Sky Gandy – “Pictures”/”Schwag” – Singles Review

So…here’s why it’s always important to shout yourself out when sending your music around the internet to different reviewers and at least provide a few details; I’m a resourceful guy when it comes to finding out information on an artist but this has been a maze & a half to get through just to find out what’s up with Sky Gandy or where he’s coming from or what he’s all about.  I get a couple ‘links’ to brand-new tunes “Pictures” & “Schwag” – which are both broken & don’t work mind you – I track down the music at Soundcloud only to find there are no additional links or information there…so then I end up hitting up Google & doing a search…which reveals a bit more info…you can go to pages like Sky Gandy’s Reverbnation page, which will also lead you to a little more information and yes, more broken links.

SKY GANDY – take a moment off of the mic brother-man…get your social media game on-point.

Point being, as nice as the guy might be, there’s a way to make sure you stay in the underground and he’s going about that in all the right ways when it comes to what’s up online – musically, there’s no way that an artist like this should stay buried, unknown or unnoticed.  I’d be more forgiving about it all…but we’ve got the added information from Reverbnation that lets us know Sky Gandy is a part of the Christian Rap genre…it’s all good to receive the word if that’s what you’re into, but I’m just as big of a fan of seeing people lead by example when it comes to those Christian values and at least reach out to say a quick hello or anything other than just toss a couple links that don’t work around and hope for the best.  Nah son…I’m here to call people out like that – especially when the talent & skill behind the music SHOULD be represented strongly…that’s what gets the hairs on my back bristling people, let me tell ya.

And that’s what this is.  Sky Gandy is insightfully talented.  Though at first, again, just seeing the songs at Soundcloud and not being familiar with his music, you’d have no idea who’s responsible for what and it’s got no information to tell you anything otherwise.  You can see that there are featured guests on “Pictures” and “Schwag”…and that’s awesome…but if you were just to visit Soundcloud, you wouldn’t know if Sky Gandy was ONLY a beat-maker that features vocalists or was contributing to the mic – you’ll actually need to visit another of his pages to confirm that he is in fact, a Christian R&B/Rap/Soul artist.  Sky’s welcome to take all these points I’m making and roll his eyes if he wants to…what I’m pointing out makes a huge difference to the online music community and how people find your music; I’m not just being a cantankerous old man, there’s validity and proven results that come with putting your music out there in some sort of organized way.  Again – if the music he was making wasn’t so completely worth listening to, I probably wouldn’t care about all this one way or the other; it’s the fact that people should be hearing this & I can see there are things that are stopping that from happening that have me chirpin.’

No question in my mind that a song like “Pictures” could become a massive hit.  The amount of melody in the rap is absolutely incredible…the lyricism is amazing…the flow is complex, wild & freakin’ flawless; the guest appearance from Sky Gandy’s homie 2Mellow hits the mark and gives “Pictures” additional flavor.  When it comes right down to it…I’ve gotta hand it to Sky…2Mellow does a great job, the music is equally tight…BUT…the star really remains the star on this new track.  I hear a new emcee almost every day of the week and it’s RARE to hear the amount of passion, precision and focus that you’ll hear in Sky’s delivery…that’s not just good, that’s GREAT.  So again…people are just gonna have to forgive me for ranting through the beginning of this review, that’s just who I am – the bottom line is that music like this should find every set of available ears and experience the success it deserves.  The work has certainly been put in here…the piano-led melody and beat is perfectly edited & structured for both Gandy and 2Mellow to get the most out of this one – but again, I think you have to admire the additional amount of hook & pull that Gandy finds in his approach…because that’s memorable material that will seriously last.  Listen to the lyricism…it’s almost delivered in an upbeat-Trap style…but ultimately, there’s enough going on through both its verse & chorus that you wander legitimately into Hip-Hop, Soul & R&B as the dominant parts of the vocal-approach – and those words!  That flow!  The energy all around this cut is truly powerful – amazing vibe here.  Incredible stuff from both Gandy and 2Mellow when it comes to what’s up on the mic – they’ve confidently risen to the occasion here on “Pictures” with a song that’s bright, bold and exceptional to listen to.  Whether it’s the complexity in the lyrics, structure of the vocals and how well they pull it all off, or the irresistible hooks in the music itself – I dunno, there’s nothing about this track I felt like I was strong enough to resist, nor did I want to.  “Pictures” is perfect y’all.

It’s about passion, it’s about tone, it’s about confidence, precision, professionalism, enthusiasm and LOVING what you do…that’s how you get to the results you hear on “Schwag.”  It’s about personality, character, commitment and charisma on the mic…that’s how you end up with a performance and writing on a song like “Schwag” that’s so strong you can’t possibly take your ears off of it.  I mean…it should count for something if an old guy like me can connect to a track called “Schwag” shouldn’t it?  Dude should get bonus points for that as far as I’m concerned.  I just have to give Sky Gandy all the credit the man truly deserves though…it has little to do with the buzz-word of the title in comparison to how incredible the verses, bars and melody continually roll through this cut.  It’s stylistic, its designed for right now, the tone of Gandy’s voice is off-the-charts cool…whether it’s the smooth sound of his R&B approach cutting through the rhymes or the added rasp to the enthusiasm & passion he puts into the performance of this track, it’s all amazing to listen to and stunningly professional.  No reason that I can hear that should keep Gandy from reaching the extreme heights of success that all emcees are hoping to reach – he’s got all the right pieces in place from tight rhymes, flawless flow and brilliant melodies all working in his favor.  King Queezy & 2Mellow step in to lend solid assists on “Schwag” – they both mix personality & unique tones into the bars of this idea solidly…Sky Gandy’s a tough rapper to outshine, but they definitely hold their own and have a place in this cut; at the very least, you can certainly tell that Gandy is surrounded by just as much talent as he possesses himself, and that’s gonna lead to great energy between emcees in collaborations like “Schwag” is.

So there you have it…believe me, this is definitely an artist that’s got the skills, imagination, focus and enthusiasm to take this all the way.  Certainly worth taking that time to put the best foot forward and gaining that real support from the people along the way, updating the social media and making sure all those links are working…the music Sky Gandy is making deserves every chance & opportunity to be heard.

I’ll help him out in the meantime…find out more about Sky Gandy at Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/skygandy