In
1996, Donnie “Mad Skillz” Lewis released his debut album, From Where???,
on Big Beat Records. He received this opportunity based on a second-place finish in
a freestyle competition (where he lost to underground stalwart
Supastition). Even with the little promotion he received (relative
to actual known artists, anyway), he still managed to secure two
minor radio hits, “The Nod Factor” (for the heads that like to
nod) and “Move Ya Body” (a R&B-flavored song for the ladies),
thanks to his need to satisfy all demographics. Donnie even
secured some A-list assistance on his debut, in the form of Large
Professor, Jay Dee (or Dilla, as he is better known today (R.I.P.)), Q-Tip, Buckwild, and The Beatnuts (who actually produced “The Nod
Factor”).
However,
mild critical acclaim and two radio hits failed to translate into a
project that moved millions of units, so, branded as a failure
because that's how the major labels worked back then, Donnie was cast
off to be with those who hadn't ever signed record deals. So, you
know, regular people.
It's
important to note that at the time Mad Skillz came up, his home state
of Virginia wasn't yet a major player in the music industry, so it's
possible that the commute, along with the lack of support afforded to
him by the big city, drove him back underground, where he still got
paid to ghostwrite hit singles for better-known artists. He
resurfaced a few years later with a twelve-inch single, “Ghostwriter”, on
which he named the names of those whose lyrics he wrote, but the
version released to the public had all of the artists edited out of
the performance, so as to maintain the mystery or some shit. He also
popped up on “To My”, a track from his fellow Virginia brethren
Timbaland, who, alongside Missy Elliott and production duo The
Neptunes, had started slowly taking over radio airwaves, the effects
of which are still felt to this day. Hell, Pharrell Williams just
won a fucking Grammy for Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical). Not
“rap producer”, but just plain “Producer”. Timbaland is
currently on tour with Jay-Z (I know he dropped the hyphen, but his
rap name looks weird without it). And Missy still exists. So.
He
joined forces with all of those parties, a power move that eventually
scored him a record deal with indie heroes Rawkus Records, home of
the likes of Company Flow, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and a bunch of other
underground artists whose mere presence on the label caused most
backpackers to do a double take. They offered him a chance to a cameo on the label's Soundbombing II compilation, which then led to him recording his
sophomore album, I Ain't Mad No More, whose title signified a slight
change in his rap moniker: this is the time that he dropped the “Mad”
and became the Skillz that most of you two may be more familiar with,
the guy who releases year-end “rap-ups” (except for last year –
what the fuck, man?). It was preceded with the single “Crew
Deep”, which also featured on the Rawkus compilation Soundbombing III, which proves that the label had faith in their guy for at least
the five minutes or so it takes for the song to run.
After
which time everything fell apart.
1.
ON THE GOOD FOOT (INTRO)
Not
merely satisfied with recording a rap album intro, Skillz gives the
listener actual rhymes to sink their teeth into, unleashing full
verses (and some ad-libs for good measure), which prove that his
smart-ass persona honed on I Ain't Mad No More remained intact during
the label switch. The beat leaves a lot to be desired: it isn't
bombastic enough to introduce a rap album, nor is it decent enough to
anchor an actual song. But Skillz sounds refreshed, confident, and
as good behind the microphone as ever, so there was a silver lining
to be found.
2.
S.K.I.L.L.Z.
Which
immediately evaporates, by the way. Nottz's fake-ass
Rockwilder-esque instrumental isn't what anyone wants to hear Skillz
rhyme over, so of course our host does just that on the first “real”
song on I Ain't Mad No More. Aiming for radio airplay in an
alternate universe of some shit, Donnie talks his shit in a manner
that contrasts sharply with the music, and the presence of a shitty
hook only hinders any real progress Skillz made during the intro.
