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Mad Skillz: From Battle Rap Legend to Grammy Nominee 🏆 | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Dec 24, 2024
Mad Skillz: From Battle Rap Legend to Grammy Nominee 🏆 | SWAY'S UNIVERSE Mad Skillz joins Sway In The Morning to discuss his incredible journey from battle rap icon to Grammy-nominated artist. The Virginia native opens up about his 30-year career, spanning multiple record labels and 14 projects. Skillz reveals how his latest spoken word album, "Seven Number Ones," earned him a Grammy nod by exploring vulnerable, personal stories. He shares insights on fatherhood, overcoming personal struggles, and the impact of hip-hop on his life. Don't miss this powerful conversation about growth, perseverance, and artistic evolution in the music industry. #softskills #bestdressedgrammys #softvshardskills #hardskillsvssoftskills #madskillz CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Mad Skillz Grammy Nomination Journey 01:59 - Spoken Word Project Overview 08:22 - Fast's Support for Mad Skillz 11:42 - Vinny Paz Insights 13:08 - Vinny Paz Discussion 15:59 - Final Thoughts and Reflections Subscribe Here! http://bit.ly/SubscribeSU Watch the Best of Sway In The Morning! http://bit.ly/BestOfSITM Check out More From Sway’s Universe http://swaysuniverse.com http://twitter.com/swaysuniverse
View Video Transcript
0:00
yeah man Mad Skills
0:02
AKA that I still call you mad skills no
0:06
no it's still mad skills it's still mad
0:07
skills my brother skills that was back
0:09
in 2014 10 years later he's Grammy
0:12
nominated give it up for skills he's in
0:14
the
0:15
building was was that when I was rapping
0:18
and DJing when I was up here yeah he you
0:21
did everything bro um you true true
0:24
quintessential hip-hop person we don't
0:27
all we don't ever do one skill set no we
0:30
don't right we don't did you grow up
0:32
DJing in I mean I had you know my mom
0:34
had turntables um I used to mess around
0:36
with him uh I did everything in the
0:38
culture like uh I I used to break dance
0:42
um Ro graffiti but rapping was the the
0:45
first thing that I got a reaction from
0:48
so I was like oh I must this must mean I
0:49
must be able to do this so that's what
0:52
happened um uh from where that was the
0:54
first project right yeah
0:56
19966 and then um how many projects you
1:00
do after that you did skills formerly
1:01
known as Mad Skills right yeah yeah yeah
1:03
for it was like two years when I was on
1:04
like rockets I I was just skills and
1:07
then I went back to Mad Skills I think I
1:08
did like eight or maybe eight albums
1:11
since from where Wow since then done
1:13
eight albums not even mixtapes you add
1:15
in the mixtapes you talking like 14
1:17
projects wow that's 14 projects yeah at
1:20
least and that's all out of love
1:22
obviously wasn't for profit yeah no I
1:23
mean listen I was I was on every label
1:26
ever big beat Atlantic Rockets I was
1:29
signed with Timberland man um did a lot
1:31
of work over there and that folded went
1:34
to Rocket then that folded M then I went
1:37
you know you cotch E1 like then my own I
1:40
been on six seven different record
1:43
labels damn okay you mean but we always
1:46
you know we always find a way that's
1:47
that's how we are man that's the true
1:49
definition of musical chairs right yes
1:51
in in a real way um in a real way all of
1:54
those projects and it took the one
1:58
spoken word project that you put
2:00
together yeah that CU got that's the
2:02
best spoken word poetry that's up for
2:04
Grammy consideration yes what do you
2:07
think is the difference made the
2:08
difference between this this poetry
2:11
album The spoken word project and the
2:13
projects before for in terms of getting
2:14
this recognition um the projects before
2:17
I was rapping right I was in my rap mode
2:19
you know me I'm a I'm a nature my nature
2:22
is like a battle rapper so I'm in rap
2:25
mode but this time was like I'm an elder
2:27
Statesman in hip-hop at this point you
2:30
like I I teach hip hop at a school in VA
2:33
so this was the first project where I
2:36
was honest and vulnerable and you know
2:39
you know sway coming from where we come
2:40
from our culture like oh you I don't
2:41
want nobody in my business you know what
2:43
happens in this house stay in this house
2:45
you know that's how we grew up so for me
2:47
to put this project out and I'm just
2:50
literally talking about my life I'm
2:52
talking about seven things that happened
2:54
in my life that changed the direction of
2:56
my life so the song we just listened to
2:58
is my parents meeting and and then after
3:00
that me hearing music in the house for
3:02
the first time my mom playing music
