His name is renown, but Virginia’s Skillz has yet to reap the commercial accolades that he arguably deserves. With the release of several applauded freestyles, mixtapes and b-sides, the rapper is readying the final release of I Ain’t Mad No More , the much-delayed album.
Although the album has been pushed back several times, Skillz stated that this album defines what he wishes to be regarded as an emcee.
“I don’t want to be Rick Fox. I want to be Shaq. So I had to think of a way to make that happen,” Skillz told AllHipHop.com. His previous opus, From Where?, was well-received but failed to garner mass appeal.
The rapper has made some adjustments to the album including pulling VA affiliate/super producer Timbaland for his next single, “Off The Wall.” The lyricist will film the video for “Off The Wall” next month and it will distributed to radio outlets shortly.
Also, the rapper recently wrapped up a highly successful national tour with The Roots and continues to focus on staying busy.
“I’m not afraid to work. Whatever opportunities that were bestowed to me, I took,” he said. “If nobody’s on the same page as I am, f*ck it, I’ll do it myself. I gotta keep that mentality and that drive even after the album comes out, because that’s when the real work starts. A lot of things that I didn’t do last, I know better this time. Like with, From Where? [his first album], there was no tour support. I went on a radio run and that was it – it did whatever it did. They weren’t putting anything behind it.”
With I Ain’t Mad No More , Skillz intends to offer a medley of commercially viable songs with his unique ability for witty punchlines.
“I don’t think the money drives anybody. Its gonna have some affect on you because its going to change your surroundings, but I swear, I don’t believe there is anybody doing hip-hop that’s getting generously paid off it that doesn’t love the music,” he concluded. “He has to love rap…you have to love rap to be involved with it.”
I Ain’t Mad No More is slated for a June release.