“Sky,” born Skylark Sinclair Jr. in Laurel, Mississippi, left home with $2 in his pocket to pursue music. Since then, he lended his signature vocals to countless underground hits as well as major releases, moved in with TLC’s Lisa (Left Eye) Lopez, and wrote the current #1 single in the United Kingdom. After Left Eye’s untimely death, Sky dealt with his emotions through music. While putting the finishing touches on his debut album, he’s convinced that his upcoming release will put other R&B singers to shame. Why did you decide to move to Atlanta? I moved here strictly for music. I moved to Atlanta with $2. I didn’t know nobody. I don’t know how I pulled that off, I guess I stepped out on faith. This was back in ’96. I had heard Outkast’s album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik. I heard what they were talking about and I wanted to go where those guys were. I wanted to make music; Atlanta was the place that was booming at the time. Where I’m from is suppressed, you can’t do anything from there.
Do you ever plan on just focusing on writing and production instead of being in the spotlight yourself? If things haven’t happened the way I want them to by the summer of next year, I think I’m gonna decide to just strictly write. I’m a writer by trade.
Did you collaborate with her musically? I was a producer and writer for Left Eye Productions. I wrote some stuff for her, but I didn’t get credit for it. I wrote it just for her.
Working with L.A. Reid’s son, do you think you’ll end up at Def Jam? Probably so, because me and Antonio are real good friends and I would love to work with his father. His father has been very nice to me throughout the years. L.A. even came and had a meeting with me at the studio where I was, and he sat and listened to all my songs and critiqued each one of them. The way he critiqued my songs, they’ve improved 100% just from this man’s opinion. This man is a fucking genius. I listened to what he said, and I really feel like my songs have improved. If I come out right now, nobody could fuck with me. I have a classic album; I’ve got the hottest shit. I don’t think nobody could fuck with me. Nobody. The only nigga that would be close would be Usher. He’s got three songs in the top 10 right now. He’s doing big things, but I really think the game sucks right now. It really does. I need to put my shit out to show niggas what real music is. These niggas is fuckin’ up, for real. I don’t get it. But my nigga Akon is representing too, his shit just dropped. Akon is hot. Akon, if you reading this, what’s up with the Skykon album? But what I’d really like to do is get with my homeboy Banner on his b.i.G.f.a.c.e. label and just make my boy’s shit bigger. He’s got his own label so I’d rather make his shit bigger, but we keep having issues and shit, man. Then I got niggas coming out of the woodwork saying, “Sky owes me this, Sky owes me that.” Sky don’t owe none of them muthafuckers nothing except an asswhupping. I don’t owe none of y’all shit. Print that.
When she passed, how did it affect you? That was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. I’m still trying to get over that right now. Lisa was my light; the light of my life. Her passing was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. We would be married right now if she was still here.
What other songs have you appeared on? I was on “Choose Me” and “Pop That” with Banner. I’m on Bone’s new album, Fight Music, on a song called “Hustling.” I’m on a cut with Keno from Persian Records, they’re an indie label that’s gonna do real big things. MC Shy D, I’m on his album too.
When was the first time you appeared on a major release? Lil’ Jon was the first one to put me out. I was on his Put Yo Hood Up album, on “Where Them Girls At?” I hooked up with him at Billy Hume’s house because he was recording there. I was like, “Hey, Lil’ Jon, I sing, let me be on your album.” He told me to come back tomorrow. I came back the next day and he put a beat on and said, “Okay, go in the booth and put something on.” He liked it. So Lil’ Jon was the first person to ever put me out, and I thank him for that. After that I got with my homeboy Kurupt, he was a friend of Lisa’s. Me and Kurupt clicked from the first time we met. We did a whole album together that never came out. At the time, all the stuff with Death Row was going on and the label was kinda shaky. I was doing tracks with a lot of underground rappers, too. I’ve done hooks for so many people, I couldn’t even name them all. And me and David Banner, we’d been friends for the longest and he put me on pretty tough. Banner is my brother. We have some differences sometimes but at the end of the day I love him like my brother. But we just disagree on a lot of things.
Did you ever get to tell Outkast why you moved to Atlanta? Nah, I never even got into that. They’re such cool niggas, they don’t wanna hear that shit. It’ll make me look like a fanatic. When I met them they were just some real down-to-earth niggas, especially Dre. He’s such a superstar, he could really be an asshole if he wanted to. But both of ‘em are real down-to-earth, just like some niggas from my hood. I see them niggas every single day now cause I be in Zac’s studio. Jimmy Z is the owner, that’s my family over there. That’s my second home. If you’re ever in Atlanta and you want to find Sky, go to Zac’s right next to Stankonia. Outkast, Aquemini, Stankonia, they’re all on Antone St. The album of the year always come off Antone St. We call it Grammy St., cause we don’t make nothing but hits off Antone.
What did you do when you got to Atlanta? I was actually homeless with a demo tape. I did a talent show that Left Eye was at. She asked me where I lived, and I told her I didn’t live anywhere. She took me home. Yep, I was her boyfriend for four years. I lived with her for four years. So this was after the whole Andre Rison, burning-down-the-house experience? You weren’t worried about waking up in flames? No, she was the sweetest person in the world. It was different. She’d went through shit with all them players, I was just glad to be there. I did everything she wanted me to do, and I was nice to her. I was a good man to her. I wasn’t trippin’ on no star shit, I was just there for her and nothing else. And she really taught me the game.
What kind of things? That nigga think he my daddy. He lectures me all the time. He stays on me constantly. But Banner’s a good guy, and he’s trying to help me get myself together. But I think he puts a little too much emphasis on it. That nigga thinks he’s my daddy (laughing). But nah, he’s helped me a whole lot. Me, him, and Bonecrusher used to be together every day. At that time, I had money. I had a superstar girlfriend. I had money and they didn’t, but we were always together every day. We were just a brotherhood, me, him, and Bone. That’s why anytime they put out an album, I’ll always be on it. Right now people are listening to my album and are in shock. I’m going to be one of the biggest artists to ever come out because my stuff is so different. Do you have any offers from record labels? Oh, yeah. I’ve never even shopped anything and I have labels interested. I’m working with Antonio Reid Jr., L.A. Reid’s son. I’m letting him handle the decisions, cause he’s trying to find the best situation for 38
me. I’ve just been writing, I haven’t even been shopping around. I wrote a song called “Another Day” for Lamar, he’s an artist on Sony UK. It went platinum in two days in the UK. I doubt if it even comes to the United States. They don’t even need the United States. He won the London Idol over there. The song has been at #1 for eight weeks straight, so that was amazing to me.
OZONE MAGAZINE JUNE 2004
- Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com (Photo: Liza Simmons)