Soundcloud come-up artist Lil Skies says little but sounds good doing it on debut album

19-year-old rapper Lil Skies recently released his debut album, titled Life of a Dark Rose. Skies gained popularity after famed music video director Cole Bennett produced a video for his song “Red Roses” featuring Landon Cube.

The album kicks off with “Welcome to the Rodeo” in which Skies makes his mission statement — to make it big in the music industry. Over much of the project, he reminisces on his old life and where he hopes to go, rapping,  “And it’s crazy how last year was sellin’ coke out my garage / Now I’m in a good position for this life can’t sabotage.”

Throughout the project, his lyrics fail to say much outside of what was heard in the intro, the same message repeated in “Signs of Jealousy” and “Strictly Business.” He criticizes rappers in the game for the clout and the bandwagon gangs that try to befriend him as he begins to see fame.

However, despite his tendency to avoid saying anything of importance, Skies’s charisma and confidence justifies the lack of lyricism. Lil Skies lets his mellowed out voice go raw, foregoing autotune and letting the vocals take control of the project amid simplistic beats. The project is easy listening, enjoyable enough to bump to when a track comes on shuffle.

Among gaudy, energized artists like Lil Pump and boujee, diamond clad rappers like Lil Yachty, Skies remains humble, focusing on building his career to the life he always imagined. He even admits that he got face tattoos to fully commit himself to the rap game on the mixtapes intro.

A potential candidate for XXL’s Freshman list, stay on the lookout for Lil Skies’s next move.