Earlier this month, Skyzoo released his latest album, All The Brilliant Things. Already named as one of Ambrosia For Heads‘ best of 2021 so far, the Mello Music Group LP is reportedly three years in the making. In a run that includes the Pete Rock-produced Retropolitan and 2020’s standout The Bluest Note, S-K-Y proves that he is finding an incredible stride within an already-decorated 15-plus-year career.

The last of the album’s 14 songs is “Soft Eyes.” Within the track, Skyzoo rhymes, “So last year I was writing my retirement speech / Looking back at all the grounds that I’d aspired to reach / I called Phonte, and we kicked it for an hour or three / Brotherly love, he put a little fire under me / He said, ‘Yo, you one of the few, sh*t is obvious, B / So how you talkin’ ’bout retiring? You outta your bean’ / I said, ‘Bro, you got a point, thatʼs why I called’ / He said, ‘Don’t let these motherf*ckers say when your time is gone.’” Interviewed for the latest episode of AFH‘s What’s The Headline podcast (embedded in video and audio below), Skyzoo opened up about the real-life conversation.

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At 34:30, he says, “That happened right before COVID, so I think it was a little over a year ago.” Skyzoo texted then called his former “Speed Racing” collaborator. “We wound up on the phone for like three hours. It was about a bunch of things [besides potentially retiring]—but [that] came upon it. We was just talkin’ about music and life and family and all different types of things. I mentioned it, and I was like, ‘Yo man, I think I’m gonna tap out; it’s been on my mind a lot lately. He was like, ‘Why?’ We started talking about it, and I was talking about the industry, and all that and he was like, ‘Yo man, you buggin’. Don’t tap out—Nah, man. Don’t let [the media and the industry and music business] tell you when to go; you go when you want.'” Phonte affirmed Skyzoo’s talent in a saturated field and said newer artists here because of Skyzoo’s impact. “That part of the conversation may have been 15 or 20 minutes, but we was on the phone for like three hours.”

Skyzoo then elaborates on what drove him to that point. “[It was] just the way the industry works, man. I always feel underrated. I think that’s been the tagline of my career since day one. If you search my name, the most common word that comes up with it is ‘underrated,'” admits the MC. “I’m used to that. I don’t sleep on it; I’m cool because I do have a lot to show for my career—from my family to my crib to being able to live the way that I want. Thank God the pandemic didn’t affect us financially at all. So things like that. So when you can say all those things, and you’re doing that off of your art, you’ve already won, you already made it.” Skyzoo adds that he has not needed a job outside of music in 15 years. However, he emphasizes that his lyricism can often go unrecognized. “Even when people point stuff out, there’s so much stuff that they don’t point out. I’m like, aw man, you didn’t get that, get that, or get that—but you’ll get it later. That’s why I said, in ‘Free Jewelry,’ ‘‘Cause even when you say you get it, there’s usually a layer missing.‘ Even when you say you get it, there’s more you didn’t get, and I’m okay with that; you’ll get it later. But don’t say I’m not dope because you didn’t get it. If you get everything, and then you say I’m not dope, either you’re an idiot or it’s like whatever, man. But don’t ever look at me like I’m not one of the greats—and I’m just being humbly honest. I’m one of the greats of this generation and this era, and there’s so much stuff you didn’t get. It’s like you’re getting [served] a meal, and you had a bite.”

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Skyzoo adds that he was not a fan of how the Rap industry was moving at the time. “Having a son has made me so anti-industry. Like, I really don’t care anymore about being at every event or being on every list.” The Brooklyn native admits that he felt pressure to secure coverage in the past. “[Now], I don’t really care; I gotta get my son ready. We gotta go to Chuck E. Cheese.” Now, the MC’s priorities are at home.

All The Brilliant Things features Raheem DeVaughn, BJ The Chicago Kid, Ill Al Skratch, and others. Elsewhere in the What’s The Headline interview, Skyzoo unpacks the album’s themes, describes his growth as an MC, and argues why 1995 is the greatest year.

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Ambrosia For Heads readers can catch regular discussions about the culture on our What’s The Headline podcast. Additionally, What’s The Headline has recent interviews with Pharoahe Monch, Prince Paul & Don Newkirk, Statik Selektah, Lyric Jones, The LOX, MC Eiht, Mobb Deep’s Havoc, Duckwrth, photographer T. Eric Monroe—who detailed photographing the 1995 Source Awards—and Lord Finesse. All episodes of the show are available wherever you stream your pods.

Skyzoo photograph by Photo Rob.

#BonusBeat: Ambrosia For Heads’ official playlist, featuring selections from Skyzoo’s All The Brilliant Things as well as new music from Isaiah Rashad, Lloyd Banks, Eminem, Jack Harlow, Cordae, J. Cole, Sa-Roc, Khrysis, and others: