Skillz a.k.a. Mad Skillz Freestyle

(Via Press Rewind)

I've always thought of Skillz, formerly known as Mad Skillz, as an underappreciated talent in the rap world. While hist 1996 debut From Where??? seems to have achieved a sort of cult status since the Internet boom, it still doesn't get the recognition it deserves.  How can you wrong with two early Dilla beats, a Large Professor, Q-Tip, and Skillz posse cut over a Large Pro beat, and producers like The Beatnuts, Buckwild, and Shawn J. Period rounding out the production roster?  Add in Skillz' lyrical abilities and you have an extremely impressive rookie effort.

Since then, his sophomore effort I Ain't Mad No More was marred by label problems at Rawkus and he has yet to see any of his more recent albums find commercial success.  While his solo career may not have panned out the way some fans would hope, it is good to know that Skillz has had major success as a songwriter for other artists.  Skillz seems happy with this arrangement and has recently announced his retirement as a solo artist (check link in previous sentence).  I'm happy that Skillz is making a living off of music and enjoys working with other people, but I still hold out hope that some day he'll release a Frow Where-esque album.  

While I can't share any new Skillz albums with you today, I can share this great freestyle from the Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito show from 1997.  

This was posted on DJ Nes's Dirty Waters blog, one of the all-time great rap archive blogs out there.  Endless freestyles, mix tapes, and rare 12"s for rap fanatics to drool over.  Make sure to check it out.                  

Skillz Reconstruction

My Reconstruction with Skillz is now up for public consumption. I'm very happy Skillz agreed to do this interview. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. To read it, click here.

Skillz N Sorce-1

Yes yes ya'll. I'm sitting around the crib finishing up an interview with Skillz (aka Mad Skillz) about his debut album From Where???. The interview is part of a new Smoking Section series called Reconstruction, which features in depth, behind the scenes interviews about great albums, songs, and mix tapes. The goal is to "reconstruct" what went into the creation of various projects that we want to shed some light on. Skillz had a lot to say, and this article will not disappoint hip hop historians.

To tide you all over until its publication, I'm going to post one of my favorite songs off of From Where???, the J Dilla produced "It's Going Down".

Enjoy.

It's Going Down- Skillz (Produced by Dilla)

Things Done Changed

Life is funny. Sometimes doing something small leads to something much bigger and better. Like starting this blog. I did it because I was having trouble finding a job and felt like I needed something new in my life. And sure enough, as a result, some great things have happened. I’ve gotten some new interview possibilities, and best of all, a new writing position at The Smoking Section.

Since becoming part of The Smoking Section crew, things have been moving steady clip. I’ve been blessed enough to interview Skillz, Girl Talk, and DJ Neil Armstrong in a mere few weeks.

Check out the interviews I've done for The Smoking Section by clicking the links below.


Skillz Interview


Girl Talk Interview


DJ Neil Armstrong Interview


Enjoy. And please post feedback and leave comments on The Smoking Section website.