Neak and Cam Be's production sets a lush, cinematic sound that combines Chicago soul with boom-bap grit. Tangents of live instrumentation threaded like jazz smoke curled around streetlight reflections, making the record feel fluid, like a slow pan across the city skyline at dusk. Here, Skyzoo's verses unravel like scenes on film, each bar well-wrought and purposeful, as if soundtracking a moment in Black life that is precious to him and everyone. There's no filler, no fluff, just thoughtfully arranged words painting high-resolution pictures.
What elevates the sum of its parts is the warmth and clarity of Rashid Hadee's mix and master. Every instrument breathes, and every cut in the vocals slices cleanly through, yet it's never in danger of losing the analog patina that makes it all so human. The result is a track that conveys the sense that it was carefully crafted and spun onto vinyl, deep, authentic, and reverberant. "EyeWonder" is a thematic introduction to "A Film Called Black," a forthcoming album. If the new spinoff is the trailer, the complete feature may be something to look for. This is cinephile hip-hop made for those who rewind bars and read liner notes.
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