A Dream Deferred (album)

A Dream Deferred is the second studio album of Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo. The album was released on October 23, 2012. The album met with a largely positive critical response, earning 86/100 from Metacritic.^[1] It is one of Skyzoo's best charting albums, reaching No. 7 on the Top Heatseekers chart, No. 191 on the Billboard 200, No. 25 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, No. 18 on Top Rap Albums, and No. 40 on the Independent Albums chart.^[2]

A Dream Deferred
Studio album by Skyzoo
Released	October 2, 2012
Recorded	2010–2012 Big China Studios Brooklyn, New York
Genre	Hip hop
Length	65:49
Label	The Faculty Duck Down
Producer	!llmind 9th Wonder Jahlil Beats Eric G. Focus... DJ Khalil Best Kept Secret Black Milk Tall Black Guy
Skyzoo chronology
Live from the Tape Deck (2010) A Dream Deferred (2012) Barrel Brothers (2014)
Singles from A Dream Deferred
"Jansport Strings" Released: August 5, 2012 "Give It Up" Released: October 3, 2012 "Spike Lee Was My Hero" Released: January 23, 2013

Production and release

The album was originally scheduled for release on September 18, 2012, but it got pushed back to October 2, 2012.

The album's lead single "Jansport Strings" was produced by 9th Wonder^[3] and was released on August 7, 2012. Two more singles "Give It Up" and "Range Rover Rhythm" were released later.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Exclaim!	[1][4]
HipHopDX	[5]
Okayplayer	[6]
PopMatters	[7]
XXL	XL[8]

A Dream Deferred largely received positive reviews upon its release from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 5 reviews.^[1] Earning 4/5 stars from HipHopDX,^[5] PopMatters gave it 8/10,^[7] Okayplayer gave it 9/10,^[6] and it earned a positive review from the hip hop publication XXL.^[8] It earned a lower score from the Canadian website Exclaim!, which gave it 6/10.^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)[3]	Length
1.	"Dreams In a Basement" (featuring Jill Scott)	!llmind	5:56
2.	"Jansport Strings (One Time for Chi-Ali)"	9th Wonder	3:19
3.	"Pockets Full" (featuring Freeway)	!llmind	4:15
4.	"Give It Up" (featuring DJ Prince)	!llmind	3:40
5.	"Glass Ceilings"	!llmind	3:49
6.	"Range Rover Rhythm"	Jahlil Beats	3:29
7.	"The Knowing" (featuring Jessy Wilson)	Eric G.	6:00
8.	"Drew & Derwin" (featuring Raheem DeVaughn)	Focus...	4:18
9.	"Realization" (featuring Jared Evan)	DJ Khalil	3:52
10.	"The Rage of Roemello"	DJ Khalil	5:38
11.	"How to Make It Through Hysteria"	Best Kept Secret	6:04
12.	"Steel's Apartment"	Black Milk	4:12
13.	"Spike Lee Was My Hero" (featuring Talib Kweli)	Tall Black Guy	5:37
14.	"The Cost of Sleep"	Tall Black Guy	5:38

Deluxe version bonus track

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Live for the Moment" (featuring Colin Munroe)	Colin Munroe	4:41

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position[2]
US Billboard 200 (Billboard)	191
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)	7
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	25
US Independent Albums (Billboard)	40
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)	18

Samples

• "Jansport Strings (One Time for Chi-Ali)" contains a sample from "What Good Is A Castle" by Joe Bataan
• "Pockets Full" contains a sample from "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
• "Steel's Apartment" contains a sample from "Jupiter" by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
• "Spike Lee Was My Hero" contains a sample from "Windjammer" by Freddie Hubbard

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[9]

• Illmind: Keyboards, Synthesizers, recording engineer, mixing
• Godfather: Keyboards, Synths
• Illmind & The Big China Symphony: Violin, Viola, Cello, Flutes, Timpani, Fender Rhodes, Small Percussion
• Marion "OJ" Ross: Trumpet
• Marshall Brooks: Tuba
• Nina B., Ayah, Peter Hadar, Sheila D. Yeah, John Legend, Jessy Wilson, Kay Cee: background vocals
• Chris Boehner: Mastering
• Robert Adam Mayer: Photography
• Art direction & design: Jean Goode