3:05
first time I fell in love my first child
3:07
you know what I mean and and all of
3:10
these things are first so it's seven
3:12
number ones that change the direction of
3:14
my life so the first time that I do this
3:17
and I remember when I cut the first two
3:18
songs I was like I can't rap this yeah I
3:21
mean that had to be an adjustment right
3:23
yeah I was like I and you know me if I
3:24
hear snare you going to bounce I want to
3:26
I want to flow like but I'm like I can't
3:28
rap this so
3:30
uh I did the first two songs me and
3:32
James poiser and um oh James po play
3:36
with the roots access music group okay
3:39
so I I sent him to James and he was like
3:41
keep going just keep going and I and I I
3:43
was like oh okay I so I had these
3:44
Concepts and I did the seven songs and
3:47
I'm I went to mix it I went to mix it
3:50
down I mastered it and I you know we
3:52
always do the CEST as as you know
3:54
musicians we got to listen to it in the
3:55
car that's right so I'm driving back to
3:57
the crib and I'm listening to it in the
3:59
car and I get back home and I tell my
4:00
and I was supposed to put it out the
4:01
next day I told my wife I was like I
4:03
don't think I'm going to put this out
4:04
and she was like why and I was like it's
4:06
it's too personal like it's it's too
4:08
personal she was like no no you should
4:10
put it out and I was like I don't know
4:12
she was like well you already told
4:13
people you got a new project coming out
4:14
like don't disappoint and I was like
4:15
they be all right I was like I don't
4:17
think I'm putting this out so we went
4:19
back and forth about it all night and
4:21
then the next morning she's like no
4:23
you're putting this out and I'm like nah
4:26
babe I don't I don't think so and she's
4:27
like no I'm stand right like what
4:29
whatever button you got hit like you
4:31
putting this out and then I put it out
4:33
wow and then Grammy nomination I know
4:35
who the first person you going to think
4:37
if you get on that stage
4:39
righty nomination but you know we often
4:42
I remember growing up in hip-hop it was
4:44
like I don't care about no award I don't
4:46
care about no billboard I don't care
4:48
about no Grammy Award I don't care about
4:50
that but when you get older what that
4:53
Grammy Award uh consideration feel like
4:55
for I mean for me it just feels like 30
4:58
years into the making
5:00
yeah you know what I'm saying like it's
5:02
a lot of people that are reaching out
5:03
like man it's about time it's overdue
5:05
and this and the third and I'm like you
5:07
know I never been this vulnerable on a
5:09
project and it's just about my life and
5:10
the things that I went through because I
5:12
feel like we all have things that happen
5:14
in our life that make us who we are you
5:17
know what I mean like for me and you
5:19
hip-hop you know I mean soon as we heard
5:20
hip-hop that was it you got a track
5:22
called hip-hop on it you know what I
5:24
mean so and Heather like so it's certain
5:26
things that we can go back to and be
5:28
like yo I might I might can ask you yo
5:30
sway what was you doing on November 10th
5:34
1994 and you like skills I don't know
5:36
and I go sway where was you at the first
5:38
time you heard ill mtic and you go oh
5:39
man I was in the homie car like so the
5:42
music is attached to the memories so for
5:45
me it it's always been a memory that was
5:48
surrounded by music so for me those
5:50
seven number ones are seven things that
5:52
happened that changed my life what was
5:53
the hardest thing on this project for
5:56
you to talk about that was related to
5:58
you personally um
6:00
um my father me not really knowing my
6:05
dad and then later on finding out that
6:10
my dad died from drugs he died from a
6:13
heroin overdose and my mom died from a
6:15
heroin overdose 30 years apart so me
6:19
making a connection that my father was
6:21
the one that turned my mom on to heroin
6:25
MH was very hard yeah because I'm
6:28
sitting down you know I'm sitting down
6:29
I'm taping these conver I'm sitting down
6:31
taping these conversations with my
6:33
grandma just to go back and listen to
6:34
them just so just so I can have I was
6:36
never planning on putting this on no
6:38
record but my mom is telling I mean my
6:41
grandma is telling me how my parents met
6:43
so now it's crazy cuz I'm like if I win
6:45
a Grammy like my grandma will win a
6:48
Grammy she'll be on a Grammy nominated
6:50
project 97 years old my go wow man
6:53
that's
6:55
amazing yeah man sometimes you know you
6:58
got to look back in in in retrospect to
7:01
the things that you know make you who
7:04
you are and and this album is a
7:06
