Skylar Johnson has been making quite a name for himself in the Cedar Valley lately.  First off he’s the first ever hip hop artist to ever get some stage time at the Sturgis Falls Celebration in Cedar Falls.  That’s no small feat in itself.  I’ve heard Skylar’s stuff on and off again over the years.  He happens to be signed to my old college roommates record label A+9 Records based in Bakersfield California.  I saw Skylar perform one song with Psuedo Sleep Project at the Steb’s Reunion and asked him if I could get a copy of his new CD for review and he obliged me.  So on to the review.

What struck me on first listen to Johnson’s full length album was his vocal style.  It falls somewhere between Eminem and Kanye West, he has a smooth delivery that at times can be aggressive without shouting, he also has a great grasp of language and paints vivid pictures of the life he sees around him.  Whether it be political like “Marijuana Revolutions” featuring Aeon Grey (another A+9 artist) or personal like “A Longer Lunch”.  What I think I like most about Johnson’s words is the simple Iowa honesty that he uses.  There isn’t rapping about guns, drugs (Marijuana Revolutions isn’t about smoking pot but a political mindset that Johnson sees as a problem), cars, money or women.  He raps about the world around him, whether it be his day job or the music that inspired him to create.  Johnson’s words are chosen carefully and at times are very very poignant.

Johnson also has an ear for melody and the album is full of guitars and pianos.  Not in the sense you may have become accustomed to with rap or hip hop either.  He uses these instruments as songs, not so much as samples.  He does his own hip hop version of the classic “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and he actually lets the traditional instruments stand out on the bridge and be their own thing.  His use of melody is a nice and welcome break in a genre that is often plagued by repetition and a lack of creativity.

But it isn’t all roses on this record.  In the same way that “Will the Circle be Unbroken” is good because of it’s melody and traditional uses of instruments, it suffers from Johnson’s singing voice.  I applaud him for trying something new, but Johnson’s range or perhaps his confidence holds him back on the songs where he is singing the melody.  Also being more production minded myself, the album suffers from a lack of a full range of sounds.  Johnson’s vocals are first and foremost in the mix, like most hip hop, it’s based on the vocals.  They are the hook, the melody, the meat and potatoes, but I feel like the rest of the disc suffers from a lack of attention to the music that surrounds the vocals.  Apart from “Marijuana Revolutions” the beats all fall flat and lack any dynamic range.  The true test for me is my car speakers and I’ve listened to this album several times in there, and the beats just never come through like I like.  That may not be a problem for some listeners, especially those that spend more time with vocals than I do, but for me, if the whole package isn’t there then I start drifting away from the music and thinking about how I would have done that kick differently.

All in all Skylar Johnson has a winner on his hands here.  Most people aren’t going to be nearly as critical of the music with Johnson’s excellent abilities on the mic and interesting stories to take up most of their attention span.  In my car this morning listening to the album one final time on my way to work I came up with a genre for this record and I think it fits perfectly.  Hip Hop Bluegrass.  I recommend this to fans of engaging well thought out hip hop and people who enjoy NPR.  Believe me, this album has some surprises on it.

3 1/2 Stars out of 5.

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