Skillz - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Shaquan Lewis, also known as Mad Skillz, Skillz, is an American rapper known for his acclaimed 1996 album From Where???, a reference to his origins in Virginia, not the stereotypical New York City or Los Angeles rapper, and he's also known for his yearly "Rap Ups", which he has done since 2002.

Biography

Skillz was born in Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, but at a young age moved to Richmond, Virginia

Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...

. He first made a name for himself by finishing in second place (Losing to MC Supernatural

Supernatural (rapper)

Reco Price , better known by his stage name Supernatural is an American rapper best known for his "on-the-spot" freestyle and battle rap abilities He has been a regular performer and host of the Rock the Bells Music Festival since its beginning in 2004.- Biography :Born in Marion, Indiana,...

) in a national freestyle competition, which eventually resulted in a recording contract with Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...

. At this time he went by the stage name Mad Skillz rather than just Skillz. Mad Skillz' Atlantic debut album, From Where???

From Where???

From Where??? is the debut album from underground Hip Hop artist Mad Skillz, now known as Skillz. The album was praised for its strong lyrical content and production, but didn't sell well at all possibly due to two other major hip-hop albums released on the same day, 2Pac's All Eyez on Me and The...

, and its single, "The Nod Factor", were released in 1996, but neither received much commercial or critical attention. The album's title was a reference to the regionalism

Regionalism

In politics, regionalism is a political ideology that focuses on the interests of a particular region or group of regions, whether traditional or formal...

in hip-hop, and at the time the state of Virginia did not have a large hip-hop scene. In the late-1990s more of a Virginia scene emerged, and he allied himself with fellow Virginia natives Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott

Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...

, Timbaland

Timbaland

Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....

, and The Neptunes

The Neptunes

The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...

. He made appearances on Timbaland's albums Tim's Bio in 1998, and Indecent Proposal in 2001; Timbaland made plans to sign Skillz to the Blackhand label he was developing; however, this label failed to materialize. He along with Danja Mowf, Lonnie B, and Kalonji The Immortal, members of Skillz' Supafriendz collective, also appeared on a remix of Aaliyah

Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...

's hit single "Are You That Somebody" in 1998.

More recently (2000) Skillz is known for his tell all single "Ghostwriter". Within this single, he names (but edits) artists for which he has written hit singles. It has alluding lines such as 'I'm a ghostwriter, I'm the cat that you don't see/I write hits for rappers you like and charge 'em a fee'. Unedited versions of the track have not surfaced, but Skillz is known to do a live performance in which he includes the names. In one live performance he mentions P. Diddy, Foxy Brown, Mase

Mase

Mason Durell Betha , better known by stage name Mase who was previously known as Murda Ma$e, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor and inspirational speaker...

, Will Smith

Will Smith

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...

and Jermaine Dupri

Jermaine Dupri

Jermaine Dupri Mauldin , known as Jermaine Dupri or JD, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.- Early life and career :...

. One artist who openly admits Skillz has written hits for him is P. Diddy

Sean Combs

Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...

.

Skillz eventually got a deal with Rawkus, where he recorded his 2002 LP I Ain't Mad No More, the title of which commemorated the official change of his MC moniker from "Mad Skillz" to just "Skillz." The aforementioned LP was never officially released in the U.S., however, during the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour in 2003 he sold some bootleg versions of this CD. The CD was re-packaged without several tracks as "Confessions Of A Ghostwriter" in 2005. A Supafriends LP, Supavision, and another solo LP. A client for the Mama's Boys management company which also includes Musiq

Musiq

Musiq Soulchild or Musiq is a US R&B/soul singer-songwriter whose style blends contemporary R&B, soul, funk, alternative, blues, jazz, some gospel influences and hip hop.-Biography:...

, Skillz has been a featured artist at okayplayer.com

Okayplayer

Okayplayer.com is an online hip-hop and alternative music website and community, described by Rolling Stone as a "tastemaker" and "an antidote to dull promotional Web sites used by most artists". The group was co-founded by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson as a loose musical...

