouch himself, I’m afraid. On “Make You A Believer”, he issues words of wisdom with lines such as “Take it personal like Monica/gave you niggas light for a week/thought it was Hanukah/blue Yankee fit my yamaka/known to ride the rhythm like a Yamaha…..” with much alliteration. So, there is no slouch time when it comes to the lyrics.

 

The production on this album is equally mean, moody, and filled with NY grit. Illmind, providing production for three tracks (the most for one producer), samples Digable Planets vocals for the chorus while drum patterns ring out on “Tunnel Vision”. While Jahlil brought the noise on the aforementioned “Make You A Believer”, Black Milk brings some boom bap to back his samples on “All In Together”. In fact, every other producer on this album brought “audio heat”. It can be easily said that none of the album’s production is lackluster in any aspect.

 

Skyzoo and Torae put out an equally enthralling and impressive debut duo album. The real beauty of it is that the sound, while being east coast urban, is fresh and modern. Their lyrical flows do the same. I would not say that the level of craft is unexpected. However, I must admit that I did not expect this album to easily fall in the top of 2014’s top list. If you do not agree, then you need to listen to this album again and have that conversation.

 

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