January 02, 2020

Mad Skillz "Unsigned Hype" (The Source, August 1994)


Coming in a close second in the New Music Seminar MC Battle For World Supremacy, with a more conversational style than the extra-terrestrial approach of his adversary (Supernatural), was Mad Skillz, who has since returned from his home in Richmond, Virginia to earn a few more points in the Rotten Apple. Early one Friday morning this past spring, Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest brought Mad Skillz up to New York radio's freestyle headquarters, 89TEC9, for what turned out to be a classic session. Expanding on KRS's concept in "Hip-Hop vs. Rap," Mad Skillz used a collection of his own favorite punchlines from recent rap hits for his first rhyme over a 45 King "lost break beat." "Boo ya ka/Throw ya guns in the air/She keeps passin' me by/But I don't care/Music/Man I catch wreck/And it's a mystery how I keep boxin' up your chest." He and Q-Tip freaked a few verses back and forth, occasionally coming off the head, to the "Flexi Wit Da Tech" Artifacts instrumental, and the next day came street fame. Since the seminar, Mad Skillz had the opportunity to work with one of the MC Battle's co-producers, DJ Clark Kent, who did some production for his demo. Other beats on the demo were strictly raw 4-track, self-produced material from the lab with a dope cameo appearance from his man Kalonjl. Clear lyrics and vivid punchlines such as "I'll spit you in two like EPMD revenue," prove that Mad Skillz is not just another freestyle MC spitting on ears in a cipher. At press time, he was already beginning work on two songs produced by Q-Tip. - Unsigned Hype (The Source, 8/94). I was originally gonna post the year-end wrap up from Skillz, but decided instead to take it back to the roots of his come-up. Check out his freestyle on 89TEC9 with Q-Tip...