Sunspot Jonz and BOAC reach for the moon as SKYWALKERS

By Peyton S. Owen

Courtesy - Leo Docuyanan 

A new hip-hop duo based out of Northern California, Skywalkers, consist of musicians that are considered some of independent hip-hop’s greats – MC Sunspot Jonz of the Living Legends and underground producer/beat maker BOAC. These guys have come together to create a record that is unique to hip-hop in so many ways, track by track. Sunspot Jonz takes his conscious lyricism and smooth delivery placing it with BOAC’s original beats and carefully chosen samples to make Skywalkers, something truly special coming out of the Bay area.

It’s impressive how well BOAC and Sunspot Jonz meld together to grind out a sound that could be considered a new subgenre within hip-hop. Skywalkers are a daring and an unexpected twist of feel good, clever rhymes as well as upbeat melodies. Don’t forget they also have a touch of the ever-growing electronic genre as a departure for both Sunspot Jonz and BOAC’s own styles.  Is underground hip-hop moving in a new direction?

Skywalkers and their debut album have changed with the times. The use of less boom bap beats and samples have been replaced by interesting computerized sounds mixed with complimentary, creative samples by BOAC. He lays down stability for Sunspot to tear up the mic, yet various vocal effects are used on tracks like “Dark Knight.”

On their new album, BOAC is a killer DJ and Sunspot's rhymes are fresh. Skywalkers have potential to really blast off, but there needs to be more bass to a few tracks to keep listeners’ engaged. This record is different and as a way to not completely throw off fans before the Skywalkers project, this could possibly ease them into this new sound. The track "Go" was their first single and video released from the record.

Overall the album is great and gives Skywalkers a wider audience to draw into the net as well as open up others to something new. Skywalkers makes you want to get up, dance, sing, and smile all the way from start to finish, but you have to see them perform live to get the true feel of how Sunspot and BOAC of Skywalkers, flow together. Experiencing the music makes up for everything unavailable to fans when strictly listening to the album.

If you want some fresh music to hold on to, go check out SKYWALKERS. You can find tracks as well as the full album on ITunes, YouTube, SoundCloud, AllAccessHipHop, and more. Give it a listen and make up your own mind about these talented hip-hop legends bold move.

Tour dates are coming soon as well as more news on SKYWALKERS. Their first ever live performance was at Paid Dues 2013 - Independent hip-hop's largest music festival, earlier this year.