The fact that he's aiming for the mainstream isn't anything new: his
debut featured “Move Ya Body”, after all. The difference is that
“Move Ya Body” was actually representative of what hip hop
sounded like back in 1998, whereas in 2002 rap music had evolved, and
thus “S.K.I.L.L.Z.” sounds like it's pandering to an audience
that outgrew antics such as this years ago. Oh well.
3.
SHOW LOVE
Have
you ever wanted to strangle an instrumental and toss it down several
flights of stairs for being so fucking intrusive and selfish that it
affects the artist's line delivery in the worst possible way? Just
me then? Don't lie. Anyway, that's how I feel about the beat on
“Show Love”: it's terrible. Our host tries his best to overcome
every rap hurdle thrown his way, but he ultimately relents and allows
the music to dictate how he should rap, resulting in an unnatural
performance on a suck-ass song (one with a shout-out to Rawkus
Records, of course) that is quickly forgotten about. Moving on...
4.
CREW DEEP (FEAT. MISSY ELLIOTT & KANDI BURRUSS)
The
fact that this track was released as a single isn't surprising, given
how popular guest star (and fellow Virginia resident) Missy Elliott
(who handles hook duties and ad-libs) was back during the turn of the
millennium. What does shock me today is how much this song doesn't
hold up. “Crew Deep”, which, oddly, isn't about how large our
host's posse is, features a Hi-Tek beat comprised solely of a slowed-down
snatch of audio swiped from the Sugarhill Gang's “Rapper's Delight”, and Skillz makes the bold
decision to slow down his own flow to mirror it, a tactic that fails
him: by rapping at a lower speed, you can almost see every punchline
coming from a mile away, and that isn't something you look forward to
in a rap song. There was also an official remix that
featured Skillz and Missy alongside Pharrell and the Clipse, but I don't remember that one being
very interesting, either.
5.
IT'S LIKE THAT (K.T.N.O.) (FEAT. DANJA MOWF)
Skillz
and his Supafriendz homey Danja Mowf Go out to the club, hitting on
chicks while threatening to “knock that n---a out” (hence the
acronym in the title), “that n---a” being the unfortunate soul
that gets in between our host's rhymes and their intended recipient.
I'm not sure what is with Skillz's obsession with the club: maybe he
spent a lot of time going out while recording I Ain't Mad No More and
had nothing else to write about. But his audience deserves something
more substantial, not just two dudes (who, admittedly, sound alright)
bullshitting their respective ways into the thongs of a select few.
6.
WAVE YOUR HANDS! (FEAT. MUSIQ SOULCHILD)
Over
a generic Nottz beat that sounds like one of the cutting-room-floor
moments from Method Man and Redman's Blackout! recording sessions,
Skillz and special guest star musiq soulchild attempt to get
you excited at the prospect of being in, wait for it, a club. Donnie
plays the gangsta wallflower, relishing the perks, refusing to dance,
and observing all of the action around him, while his invited guest
commands everyone to “get the fuck up” and “Wave Your Hands!”
to...something, I'm sure (they never really bother to explain it).
It's frustrating to hear Skillz waste his considerable, um, skills on
a song clearly intended for an audience that he shouldn't really be
aiming for, but at least he understood that actually selling records
was a part of the game, so there.
7.
IMAGINE
Nottz's
beat sucks, and the shrill vocals on the hook will drive you so
insane that you'll want to break into someone's home and murder an
entire family just to shut out the noise. Skillz's ear for beats
appears to be worse than, oh, let's just say Nas's. Lyrically,
though, he almost manages to pull this off, telling his tale about
his early life as a drug dealer and how the money and success got in
the way of his true happiness, before the surprise twist at the end
causes the song to rethink its own message. I won;t spoil anything
here, but you should at least track the lyrics down, as I cannot
recommend anyone actually sit and listen to this shit.
8.
