Skyzoo & Pete Rock’s Album Is Coming Soon. Here’s The 1st Single & Featured Artists

In less than six weeks, Pete Rock & Skyzoo are releasing a joint album. Retropolitan pairs the Brooklyn MC with the Mount Vernon producer, DJ and rapper. After first reported at the top of the year, new details have emerged surrounding the Mello Music Group album as well as its first single.

Retropolitan arrives on September 20. The 12-song effort involves Griselda’s Benny, Conway The Machine, Westside Gunn, as well as Elzhi, Styles P, and Raheem Devaughn. Notably, the cover features a mural dedicated to Brooklyn, New York native Yusuf Hawkins, who was fatally shot in Bensonhurst 30 years ago this month (August 23, 1989). The mural is juxtaposed with Citi bikes in present-day Brooklyn. Today (August 12), Heads get their first taste of the LP with “It’s All Good.”

Pete Rock Discusses His Don’t Smoke Rock Joint Album With Smoke DZA (AFH TV Video)

“‘The crazy thing about this beat is that I made it in ’94,'” Pete Rock told Billboard‘s Michael Saponara, who premiered the song. “‘This beat is 25 years old. I never retouched it or re-did it. It came out of the [Emu Systems] SP-1200. This was when I was making ‘The World Is Yours’ and those [Nas Illmatic] sessions.'” Earlier this year, Pete released Return Of The SP-1200, a collection of unreleased instrumentals he made between 1990 and 1998.

Pete Rock provides his signature vocals as support on the straightforward conversation. In his verses, Skyzoo mourns the loss of Rap peers, including Stack Bundles and Chinx Drugs. Of the latter, the MC recalls being stopped by authorities after leaving the Queens MC’s 2018 funeral. The father discusses raising his son, revisiting his BK stomping grounds, always staying fresh-dipped.

Pete Rock’s Video For His Instrumentals Album Speaks Much Louder Than Words

Last year, Skyzoo released In Celebration Of Us on his First Generation Rich imprint. That effort included his “Devil’s Pie” homage, “Baker’s Dozen,” featuring Raheem DeVaughn. He has previously partnered with producers including Apollo Brown (The Easy Truth), !llmind (Live From The Tape Deck), and 9th Wonder (Cloud 9: 3 Day High).