Music Reviews

Published on January 20th, 2018 | by The Rap Hippies

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Skuzii Shows Us We All Need a Veronica in Our Life, in his New Album, ‘Veronica’s Apartment’

Who is Veronica and why is she so relevant to Skuzii, a VA based rapper who just released his new album titled “Veronica’s Apartment”. In this album, he picks apart situations that we can assume are about a girl named Veronica; he also speaks on personal situations while still keeping her relevant in between tracks.  Little do we know, we all have known and come across a Veronica in our time; She is the girl that got your back, she is that girl that smokes your weed, she is that girl on Instagram, she is the girl next door, she is that girl you love and hate, she is that girl that got her shit together, she is that girl you can always go back to, and she is that girl you always need in your life. While listening to the album just keep the thought of Veronica in the back of your mind.

Now enough about Veronica, let’s talk about how amazingly Skuzii has successfully painted this picture for us. Opening up the album we get a feel for who Skuzii is and his music right away. He is a rapper, he sings, and he also plays an instrument, which he applies to his music. Playing the keys and the sax is the one thing that attracted me to this VA native when I first saw him last year in Atlanta. Right away on the first track titled ‘The Price is Right’ we get melodic vibes, fun lyrics, and a little bit of Jazz. As the opening song this is perfect to get your head bobbing and understanding the path of this album. With lyrics like “She want the loud, she want pack, she want to smoke, she gonna nap, she want the very very strange, she want the Mary Mary Jane!” –not the most lyrical but it gets better as we get closer to the end of the album.  With lyrics like that we all know this girl, and remember when I said Veronica is the one who smokes your weed, yeah, this is the track you’ll hear that girl. This isn’t the only track that shows Veronica as the girl who smokes your weed, but you have to listen to the rest of the album to keep finding that Veronica. Following the opening song, it gets better and if you’re a fan of the Virginia energy you’re definitely going to love this album. The second track titled ‘Dasani’, which has become my favorite, reminds me so much of the throwback mixtape “More about nothing” by Wale, and we all know how fire that was.  Not only does ‘Dasani’ sonically give off the DMV vibes, another track off the project titled ‘Can’t Finesse a Finesser’ does the same thing.  Again, we hear the infused jazz and catchy lyrics but it perfectly leads into a more serious note as we get deeper into the album. Skuzii definitely has a few tracks towards the end where he snaps and it isn’t about Veronica.

The album does feature a good handful of people, just about every track there is a feature.
This could be a good or bad thing depending on how you want to look at it. Lets be positive, I  feel like Skuzii is definitely giving other artist opportunity to shine on the tracks. He has a few names that wouldn’t be recognizable outside of VA, such as Lavahi, Bobby Blaze, Young IV, MyNameBryan, and 94 Nicely, just to name a few. Each feature brings a great element to the song and he gives them an equal amount of shine on the tracks. You can tell he has great chemistry with the number of featured artist on this album. The track titled ‘Breathe’ gives us a great back and forth with Bobby Blaze while also incorporating one of the most powerful phrases since 2014; “I can’t breathe”, which automatically in my mind refers to Eric Garner. Skuzii’s meaning is fairly different but it all ties in this track as he tells his experience in just trying to make it while in school, paying rent, needing a flip, not sleeping, and needing work. His struggles as a young adult is real in this track; it’s definitely a must listen.

Moving on to his album title track ‘Veronica’s apartment’, also his single, is the perfect song to showcase the album and sum up everything about it. From the cadence in his flow, the beat choice, and the memorable hook believe me you’re going to get all of that in this album. Aside from being a dope ass song, the visuals are even better. Watch the video before listening to the album and you’re going want to be at Veronica’s apartment your damn self.

As we get to the end of the album this is where it slows down a bit and Skuzii gives us more lyrics and more than just a head bobbing beat. In the track ‘Conversation’s in a Parking Lot’ he is having a conversation with his father. In this track, he is going straight through with no hook including a call and response with himself as his father. In this track, I had to stop and do a double take because Skuzii literally snaps in a sped up flow at the end of the track. This is another must listen as well.  As we wrap up the album, of course we end up on ‘Veronica’s couch’ as the last track on the album. Where he concludes Veronica and the prevalence of her in his life. He speaks on how he ended up on her couch, and continues to give us relatable content about his struggles. This ties up the album perfectly because now we know Veronica and who she is. Just as I called it she is that girl that you always need in your life, just a friend, just a supporter, and someone who loves you at your lowest point.

Overall, The content  of this project is beyond relatable. Seeing Skuzii, personally  and following him on social media, made everything he says in his music more relatable. He’s not speaking on things that we usually hear in mainstream music. You can tell that he’s made music his therapy and speaking on real life shit. He’s a regular person just like the rest of us trying to make it out here. This album better be the one to put Skuzii on someone’s map, because its super good and thought out perfectly. If you’re not checking for Skuzii after this album your crazy, and even crazier if you’re not checking for the producer Jack Union, because the beats on this album are super A1. Skuzii is an artist that is giving us something in Hip-Hop that is hard to find. With his background in band, he has mastered the art of including jazz elements using his instruments to make a fun, serious, and dope ass album.

Check out Veronica’s Apartment released January 19th on all streaming platforms.

 



About the Author

The Rap Hippies consists of a group of like minded curators that cherish, respect, and appreciate Rap & Hip-Hop in its true form. Based out of Atlanta, Georgia we are the crate diggers who love lyrics and a dope beat, along with discussing music through this generation. We are the counter culture of Hip-Hop building a community  for others that value the culture just as much as we do. 


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