By Odeisel

Have you ever wondered what would happen if we actually got the salvation we prayed for? What would you do if your prayers were answered? Skyzoo no longer has to wonder. His debut The Salvation was released to critical acclaim and rather than bathe in that praise he got on the road. When we interviewed him last summer, we told him we’d follow up to see what he’d be doing once salvation came.  Never let it be said we broke our word. Enjoy.

*Click To Hear Interview* Skyzoo Interview Cut

Planet Ill: Your album was released to a lot of critical acclaim. How’s it been going on the road preparing for it and dealing with its aftermath?

Skyzoo: It’s been incredible. You know, the album’s doing everything I wanted it to do and then some, you know what I mean? People get it. You know, there’s still people who haven’t caught on to it completely yet but for the most part, people get it. People are going crazy for it. You know, they calling it one of the best albums of the year, they calling it the best debut of the year, they calling it top 3 Hip-Hop albums of ‘09, you know? It’s all been incredible man, and like I always say, you know, I got a record on the album called The Opener, where I say, “I ain’t aim to make a classic/I aim to state what happens/so if the outcome gets praised/then blame the habit.”

I didn’t set out to make a classic album, I just set out to make the album that best reflected me. I wanted to make the mirror possible. This album is a mirror of me. Whether people called it a classic or not was beyond me, but I’m just blessed people are doing so. As far as the road and everything, it’s been incredible. Went on two tours already. I was out for like a month. I did two and a half weeks with Ghostface and then, I did a week and a half with Raekwon, so it turned out to be a month. And it pretty much was all US. And the way it broke down, I was able to pretty much do the whole country.

I did the Midwest and the East Coast and everything with Ghostface, and then I had a day off, came home, went right back out and did the whole West Coast with Raekwon. So, I was able to touch pretty much the whole country between the two tours. It was incredible watching Ghostface on stage every night…watching Rae on stage every night, and you know, getting in touch with those fans and being in places like Omaha, Nebraska, and San Diego, Santa Barbara, Indiana and Chicago, where these kids are like “Yo, man, like, your music is everything to me”.

You know, this one kid, I think we was out in Cali, and this one kid, he was like, “Yo, you know, I’m getting ready to do a bid, man. I’m going in, in two weeks and I had to catch this show before I went in, cuz you know, your music is so dope to me, your records on your album mean so much to me.” “Shooter’s Soundtrack,” and “Like a Marathon,” and he‘s naming all these records that directly reflect him, “Necessary Evils” and all that, and he was like, “You know, I’m about to go do a stretch,” and that really hit me. I was like, “Damn man, you know, hold your head,” but he was like, “Nah, I’m good tonight man. I’m here kickin’ it with you. I’m coppin’ t-shirts, taking pictures, I’m good for the night!” And that was incredible. Those are the things I want the music to do, you know?

Planet Ill: We actually got you on the Ghostface tour, we actually ran that, so that’s good.

Skyzoo: Oh okay. Word up.

Planet Ill: Okay, now that you’ve gotten your Salvation, now what? What’s next? What can we look forward to in 2010?

Skyzoo: Just some more touring; I’m definitely trying to tour more. I had a blast out there for a month, and I’m trying to do more of that. Definitely gotta go overseas. Gotta go back to Asia, you know, they love me in China so I gotta go back over there. Trying to do some Europe stuff. I want to do one more run of the States, you know what I mean? One more big run throughout the country again, just to hit people one more time with it who may not know what it is, or who know what it is or may have just missed the show. People be hitting me on Twitter in Texas, places like that like, “Yo man, I wish ya’ll was comin’ down here,” so I wanna come down there, nah mean? So things like that. Musically, I’m always keeping my name out there. There isn’t gonna be another second album per se like, I’m not working on the second album yet only because I want the first album to live, you know?

I think what people do now in 2009 and beyond, I think people rush out, they drop an album, then drop another one, then drop another one, and they don’t give people a chance to marinate with the album. So the consumers are accustomed to thinking, oh if I miss this album, it’s okay because another one’s coming tomorrow. Or, you know, I got this album. I better get through it quick because another one will be out and I don’t wanna be the last one on it, you know what I mean?

I remember when Nas dropped Illmatic in ‘94 and then he dropped It Was Written in ‘96, and we waited for that, you know what I mean? And then he dropped Nastradamus, um, no, he dropped I Am in ‘99. And we waited for that. And I’m not saying I’m gonna wait 2, 3 years in between, but I do want to let the album marinate a lil bit. But at the same time, you know, mixtapes, remixes, different projects like that, puttin’ stuff out there.

There’s ways to stay relevant without necessarily throwing out another complete album. Cuz when I do the second album, I know the stakes is high. And I’m getting an idea of where I wanna go with it. Like, I’m putting together some ideas and some concepts as far as the theme, and I like what I got so far. So you know, I’m slowly marinating. Good looks as always, too. I know you always holding it down for me. I appreciate it.

Planet Ill: Definitely.

Skyzoo: Aight, homie. Peace.

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