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Shaz Illyork – Skeleton Key (prod. Low Cut) (Video)

blame it on JES7 August 14, 2011

If you aren’t familiar with Queens emcee Shaz yet, let us formally (re)introduce you.

Queens Born, NYC raised & cultured in the Golden Era of Rap. Affiliations run deep with Illyork. From the mid 90’s when dudes were still huggin the block, Shaz was on an all city mission. Getting love in every hood and every block in the 5 boros with his Rusto Cans and Sweet Hand-style. Graffiti ran parallel to Hip-Hop in the day. Slowly getting drawn to open mic’s & street battles, it was clear Shaz had a passion for the art…Art of Rap that is. He was on his way up in the Hip Hop Scene in the early 2000’s before he ran into some trouble and for better or worse spent the latter half of the decade (04-09) in the penitentiary.
Rather than feel sorry for himself and lose his focus, he came home with his drive & convictions even more focused. Determined to bring his hard hitting lyrical flow back to the forefront, where there had been a great void to fill in the community. As one exec told me “Without a gimmick or a huge co-sign, it’s an uphill battle for artists coming out of the Northeast.” Shaz isn’t claiming to be anything other than a rapper. He isn’t branding himself a 90’s cat, or coming up with a gimmicky approach. He is determined to let his music speak for itself and let the rest follow.

If you can’t respect that, your whole perspective is wack. For more, check out his mixtape, Air Unlimited after the jump featuring artists Meyhem Lauren, Timeless Truth, Spit Gemz & Action Bronson and production by Tommy Mas, DJ Two Stacks, Don Prodducci, Psycho Les (Beatnuts), CJAE & Low Cut.

DOWNLOAD: Shaz Illyork – Air Unlimited (Mixtape)
PREVIOUS: Shaz Illyork – Mystic Moves f. Action Bronson, Spit Gemz & Timeless Truth