SUZIE Q (FEAT. CEE-LO, JAZZE PHA, & PHARRELL WILLIAMS)
Skillz
recruited three separate guest crooners to help him tell the tale of
“Suzie Q”, a girl at, wait for it, the club that plays him for a
fool. Pharrell only manages ad-libs, but as one-half of the
Neptunes, he actually helped produce this song for his fellow
Virginia brethren, so he gets a pass. Besides, the beat sounds like
old-school, blingy Neptunes, which actually was a breath of fresh
air. Cee-Lo plays a much larger role, performing the hook, albeit in
a forgettable way; Jazze Pha, better known for his production and
general shouting, also appears. Skillz fills in the blanks
admirably, and his attention to detail makes the song very easy to
imagine, but as a whole, the track was lacking, mainly because there
are only so many ways this particular story can be told. Let's
instead marvel at the fact that, at one time, Skillz was a big enough
name in our chosen genre to secure guest spots from Pharrell “Get
Lucky” Williams and Cee-The Voice-Lo, two artists who are fucking
hyper-successful today. Weird, right?
9.
SKILLZ VS. SHAQWAN (SKIT)
Yes,
this is labeled as a skit, but this track is actually a goofy trifle
where our host argues with himself (in rhyme form, naturally) over
the phone, albeit a version of himself that is jealous of Skillz's
apparent success, both in the rap game and with his girlfriend's
vagina. It's the age-old argument, where an artist “forgets where
he came from”, as his “friends” from “back in the day”
would put it, but at least Skillz presents it in an amusing manner.
This is actually decent enough to hear more than once, thanks to the
entertaining lyrics and whatnot.
10.
PA TO VA (FEAT. PRETTY UGLY)
Did
we really have to sit through nine goddamn songs before we finally
hear Skillz just spitting? What kind of bullshit is that?
Over a simplistic (I mean that in a good way) Rik Marvel beat, our
host and Pennsylvania native Pretty Ugly trade verses back-and-forth:
aside from the overly-wordy hook that has fuck-all to do with the
title of the song, both Skillz and his invited guest sound
entertaining enough. I Ain't Mad No More certainly could have used
more tracks such as this one, since this represents exactly what our
host is all about and whatever. Not a perfect song, but still acts
as an oasis in the dry-ass desert that is I Ain't Mad No More. Shit,
I think I just gave the rest of this review away.
11.
BLOW
Why,
yes, this song does do exactly that. Why do you ask?
12.
Y'ALL SEE ME (FEAT. PRETTY WILLIE)
No,
I really don't. You're hiding behind a crappy instrumental and some
overly-intrusive, out-of-tune crooning performed throughout.
Prevents you from actually being seen, thereby invalidating your
argument. Fuck this song. Also, are Pretty Ugly and Pretty Willie
from the same camp, like those A$AP guys?
13.
IRMA LEWIS (INTERLUDE)
…
14.
YOU ONLY GET ONE (FEAT. AARIES)
If
you were wondering why Skillz would include an interlude where his
mother chastises him via voicemail for not keeping in touch, “You
Only Get One” provides the answer: our host's mother passed away,
and he dedicates this track to her memory while admitting that he's
still fucking up in his own life. The sentiment is heartfelt and
genuine, and Skillz approaches subjects that don't typically come up
during songs such as this (he laments the fact that he still isn't
close with his siblings even though one would think an event such as
their mother's passing would open at least one door), making this a
fairly powerful way to end the album. The hook was generic and
pathetic, but the rest of this worked for me. Now go hug your
goddamn mothers, you two.
In
2005, Skillz finally managed to release I Ain't Mad No More
officially on American soil. Unfortunately, it came in the form of
the Sure Shot Recordings-released Confessions Of A Ghostwriter, his “official”
sophomore album, which featured the majority of the tracks from the
previous incarnation, with a few newer songs thrown in to possibly
justify a purchase. If you happen to live anywhere except for the
United States, you could always just buy a regular copy of it,
though: Rawkus cancelled I Ain't Mad No More's American release (but
not its Canadian release, weirdly) after Skillz failed to secure any
radio hits (even though Rawkus was still technically considering
themselves an independent label at the time, which contradicts
everything they stood for, including that whole sentence about
“fail[ing] to secure any radio hits”). Some lucky fans may have
snagged a copy from the man himself, though: Skillz was prone to
pushing bootleg copies of his own shit at his shows out of
frustration.
