More info after the jump:
Skyzoo’s tribute to Chi Ali has little to do with the fact that a young Ali was down with non-violent early 90’s Native Tongue posse legends Black Sheep, and then eventually murdered someone. Skyzoo explains that he is more giving it to Chi Ali for inspiring him at a young age.:
““The idea behind Jansport Strings is not based on it being literal, but more so in the figurative sense. As a kid in NY, the strings on your Jansport bag were a sign of power and presence. Kids would steal the strings off of each other’s bags and burn the tips to prevent getting robbed of them once they got them. The song is a 3 minute auto-bio of me as a kid in Brooklyn and seeing more than my friends and I had bargained for. In essence, my Jansport strings tied it all together, seeing what we all saw and what it made us. The ending is a clip from Video Music Box, the legendary NYC video show run by DJ Ralph McDaniels. This episode in particular was the debut of Chi-Ali’s ‘Age Ain’t Nothin But A Number’. Seeing that video that day on this episode of VMB made me start rhyming. This clip was literally the moment that changed my life.” -Skyzoo
Lead single off Skyzoo’s upcoming album ‘A Dream Deferred’ out Oct. 2nd on The Faculty/Duck Down Music In