retrospect and me just going back and uh
7:08
it was hard man you know cuz I'm a
7:10
rapper like I you know I mean like I
7:12
said you have to redo a lot of the stop
7:16
down and let me do it again I'm rapping
7:18
yes I was like and don't get me wrong
7:20
it's in Rhythm but it's still spoken
7:22
words so for me I was just like once I
7:26
started letting my friends hear they
7:27
were like nah man you got to put this
7:29
out out and once I put it out I wasn't I
7:33
I never you know I was never like going
7:35
to submit it or anything one of my home
7:37
girls called me she was like no you got
7:38
to submit this and I was like to what
7:40
she was like for the Grammy like you got
7:42
to submit this like how do you do that
7:44
like right so I mean I I I knew I wanted
7:47
to impact the Grammy so I had you know I
7:49
had got in as a as a member but not like
7:52
I wasn't G to put nothing out you know
7:53
what I mean and she was like no you
7:54
should submit your own project and I was
7:56
like you can do that yeah you know what
7:58
I mean so once I found out I was like
8:00
okay cool throw it up and then boom this
8:02
happened I love it man give it up for
8:04
skills and this this is for
8:06
consideration right for best spoken word
8:08
poetry So you you're on the campaign yes
8:10
I'm on a campaign um if you are a Grammy
8:12
voter and you want to listen to the
8:14
album and you would like to consider it
8:16
please do it uh we're voting now until
8:18
January 2nd and then February 2nd in La
8:21
we find out who won okay and the album
8:23
is called seven number ones we got fast
8:25
vast on the line from Washington say
8:27
what up to skills fast
8:31
what
8:32
up hey hey what's up HB what's up sway
8:36
what's up
8:41
TR hey yo check this out Mad Skills I
8:44
went to school with you I went to hugan
8:47
you was over I think you was at TJ or
8:49
George wh but we we jhw family bro I
8:52
just wanted to tell you how proud I am
8:55
of you you took Richmond to New York bro
8:59
yeah when you went to New York we went
9:01
to New York with you man we love you man
9:03
you are Richmond's finest thank you man
9:06
I appreciate that and what curious cuz
9:08
Faz V bring up a good point everybody
9:10
had to make a pilgrimage to New York
9:12
what at some real MC's true I was I was
9:16
here in 93 how hard was that on you
9:19
though not being from here had I always
9:22
tell people if I was from New York I
9:24
never would have made it I don't think I
9:26
would have made it why you say that
9:27
because it's so many good rappers up
9:29
here yeah you know what I'm saying it's
9:30
the mecca so we was coming here in 93 we
9:32
was trying to get on so when I would
9:34
come back when I did the new music
9:36
seminar in 93 you know we go back to VA
9:39
it's like yo skills went to New York and
9:42
and battled New York like that's how
9:43
people was talking back home so for me
9:46
to come back home yeah like it was a
9:48
real thing like I screamed I've been
9:50
screaming VA since 91 who was the back
9:54
then MC's we know now that you know that
9:57
you had to Supernatural
10:00
oh my God me and Supernatural went head
10:01
to-head in 93 shout to
10:04
supernat yeah me and Supernatural went
10:06
head tohe and they couldn't decide like
10:08
they went back and forth like it's on
10:10
YouTube you can look at it shout out to
10:12
Supernatural because he brought out the
10:13
best of me Supernatural is one of the
10:15
greatest ever freestylist ever you know
10:18
what I mean so 100% um and when we did
10:20
that battle in '93 rest in peace Clark
10:22
Kent there's a Superman uh Superman
10:25
battle for World Supremacy and um I came
10:28
in second you know what I mean and um I
10:31
I technically lost but you know a year
10:34
later you know I started hanging out
10:36
with qtip and then I did stretching
10:38
Barbo and then that was it it catapulted
10:41
to that freestyle went viral wow before
10:44
viral was viral it was viral we used to
10:47
we we piled it off a cassette tape yeah
10:50
and we would play it on the wakeup show
10:52
the the the rumor was that you were so
10:56
good at freestyling that it sound like
10:58
it was written
11:00
versus that that verse was actually
11:02
written I actually and that was in the
11:04
same style of uh remember remember uh
11:06
Caris One Hip Hop versus rap I was just
11:09
I was trying to do what Chris was doing
11:11
with with newer songs you know what I'm
11:12
saying with faride and Onyx and master
11:15
the ace and you know what I mean and
11:16
Method Man like so this was all when
11:18
wuang Clan was new and black moon was
11:20
new like so to come to New York man and
11:23
and and try to get on it was you know it
11:26
