A Dream Deferred is the second studio album of Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo. The album was released on October 23, 2012. The album met with a largely positive critical response, earning 86/100 from Metacritic.[1] It is one of Skyzoo's best charting albums, reaching No. 7 on the Top Heatseekers chart, No. 191 on the Billboard 200, No. 25 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums , No. 18 on Top Rap Albums, and No. 40 on the Independent Albums chart.[2]
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Singles from A Dream Deferred | |
|
Production and release
The album was originally scheduled for release on September 18, 2012, but it got pushed back to October 2, 2012.
The album's lead single "Jansport Strings" was produced by 9th Wonder[3] and was released on August 7, 2012. Two more singles "Give It Up" and "Range Rover Rhythm" were released later.[citation needed]
Reception
Critical response
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! |   [1][4] |
| HipHopDX |   [5] |
| Okayplayer | [6] |
| PopMatters | [7] |
| XXL | XL[8] |
A Dream Deferred largely received positive reviews upon its release from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 5 reviews.[1] Earning 4/5 stars from HipHopDX,[5] PopMatters gave it 8/10,[7] Okayplayer gave it 9/10,[6] and it earned a positive review from the hip hop publication XXL.[8] It earned a lower score from the Canadian website Exclaim!, which gave it 6/10.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Producer(s)[3] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dreams In a Basement / Skit" (featuring Jill Scott) | !llmind & 9th Wonder | 5:56 |
| 2. | "Jansport Strings (One Time for Chi-Ali)" | 9th Wonder | 3:19 |
| 3. | "Pockets Full" (featuring Freeway) | 9th Wonder !llmind | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Give It Up" (featuring DJ Prince) | !llmind | 3:40 |
| 5. | "Glass Ceilings" | !llmind | 3:49 |
| 6. | "Range Rover Rhythm" | Jahlil Beats | 3:29 |
| 7. | "The Knowing /Skit" (featuring Jessy Wilson) | !llmind & Eric G. | 6:00 |
| 8. | "Drew & Derwin" (featuring Raheem DeVaughn) | 9th Wonder & Focus... | 4:18 |
| 9. | "Realization" (featuring Jared Evan) | DJ Khalil | 3:52 |
| 10. | "The Rage of Roemello" | DJ Khalil | 5:38 |
| 11. | "How to Make It Through Hysteria" | Best Kept Secret | 6:04 |
| 12. | "Steel's Apartment" | Black Milk | 4:12 |
| 13. | "Spike Lee Was My Hero" (featuring Talib Kweli) | Tall Black Guy Talib Kweli | 5:37 |
| 14. | "The Cost of Sleep" | Tall Black Guy | 5:38 |
| No. | Title | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Live for the Moment" (featuring Colin Munroe) | Colin Munroe | 4:41 |
Charts
| Chart (2014) | Peak position[2] |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 (Billboard) | 191 |
| US Top Heatseekers (Billboard) | 7 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) | 25 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) | 40 |
| US Top Rap Albums (Billboard) | 18 |
Samples
- "Jansport Strings (One Time for Chi-Ali)" contains a sample from "What Good Is A Castle" by Joe Bataan
- "Pockets Full" contains a sample from "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
- "Steel's Apartment" contains a sample from "Jupiter" by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
- "Spike Lee Was My Hero" contains a sample from "Windjammer" by Freddie Hubbard
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes.[9]
- Illmind: Keyboards, Synthesizers, recording engineer, mixing
- Godfather: Keyboards, Synths
- Illmind & The Big China Symphony: Violin, Viola, Cello, Flutes, Timpani, Fender Rhodes, Small Percussion
- Marion "OJ" Ross: Trumpet
- Marshall Brooks: Tuba
- Nina B., Ayah, Peter Hadar, Sheila D. Yeah, John Legend, Jessy Wilson, Kay Cee: background vocals
- Chris Boehner: Mastering
- Robert Adam Mayer: Photography
- Art direction & design: Jean Goode
References
- ^ a b c d "A Dream Deferred - Skyzoo". Metacritic. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Skyzoo Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
- ^ a b Skyzoo "A Dream Deferred" Tracklist & Cover Art from HipHopDX
- ^ a b Patrick, Ryan (2 October 2012). "Skyzoo - A Dream Deferred". Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ a b Mlynar, Phillip (10 October 2012). "Skyzoo - A Dream Deferred". HipHopDX. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Skyzoo - A Dream Deferred". Okayplayer. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ a b Amidon, David (18 October 2012). "Skyzoo: A Dream Deferred". PopMatters. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ a b Lelinwalla, Mark (4 October 2012). "Skyzoo, A Dream Deferred". XXL. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
- ^ Skyzoo (2012). A Dream Deferred. Duck Down Records.