Skyzoo and Pete Rock are dedicating their upcoming album Retropolitan to the old, pre-gentrification New York City, and the video for their single “It’s All Good” embodies the nostalgic feeling they love.
The new set of visuals shows Skyzoo spitting around various sites of graffiti, his lyrics painting distinct pictures of Brooklyn memories over a soulful backdrop by Pete Rock.
“The video, directed by Sen Floyd, shows a raw but vibrant scene of the NY that Pete and I know,” Skyzoo told VIBE. “The graffiti, the color schemes, city folk cutting by in between shots, even the industrial feel that peaks its head in the camera at times. All of it, along with the shots of the corners and 22 story buildings that define NY, are what we know of the city. It matches the essence of the song perfectly. One of my favorite videos to date for what it depicts and represents.”
Retropolitan is 12 tracks long and features guest appearances by Styles P, Benny The Butcher, Conway, Westside Gunn, Elzhi and Raheem Devaughn. Skyzoo said that he and Pete made the album out of a “feeling of necessity.”
“The album is both a love letter and a wakeup call to the city of New York. In an age where hype dominates reality, FOMO supersedes integrity and gentrification has supplanted tradition, this album is screaming for NYC to wake TF up—even as Pete & myself thank the city for all it’s done for us at the same time,” Skyzoo explained. “Wake up from accepting your culture being stripped away from you. Wake up from believing that the people who aren’t cut from the cloth you created know your fabric better than you. Wake up from denying the change that’s taken place within you, told to be for your betterment, when it’s solely for theirs; and at your expense and detriment. Wake up from ignoring the identity you once had, the community you once built, the strength you once manifested, all to take on that of one you assumed would expand your reach, when all it’s doing is spreading you comically thin. Dear New York, all five boroughs of you, thank you for all you’ve done. You’re the greatest. Now sit back, listen and wake TF up.”
Skyzoo and Pete Rock’s Retropolitan is scheduled for a Sept. 20, 2019 release date under Mello Music Group. Watch the video for “It’s All Good” above.