Life Of A Dark Rose

If you haven't heard of Lil Skies yet, it won't be long till you do. Hell, I just found out about him like two weeks ago. You've probably seen him on your TL and didn't even know it was him.

No, he's not just another tatted up Soundcloud rapper, Lil Skies is up next and his debut album, 'Life Of A Dark Rose,' cements that.

The album opens up with 'Welcome To The Rodeo,' his testament to how he got to where he is now. "I got tattoos on my face, I use that shit as motivation/ I could never get a job, so for my dream, I'm dedicated," Lil Skies raps, explaining the face tats. The verse continues as he spits about selling crack to make money for studio time and gives a shoutout to Gnarcotic Caleb.

The next track is the Maaly Raw -produced 'Clique' followed by maybe the biggest song on the tape, 'Red Roses.' Skies keeps it simple on 'Red Roses,' he floats over the chill beat melodically, letting it be known he got all the drugs she might need and that he has no time for games. The song features Landon Cube who closes the song with a 16 of his own.

Other stand out tracks ? 'Signs Of Jealousy,' 'Lust,' 'Big Money,' 'Boss Up,' "Kill4u' 'Nowadays,' and 'Garden.'

On 'Lust,' Skies keeps it 100. The music game has changed him, and nowadays there isn't a lot of love anymore, just lust.

'Garden' is my favorite track on the album. This song is for haters, and on the chorus, he questions the hate, "Why you salty? See me winning, now they stop me/ Came from nothing, now we fucking flossing/ I feel great, these people think I'm awesome" Regardless of the hate, he knows it won't detract him one bit, " And you thought that I was up now? Just wait till next year."

'Big Money' will be an obvious crowd favorite at shows and has heavy radio play potential.

Last but not least is the song that put me on Lil Skies, 'Signs Of Jealousy.' The bouncy beat was crafted perfectly Skies as he rips through the entire song. The energetic chorus catches your attention from the moment you hear Skies voice. Not to mention the video is almost as fire as the song.

Lil Skies is a product of this new generation of rap, that much is undeniable, but Lil Skies is one of the few in it that can outlive it. His sound is very melodic, to the point where his rapping is almost harmonizing. He has a penchant for excellent choruses, songs like 'Signs Of Jealousy' and 'Big Money' highlight that. He can give you 'real rap' like on 'Garden' and 'Welcome To The Rodeo.' Or he can make a hit like on 'Red Roses' and 'Nowadays,' both of which have over 30 million plays on Youtube. Lil Skies showed us 'The Life Of A Dark Rose,' and now it's time to watch this rose blossom.