Customer Reviews

Present Cloud 9: The 3 Day High

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm reading reviews and I'm beginning to wonder if I even know what's good anymore. I see cats referring to this album as "perfect", "sick", and "excellent" when what I'm hearing is nothing more than "okay." If you regularly listen to hip hop and you think this is "sick" or "excellent", then you probably haven't been listening to hip hop for very long. Apparently all it takes nowadays for a dude to be considered nice is a decent beat and a borrowed flow. In this case, we're borrowing from some guy named Shawn. I mean, literally, this sounds like Jay Z has a cold and stuffed tissue up his nose before went in the booth (and he had the nerve to make a song like "Mirror Mirror") -- just listen to "A Day In The Life" and you'll know I'm not lying. The production, on the other hand, isn't necessarily bad, but 9th's sound is getting repetitive. I was on the 9th Wonder bandwagon after copping The Listening a few years ago, but now I think I've had my fill. Despite what you may think, EVERY producer has throw away beats and 9th is no exception. This album is proof of that.

With all that said, it would be unfair of me not to point out the good as well as the bad. There are a couple joints on the album where Sky switches up from the "hustler of week" themes and drops something worth hearing. A perfect example of that would be "Extreme Measures", "You & Me", and "Stop Fooling Yourself" -- Sky and 9th both put some effort into what they're doing on those joints. There are a few others, but none really worth mentioning.

Cloud 9: The 3 Day High is pretty much a forgettable release from Skyzoo. I listened to this at least 8 times in hopes I'd hear what everyone else was talking about, but it never happened. My pointer finger hurts from all the skipping I was doing. You really shouldn't have to force yourself to like something. Nor should an album have to "grow" on you (another way of saying you forced yourself to like it because it didn't hit you the first time). Imagine if Illmatic or Liquid Swords had to "grow" on you. If you're one of those people, you're no different from clear channel or any other radio station. They use repetition too. I'd tell you to get this if you were a 9th Wonder fan, but you've heard better from him too. No, the album isn't wack, but it's the audio equivalent of Nyquil. I recommend downloading this and testing it out before actually paying for it.

Standout Tracks: Stop Fooling Yourself (My Favorite), You & Me, and Extreme Measures

Skyzoo is a cat I hadn't been following for a minute. However, upon hearing this album for the first time, I knew this kid possessed some mad skills. It definitely helps that 9th Wonder entirely produces this effort; his production is correct on each track. Although Skyzoo's flow is rough, and rugged, and 9th's producer is soulful, the two go together like peanut butter & jelly on this release. Sky sounds entirely at home over 9th's beat, and impresses with his street narratives.

There aren't a lot of new cats out with Skyzoo's style. He's a throwback to the early nineties when New York was on top, spitting grimy street tales. Had he been born a decade earlier, he would've made a great acquisition to the Boot Camp Clik with his style. Sky isn't exactly a conscious rapper, but he also isn't obsessed with material object by any stretch; he's simply spitting life tales, that he's experienced personally, and delivering them passionately.

Some of the standout tracks include "Way To Go," "Stop Foolin' Yourself," "The Comeback," "The Bodega," "You & Me," and "Extreme Measures." This isn't a perfect debut, but it does show extreme promise for the young emcee. He seems to work well with 9th Wonder, but on his next release, I'd like to see him branch out a little more, and possibly bring in some east coast cats to lace some tracks for him. Still, this is a fine album, and one of the best of the year; pick it up if you're interested in hearing the future.

I had heard a lot of great things about Skyzoo's debut "Cloud 9: The 3 Day High," and decided to finally check i tout recently. I was very disappointed by the whole album. Multiple people have told me that this was one of 2006's best albums, and I wonder if I am listening to the same album. This album did not really appeal to me at all. Skyzoo, a Brooklyn native, is a decent but not outstanding MC. Skyzoo sounds like Jay-Z on a bad day. His flow and voice are almost identical to Jigga's, and much of the time his subject matter is similar. The majority of the time, Skyzoo is talking about hustling to make money, clothes, cars, and women, which I expected better than. There are a few tracks where Skyzoo tells stories and philosophizes a little, which I liked much more, and I wish he would do more often. Even though his vocabulary is pretty street, he is fairly clever and has the ability to keep your attention, which is why I wish he would vary his subject matter a little more. He is obviously very passionate about rapping, but I can't see him going mainstream, which is what he wishes for by the sound of it. Adding to this disappointment is 9th Wonder's performance on this album. I think 9th is a good producer, and I have liked some of his work with Little Brother, Jay-Z, and Kaze. But "Cloud 9" brings all of his weaknesses to the forefront. More so than usual, these beats have a very computerized feel, and you can really tell they were made on his Fruity Loops program. These beats are incredibly repetitive and often quite boring. A few tracks saved this album in my mind, but "Cloud 9: The 3 Day High" isn't an album that has me coming back for more.

"Bare Witness," an intro, starts the album with a typically boring beat and some of Skyzoo's better rhymes, inviting the listener to prepare for a game-changing performance. On "Way to Go," a weak sample anchors an average beat that is the backdrop for some tired bragadagio and boasting. "A Day in the Life" has probably the best beat on the album, a nice bass line covered with strings, but Skyzoo only raps about his proficience with the women, not doing it justice. I hated the beat on "Stop Fooling Yourself," and in this case the lyrics were much better, about a conversation with God. "Comeback" has weak production and the lyrics are bad too, all about women. "I'm on It" is incredibly repetitive musically and the lyrics don't really go anywhere. "The Bodega" is kind of cool, a profile of the city life, but not too memorable. "You & Me," another song about a woman, was more skip material to me. "Live and Direct" has a nice beat with a winding jazzy horn line, but Skyzoo's performance could put you to sleep. "The Spirit" is totally forgettable. Lyrically "Extreme Measures" is by far the best song. Skyzoo tells the tale of a man's life, making a journey hoping to help his young son and get away from his wife. "Mirror Mirror" ends the album fittingly, a bad song with a terrible chorus.