1.
OFF THE WALL
Skillz
kicks off his second attempt at a sophomore album with a ringer, as
he (finally) calls in a favor from fellow Virginia resident
Timbaland, who laces the beat with a banging drum sample and just
enough mirth and merriment to almost completely turn you off to the
track. For his part, Skillz actually sounds interested enough in the
music to rhyme to it: yes, he mentions Timbo's name about two too
many times, but he proves that he is capable of riding almost any
instrumental, even one as, um, “Off The Wall” as this one. Not
bad.
2.
SUZIE Q. (FEAT. CEE-LO, JAZZE PHA, & PHARRELL WILLIAMS)
3.
HIP HOP
Nottz's
beat implies that Skillz was at least considering taking Confessions Of A Ghostwriter in a moderately different direction than I Ain't Mad
No More, at least before he padded the run time with songs from that
previous effort, because it adopts a darker tone, allowing Skillz to
shit-talk freely from outside of the confines a mainstream audience
automatically brings with it. It isn't a very good beat, but our host
seems to be at least a bit inspired, giving his all (relatively
speaking) to a track with such a generic goddamn title that it may as
well have been called “Rap Song”. Still, “Hip Hop” features
brief flashes of what a proper second album from the artist formerly
known as Mad Skillz could have sounded like.
4.
PA TO VA (FEAT. PRETTY UGLY)
5.
Y'ALL SEE ME (FEAT. PRETTY WILLIE)
6.
WAVE YA HANDS (FEAT. MUSIQ SOULCHILD)
Apparently
without the exclamation mark this time around, but still the same
song otherwise.
7..
IMAGINE
8.
S.K.I.L.L.Z.
9.
IT'S LIKE THAT (FEAT. DANJA MOWF)
What,
no acronym this time around?
10.
YOU ONLY GET ONE (FEAT. AARIES)
11.
YOU DON'T WANNA DO THAT
Skillz
uses a Hi-Tek beat to praise Tim Mosely (“I fuck with Timbaland
'cuz Timbaland's got beats!” (italics mine)), which was kind of
funny, but the rest of this song was a rather childish (especially
the shitty hook – perhaps Donnie needs to employ a ghostwriter of
his own) take on a typical rap song trope: the “now that I'm
successful, everyone thinks I owe them a favor” track, which has
been done much better in the past. The first verse was alright, with
Skillz justifying his working relationships with Timbo and Missy
Elliott, but he never sounds all that comfortable over Hi-Tek's
musical backing.
12.
SKILLZ V. SHAQWAN
Runs
a bit shorter than the version that appeared on on I Ain't Mad No
More, and that transfers over to the song title, too, which is missing a letter. Strange.
13.
WHO I SPIT FOR
Confessions Of A Ghostwriter ends with an unconvincing soliloquy where Skillz
tries to explain who he believes his real fans to be, running down a
list of various types of characters who all manage to somewhat
contradict each other. Which is the main problem I had with both of
these projects: Skillz is trying too hard to be all things to all
people, and he ends up alienating nearly everyone by doing so,
especially those who would actually spend money on buying an album
from a guy named Skillz. Sigh.
FINAL
THOUGHTS: Weirdly, I kind of agree with Rawkus' decision when it
comes to I Ain't Mad No More: the album leaves a lot to be desired,
including but not limited to a host who wasn't trying to cater to all
audiences. I understand the need to sell records, and apparently the
best way to do so is to be as broad as possible, but Skillz just
isn't that guy. He's a sarcastic battle rapper who can also relay a
story when needed: I don't know of a single person who prefers his
club-ready persona over his shit-talking. I wouldn't have gone as
far as halting the album's release, though: I would have just sent
Skillz back to the lab. There are a few tracks on I Ain't Mad No
More that show sparks of promise, but nearly all of that is the
result of the man's writing and not because of any of the music, as
Skillz's ear for beats is almost as bad as Nas's. He's an engaging
guy, and he's nice behind the microphone, but he, like many others
before him that suffer from the condition known as Ras Kass Syndrome,
is only as good as the music that carries his voice, and nine times
of ten he's boring as shit.
