Skillz On Getting Mad Props From Dr. Dre’s Protege, “I Kind Of Smiled”

Written By S. Samuel

After recently getting an unexpected co-sign from West Coast rap newcomer Slim the Mobster, hip-hop veteran Skillz hit up SOHH to offer his take on getting crowned SOHH Underrated.

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Skillz said it was his manager who actually gave him the scoop on Slim’s underrated co-sign.

“My manager actually sent it to me,” Skillz told SOHH referring to getting the head’s up of his SOHH Underrated props. “He was like, ‘Yo, did you see this?’ I think he gets Google Alerts every time my name is mentioned somewhere and gets an e-mail about it. So he saw it and sent it to me and I was like, ‘Oh sh*t, for real?,’ and then read it. I’m definitely sure he saw the BET Cypher [at last year’s BET Hip Hop Awards] and he was talking about that. So when I read it, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.'” (SOHH)

The Virginia-bred emcee also said he is down to get in the booth with Slim.

“With a lot of these kids, and I’m not calling him a kid per se, but with a lot of these younger hip-hop generations, you feel like they might not been keen to what you’re doing or how long you’ve been doing it. I’ve always been one of those artists that I always say, ‘I gotta prove myself.’ I’m from Virginia, so nothing ever came to us easy. So any time I had to prove myself, I was up for the task. So when I saw [Slim’s comments], I kind of smiled. It’s just that thought of knowing somebody’s listening. You know they’re paying attention. You’re knowing that the freestyle you just did, someone caught that. I appreciate that, man. Shout-out to Slim. I’ve heard some of his works, he’s got a couple of records with man my Nottz out in Virginia, so, Slim, holler at me. If you want to do a record, I’m ready. Let’s do it.” (SOHH)

Last October, Slim credited Skillz’s longevity and influence for steering his SOHH Underrated choice.

SOHH Underrated? Ah man, I already got that. I’m gonna name that dude Mad Skillz. He’s my choice for the most underrated and slept on rapper out there. He’s the guy from Virginia that was on the BET Hip-Hop Awards ’11 cypher. He’s been hard for years. When I was younger, he was one of the guys I used to listen to. So I’m aware of who he is. I’m a fan of good music. I don’t care where it comes from. If it’s good and I understand it and like it and sort of relates to me in some form or fashion then I’m listening. I named him SOHH Underrated because it’s crazy that I seen him in the cypher and he’s one of those guys that I’ve known about for years. He’s one of those guys that I’ve been paying attention to for years. He was always like a witty, rapper, character, funny dude. He’s hard. I really like him a lot.” (SOHH Underrated)

The rapper recently talked to SOHH about putting together his new “2011 Rap Up” record.

“Last year, I was really into some other things,” Skillz told SOHH, “I was touring, I had a big gig on New Year’s Eve [2010], so I didn’t get it done before then and I knew I wasn’t going to get it done on New Year’s Eve and put it up out and so people were going ham. You gotta understand something. Every year right after Thanksgiving when that Sunday comes around, people get back to their cribs and they’re all full, that’s when they start hitting me like, ‘I know you’re gonna do a ‘Rap Up’ this year.’ Just as much as it is a tradition for me to make the song, people hitting me up asking me about the song has become just as much as a tradition as the song. Just as you expect the ‘Rap Up,’ I expect to get the sh*t bugged outta me from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve about the ‘Rap Up.'” (SOHH)

Check out the “2011 Rap Up” below:

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Written by S. Samuel

Steven Samuel is the co-founder of SOHH.com.

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