Another Link To The Chain: Lord Sko

 Another Link To The Chain; an ongoing series highlighting rising hip-hop artists extending the history of the genre into the future

Representing: Washington Heights, New York City, New York

For Fans Of: YL, Fly Anakin, Joey Bada$$, Domo Genesis, Curren$y, Showbiz, CL Smooth, Big Daddy Kane

        At 18 Lord Sko has already solidified himself into a New York City lineage that is as blessed as it is confusing. The lyrical wonderkid, an archetype that dates back to Rakim, where an MC under the legal drinking age has hyper focused their talents on putting words together in ways that outshine their peer group and the overseers of the time. Joey Bada$$, Juice WRLD, Earl Sweatshirt, Wiki, Prodigy, Nas; they all fall within this same bloodline. Each of these artists hit their own road blocks; label hiccups, failed crossover attempts, crews splitting apart, substance abuse issues, and so on. His potential to be a real player in the coming years doesn’t just rely on his skill, but him utilizing it in a time where the rap ecosystem he exists in is at the cusp of a full takeover, while leaning into a skillset that matches his Dazed and Confused side character mentality. 

        Being born in New York is like hitting the geography lottery (word to Big K.R.I.T.) for any entertainer, but hip-hop artists especially. If you fall within the traditionalist standards that the city's rap scene was founded upon (sample based beats, a signature flow and a knack for witty entendres or vivid slice of life verse writing) you have a network ready to streamline you to the masses. Already having freestyles and interviews with growing and established platforms like Hot97, Top Shelf Premium, OnTheRadar, and Chinatown Sound have given him ways to shine that artists in smaller regions still don’t have equal access to. The beauty of regionalism is the different mutations of hip-hop having biomes to grow within, while New York specifically finds ways to focus fans on those that pay homage to the old guard. Experimentalists (Fatboi Sharif, AKAI SOLO and Phiiik) as well as stalwarts of the “born in the wrong generation” idea (YL, .38 Spesh and Your Old Droog) all live an Amtrak away from another within the tristate area, using Bandcamp and streaming services as a lifetime for their art. Using a newly functional NYC feeder system to survive like the aforementioned rising stars, Lord Sko falls into the latter nostalgia loving group, dawning in his videos and photos jeans that would shake Soulja Boy to his core and high quality sweaters Fat Joe and Pun would be huffing and puffing over. Not only on his sophomore album’s cover does he pay homage to Big L’s iconic Lifetylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous but the production tickles the ears as high fidelity D.I.T.C. cuts. His hair flows down to his chest in every direction even when a fitted hat lays firm above it, reminding you he’s just another kid you would have bumped into rapping in circles with his peers on the way to an entry level economics class. There’s thousands of people living like Sko, but no one else rapping quite like him anymore.

        His voice is bellowing but never overpowering, a strong putty that can stretch and stick but never lose its strength. The curse of most white rappers is an over admiration of their most popular representative Eminem, one that leads to an overuse of speed rap, childish toilet humor, and the most egregious of them all; robotic flows. Sko on the other hand leans back within tracks, flowing with records like rain runoff does on the forest floor. Charisma comes naturally, not enough to draw you to him but enough to catch your ears as you hear it play around you. Lyrically the records are never overbearing, it’s journal entries from NYC’s Jeff Spicoli. Low stakes adventures while stacking acid tabs, navigating hazy studio nights, all while shit talking about whoever he crosses fill the verses with few spoken hooks coming to tie them together. His debut album Museum, was almost exclusively lyrical exercise (produced in mass by go to collaborator Arlo Walker), but the kind where you only do curl variations. It’ll always be the first thing we notice, but it’s not as useful in everyday life as the acclaim would lead you to believe. United Palace shows an expansion into denser production (some handled by himself) honing in to a Golden Era revival sound, and creating more focused songs in the process. Tapping in with established East Coasters Da$h, Statik Selektah and Mayhem Lauren push him into conversations that he missed out on by simply being born too late. A decade since the Beast Coast movement had a short term grip on a generation of city kids, Sko is thriving as one of the lone descendants. Even now I half expect Nyck Caution or one of the Underachievers to find their way into the background of his videos. The day to day living he speaks of isn’t unique, but as drill and all it’s sub-forms become the dominant NYC sound, it becomes refreshing. Only 3 years into being a rapper there’s still high hopes Sko can make his way to the leg press and row machines more often, but for now he remains full of potential albeit unbalanced. 

Album To Check: United Palace

Best Songs: Jumpshot, Kush & OJ, Pimp Socks

Written By: Anthony Seaman (@soflogemstone on Twitter & IG)