I think that some more varied subject matter and a different musical support would definitely benefit Skyzoo. Fans of 9th Wonder should know that this is probably the most musically uninteresting piece I have heard from him, and Skyzoo doesn't help it much. This album has a lot of skip material and overall is very forgettable. I don't recommend this album to anyone except 9th Wonder diehards, but even to those I don't recommend it very highly.

Please note that Amazon's tracklist is incorrect. There are actually twelve songs, appearing in this order:

1. Bare Witness
2. Way to Go
3. A Day in the Life
4. Stop Fooling Yourself
5. Come Back
6. I'm on It
7. Bodega
8. You & Me
9. Live & Direct
10. The Spirit
11. Extreme Measures
12. Mirror Mirror

No one is perfect in this world. Even Jeru, MURS, Buckshot or even DOOM have their own mishaps in their projects. I applaud this dude for taking the road less travelled in today's Hip-Hop, and I think he's pulled it off magnificently only on a shoestring budget. The whole thing flows well from beginning to end. You find Skyzoo's approach (at least for this debut) preety much in-your-face as he's all over 9th thumping beats. It's as if his chest just exploded and all his emotions are pouring out for everyone to see. No big words. No apparent complexity behind the MC. Just thoughts and emotions, like reading straight out of one's diary. And for what it's worth, I truly enjoy his delivery as much as I've enjoyed other cats like DOOM and CL Smooth. He may not be talented like them, but I dig this effort very much. And I think you will too!

Skyzoo the 3 day high is the best cd i have heard that was made in 3 days. It has bangin beats, sweet lyrics and in if the best collabos. All the songs have Skyzoo rapping and 9th Wonder beats. I was turned on to Skyoo when i heard "Way to Go", the hottest song on the CD.

There was a time where all you needed was a good beat and some good lyrics, you know, nothing fancy, no thumping beat, no crew with 40+ posses, no beef of the week, none of that glitter, no cribs with chicks packed in every rooms, just a solid production, that sets the mood, but lets you focus on the lyrics. Nowadays everything is drawn into a whole lot of nada, and every cat sounds the same as the next one.
Skyzoo brings it back to the essentials, with real lyricism and honest, honed and introspective story-telling. And if it wasn't good enough, 9th wonder brings some quality, soulful and sample-driven productions.
It's refreshing to hear a sound that embraces the best of the 90s, the beautiful sound of the golden era, when NY was the mecca, and it was all about the lyrics.
The real Rotten Apple, sure to put you in a NY state of mind.

This album is nowhere near perfect, dope, or brilliant. Like Norfeest and crtx mentioned, Skyzoo sounds like Jay-Z both vocally and lyrically. Infact I was in my car and a friend of mine thought this was a Jay-Z mixtape of some kind that was just released. Thats how close to Jay he sounds (don't worry, this is a common NY trend nowadays). I understand that this was made within a 72 hour period, but there is a saying that "perfection shouldn't be rushed". This album is an example of that saying. The songs "I'm On It" and "Come Back" is an example of what I'm saying. "The Bodega" is your average 'I'm gotta get paid' track (another up north trend), thats been done and by much better people. And I just bust out laughing everytime when he spells his name out. And he contridicts the heck out of his style on the song "Mirror Mirror". Skyzoo should have spent more hours bringing a more of an origonal style to his skills instead of relying on what he is doing now, nor relying on 9th Wonder's production. Speaking of which, thats also another common trend: 9th Wonder producing an entire album, or a high number of tracks for their album. Hey, I love 9th just as much as the next person, but his production is no different than any other album he produced (Little Brother, Murs, Kaze, etc.). In fact, I myself getting tired of his repetative production. And if the beats on here aren't something you're used to, they're aren't that good. "I'm On It" isn't an appealing beat from 9th. And party/upbeat sounding "Live and Direct" is nothing astounding as well.

There are some good songs on here though. And when I say good, I mean good not great. "You And Me" is a good song about him getting a female and is backed by a good 9th beat. I would say that it's the best track on the album.

Overall, this album is average and overrated. People are probably loving this album because it's one of those "something different from the radio" albums, and the fact that 9th Wonder's name is one this album. Just because you have one of the most known producers of the moment on your album doesn't mean you're album is dope. Skyzoo's flow is average and nothing brillant whatsoever. There is a reason why people take their time when recording an album, and don't make it in 3 days. If Skyzoo would have put more time into his album, this album would have been much better. At the end of the album, he says "Imagine if we had 3 months...". Maybe he sould have taken that into consideration. Peace.

Lyrics: C
Production: B-
Guest Appearances: N/A
Musical Vibes: C

Underrated? If you say this, then YOU dont know hip hop. This is hip hop in its RAWEST form. 9th is the NEW PETE ROCK, and S K Y Z O O's metaphors KILL Hov's. Period.

This Cd is on point. I'm a big fan of 9th wonders production this just adds to the list of good things he has done. Sky is nice with the mic so it adds to the flavor of the CD. It's hard to believe that they laid this down in three days!! Good S**t get it!!!

THIS IS A MUST HAVE CD! Please DO NOT listen to the negative reviews and see for yourself! You will NOT be disappointed!