Album Review: Skee x TPR - Suttin 2 Prove
Written by @JerrryBoyd.
Skee and That Producer Ryan have been making waves for a while now, most recently
with Skee dropping a freestyle on Capitalxtra with the acclaimed DJ Semtex over one of
Ryan's beats. It's always refreshing to see artist-producer duos in our scene. Seeing how
strongly the two work together, it was only a matter of time before we got a joint project.
Split60 had a chance to sit down with the two rising stars to discuss their most recent
EP.
Suttin 2 Prove is a five-track project featuring all-new, unheard music, except for one
previous release, Intro/2 am On Beulah Hill. The EP's title is intentional; these artists
truly have something to prove.
Skee: "At that moment, we felt it was right to release a lot of our music that hadn't been
heard before. We felt like we were going under the radar, so we just said, cool, let's drop
a project of a bunch of music we've made together and name it Suttin 2 Prove because
we are trying to prove ourselves to the audience, the world, London, whoever's
listening."
TPR: "My mindset behind it was just making good quality music to start our career and
build our discography. Suttin 2 Prove made the most sense at the time because we do
have something to prove, and we wanted a good first project for people to look at when
they go through our discography and see our work."
The project opens with Intro/2 am On Beulah Hill, a track with two beats courtesy of
Ryan. The first is a dark, jumpy beat, followed by a more relaxed, upbeat instrumental.
This contrasts with Skee's vocals, which cover some harsh realities of the twenty-year-
old's life, a theme we see throughout the project.
Skee: "I can only rap about what I've experienced, to the point where I haven't really
experienced the glitz and glamour side of life yet. I feel like, as it's a lot of people's
introductions to our music, we had to keep it as real as possible. Soliloquy is probably
the most real track out of the bunch. We made that song the day after we met Dave at a
studio session, and he gave us praise. Because Dave is one of my favourite artists, that
inspired me a lot and charged me up to the next level, where I wanted our audience to
listen to the project as if I were listening to Dave's projects back in the day. Since I
started making music, I have looked to Dave, not as a blueprint to copy but as a very
good example of how an artist should be and how an artist should go about releasing
their music."
TPR: "It's not a case of me trying to copy people like Dave; I prefer to take inspiration
and some elements to pay homage. Dave is one of my favourite artists, so more time,
it's just me showing myself that I can do what these guys do in my own way. I like to
listen to and dissect people's music, see the techniques they've used knowingly or
unknowingly, and implement them in my music. For example, with Break
Bread/Interlude, I was listening to Dave's Survivors Guilt and wondered how I can take
what they've done with the melody and the drums and put my own twist on it."
There's undoubtedly an aura of a young Dave in Skee's rapping style, the sharp blend of
storytelling, social commentary, and introspective reflection echoes the BRIT Award
winner's early work long before mainstream success. But despite that, Skee and Ryan
are carving out a lane that's entirely their own, something the two of them proudly
reinforce over their social media with the phrase "different lane".
West Norwood and its surrounding areas are woven throughout the EP, surfacing in both
the lyrics and track titles, most notably in 2 am on Beulah Hill. This makes the EP
unmistakably South London. For Skee, it's another layer to the authenticity of the
project.
Skee: "I've lived here my whole life. When it comes to writing about things, if I'm telling a
story that story most likely happened in the ends so naturally, I'm going to mention
certain places. At 2 am On Beulah Hill, I walk up and down that hill almost daily, so it's
real and truthful. When I was younger, I heard artists mention areas that were familiar to
me. It always gave me a good feeling because someone from around here was doing
their thing and giving their perspective of where they live. For example, I got a DM from a
girl saying, 'I just got sent your song, and I'm listening to it. It's 2 am, and I'm on Beulah
Hill right now.' Little details like that are cool."
Suttin 2 Prove is a standout bit of work from this standout duo. A statement first project
that shows they should be in conversations and shows listeners that they truly are
paving their own "different lane".
Skee: "I wanted listeners to come away and understand like rah, this is these two's first
project, it's an unapologetic rap project, It's fully South London. I want people to see it
as a statement piece, even if it got 100 streams or 5 million streams, as our audience
grows people are going to go back to that project and think, this is special.
TPR: "I wanted people to know we're not people you see daily. I wanted to bridge the gap
and let people know that we're here and deserve recognition. So many people in our
scene are ready for the opportunity. If anything, this EP shows that we have to make our
own opportunities."
Split60: “Last question: Is there anything you guys want to share that you are excited
about in the near future? ”
TPR: “Releasing new music and working with new artists.”
Skee: “I'll leak some exclusive stuff for this. We are dropping our new single on April
18th.”
TPR: “What's happening the day before?”
Skee: “The day before, I have my first headline show on April 17th. I won't say anything
about projects, but there will definitely be some form of sequel to Suttin 2 Prove.”