, run by Questlove of The Roots

The Roots

The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...

. Since the year 2002 Skillz has done a year end "Rap-Up" song that encapsulates the events of the prior 12 months. These have been well-received among fans. Also, after the conclusion of the HBO series "The Wire," Skillz released "The Wire: 5 Seasons in 5 Minutes."

He is the creator of the web series "http://hiphopconfessions.com] Hip Hop Confessions]", a series of shows that gathers hip hop purists and hip hop lovers alike where they reveal something hip hop related that they have never told anyone. The show has featured Q-Tip

Q-Tip (rapper)

Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...

, Peanut Butter Wolf, Kwamé

Kwamé

Kwamé Holland is an American emcee who enjoyed brief popularity in the late-1980s and early-1990s. He is currently a music producer sometimes credited as K-1 Million or K1 Mil.-Biography:...

and DJ Jazzy Jeff

DJ Jazzy Jeff

Jeffrey Allen Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince...

. It can be viewed at www.hiphopconfessions.com

He has performed and collaborated with The Roots

The Roots

, Nas

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

, Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott

, Cee Lo Green, Diddy

Sean Combs

, Raheem Devaughn

Raheem DeVaughn

Raheem DeVaughn is an American singer and songwriter. His debut album, The Love Experience , reached No. 46 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It featured the singles "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You". His second album Love Behind the Melody was released in January 2008...

, Musiq Soulchild, Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams

Pharrell Williams , commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music...

, Bilal, Mos Def

Mos Def

Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...

, Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...

, Common

Common (rapper)

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....

, Q-Tip, Large Professor

Large Professor

Large Professor , also known as Large Pro and Xtra P, is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas...

, Chris Brown, Freeway, Travis Barker

Travis Barker

Travis Landon Barker is an American musician, producer and entrepreneur, most noted as the drummer for the American pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the alternative rock band +44, the rap rock band The Transplants, and the alternative rock band Box Car Racer. He was a frequent collaborator with...

, Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

, Will Smith

Will Smith

, DJ Jazzy Jeff

DJ Jazzy Jeff

, and DJ AM, among others.

Skillz's latest album was released Oct. 26, 2010 and is entitled The World Needs More Skillz. He is also the founder of the supergroup, V.A. Playaz, with Timbaland

Timbaland

Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....

, Magoo, N.E.R.D., Fam-Lay

FAM-LAY

Nathaniel Johnson, also known as Fam-Lay is an American rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Signed to The Neptunes' Star Trak imprint, he first gained notoriety through several guest appearances he made on various Neptunes-related projects, including the Clipse's debut album Lord Willin in 2002...

and Clipse

Clipse

Clipse is a Virginia Beach, Virginia-based hip hop duo. Formed in 1992 by brothers Malice and Pusha T , the group is heavily affiliated with production team The Neptunes and signed to Star Trak Entertainment.- Exclusive Audio Footage :The Thornton brothers were born in The Bronx, New...

Studio

1996: From Where???
From Where???
From Where??? is the debut album from underground Hip Hop artist Mad Skillz, now known as Skillz. The album was praised for its strong lyrical content and production, but didn't sell well at all possibly due to two other major hip-hop albums released on the same day, 2Pac's All Eyez on Me and The...

(Platinum)

2002: I Ain't Mad No More(Gold)

2005: Confessions Of A Ghostwriter

2008: The Million Dollar Backpack

The Million Dollar Backpack

The Million Dollar Backpack is the third studio album by rapper Skillz, formerly known as Mad Skillz. It was released on July 22, 2008 on Koch Records and distributed by Big Kidz Entertainment. The first single off the album was "So Far So Good" featuring Common and Talib Kweli. It is the follow-up...

2010: The World Needs More Skillz

The World Needs More Skillz

The World Needs More Skillz is a 2010 album by rapper Skillz. The track "Adam" is a dedication song to DJ AM that was recorded shortly after his death.-Tracklist:# Celebrate Life # Regular Guy# Wants and Needs...

External links

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