Although
Confessions Of A Ghostwriter stacks the deck by featuring a newer
Timbaland beat alongside the previously-released Neptunes production,
thereby giving Sure Shot Recordings a huge selling point to help market the
project, it's ultimately the same album as I Ain't Mad No More,
albeit with a shuffled tracklisting, and as such, it suffers from the
same problems as before, with Skillz trying to be all things to all
people, collapsing at the feet of those that give the most of a shit
about him, the hip hop heads. Skillz works best in small doses: a
year-end wrap-up here, a quick cameo there. But, as with a lot of
folks that trade in punchlines and financial boasts that are
impossible to back up, Skillz may not be the type of rapper who
deserves an entire album devoted to just himself. Mixtapes, sure,
knock yourself out, but an album? Something a label puts money into,
expecting a return on their investment? Skillz may not be your guy.
Which sucks, because the hip hop heads that read this site or write
for it occasionally (including myself) constantly bitch and moan
about the state of our chosen genre today, but, like everything, it's
a business, and Skillz doesn't have what it takes for sustainability
in the current market. I Ain't Mad No More is no holy grail of
unreleased albums, and Confessions Of A Ghostwriter is only barely
suitable as its replacement. All in all, neither album is mandatory.
Skillz does have, um, skills, though. and a lot of his rhymes could be made more entertaining if they were put together with the right type of beat. Has anyone ever thought to mash up some Skillz bars with harder, fresher instrumentals? And if not, can someone make this a reality, please? I'd love to hear what Skillz would sound like over, say, some DJ Premier golden-age shit. (Those mixtapes featuring Skillz rhyming over Neptunes and Timbaland beats, along with that one over James Brown songs, are a good start, but I need further examples to justify continuing to cover the guy's career moving forward. There's a lot of people on my list, folks: artists need to earn their spots.)
Skillz does have, um, skills, though. and a lot of his rhymes could be made more entertaining if they were put together with the right type of beat. Has anyone ever thought to mash up some Skillz bars with harder, fresher instrumentals? And if not, can someone make this a reality, please? I'd love to hear what Skillz would sound like over, say, some DJ Premier golden-age shit. (Those mixtapes featuring Skillz rhyming over Neptunes and Timbaland beats, along with that one over James Brown songs, are a good start, but I need further examples to justify continuing to cover the guy's career moving forward. There's a lot of people on my list, folks: artists need to earn their spots.)
BUY
OR BURN? There isn't a need to own either album, unless you like
having things that you were never supposed to ever have, I guess. In
that case, a burn is more than sufficient.
BEST TRACKS: “Off The Wall” (from Confessions Of A Ghostwriter); “Skillz V. Shaqwan”; “PA To VA”
-Max
RELATED
POSTS:
Nice to see Skillz get some more shine as I really like him as a rapper (those yearly rap-ups are great, as was his The Wire rap-up)
ReplyDeleteAnyone else seen the track list for Schoolboy Q's Oxymoron? It looks like it should be pretty good. Was disappointed that track with A$AP Rocky didn't make the cut. Those two have always made good tracks together.
ReplyDeleteSkillz retired from the biz in 2012.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughts_Become_Things_%28Skillz_album%29
His last album.
I know; my plea at the end of the post was to help me decide if I should even bother finishing up with his catalog. Although he did release a 2013 sports-themed rap-up...
DeleteStill waiting on that tony yayo review you promised in 2007 niccuh!
ReplyDelete