it was the mecca like we would come here
11:28
and just take make meetings and be
11:30
outside go to clubs go to parties who
11:32
was the first DJ to give you a shot
11:35
other than stretch Clark DJ Clark can't
11:37
rest in power man come on man I love
11:40
that hey hey fast vast thank you man you
11:42
a citizen s the morning Vinnie and
11:44
Maryland you want to say something the
11:45
skills Vinnie V oh hold on hit that for
11:47
me torch line
11:49
one Vinnie we coming can you get that
11:52
torch thank God it's today that's Vinnie
11:54
okay Vinnie goo thank God it's a day
11:55
y'all thank God it's a day what's going
11:57
on up up yo hey I first Heather B sway
12:03
Tracy G DB what's up everybody what's up
12:05
family up hey Vinnie yo but it's so
12:08
important skills MTH skills thank you
12:11
for all you do brother for hip-hop Real
12:13
Talk you are uh of course bis Mar is the
12:17
reason why I got into hip-hop right why
12:19
I love hip-hop but you took it to a
12:21
whole another level brother you helped
12:23
me raise my girls man my daughters right
12:25
you know Jaden shout out to Jaden
12:29
what's up bro what's up
12:31
brother he's a long time fan he's a long
12:35
time and he always me yo my brother and
12:39
I were talking about you two days ago
12:41
Vinnie we were talking about how you
12:42
raised your daughters and I kept in
12:44
touch with us through this show and how
12:46
hea Heather bought a piece of art from
12:48
one of his daughters pie and it's
12:50
hanging in Heather's house right now yes
12:51
it is wow yes they are wow love y'all
12:56
man it's important thank you for
12:58
everything brother and congratulations
13:00
man [ __ ] yeah you finally getting love
13:03
you man love you too bro love you toor
13:06
raer faite rapper blessing y'all I love
13:08
it man Vinnie U thank you brother you're
13:10
a super citizen us way in the morning
13:12
skills I know this is just a quick quick
13:14
visit for us today but I I wanted to
13:16
make sure you got a chance to be on the
13:17
platform so we could so we could put
13:19
this out there and anybody who's uh
13:21
Grammy you know yeah Grammy voters check
13:23
it out man it's a it's an amazing
13:25
project um and it it's a good album It's
13:28
a quick listen you I think it's like 28
13:30
28 minutes long it's not long at all 2
13:33
um and uh you know it's another song on
13:36
there called fatherhood right where I'm
13:38
talking about my my my first daughter
13:41
being born and um can you give us a
13:43
little bit of that yeah yeah yeah like I
13:46
I no what I'm saying is I have the the
13:49
um I was telling you it's a video of it
13:51
okay so it's a video on my page of me
13:53
playing her the song For the First
13:55
Time old is she she's 30 now Okay so
13:59
listens to the song and you know I play
14:00
her songs and the funny part is she gets
14:02
in the car and I'm like I want to play
14:03
you something that's that's regular for
14:05
me and my daughter and she's like oh my
14:07
god did you are you did you do a wrapup
14:09
and I'm like no I didn't do a WAP
14:12
up I'm like I it's no wrapup I said but
14:16
I want to play you something so I play
14:17
her the song and um she don't even know
14:19
I got the camera filming right so I film
14:22
her reaction and then after after the
14:25
piece like she you know we get emotional
14:27
in the car like cuz any any father
14:29
you know what I mean it's going to feel
14:30
that moment so I I'm looking at the
14:33
video and in my mind I go yo this is the
14:36
music video uhhuh like it don't got to
14:38
be a whole bunch of lights and cameras
14:40
and action and glossy you know like just
14:43
post this this is the video so I put
14:45
that video up the other day and um man
14:49
what kind of re fathers the fathers
14:51
alone were like bro I watched this with
14:53
my daughter you know what I mean like
14:55
bro like we need more transparency and
14:57
you know what I'm saying like we got to
14:58
be be there for our kids like so just
15:01
seeing how it's affecting people and and
15:03
people are reacting to it it's just a
15:04
blessing man it's a blessing oh man I
15:07
man I'm really happy for this guy man
15:09
because let me tell you why people often
15:12
tried to box you in yes throughout your
15:15
whole career you know they always want
15:17
to make you something they see you as
15:19
right and not recognize who you truly
15:21
are and that's what makes this project
15:23
so special people get to hear about the
15:25
person we know you know what I mean in a
15:27
way that they never had you know and so
15:29
hearing you tell stories about your
15:31
daughter and me being a father you know
15:33
it's hard not to cry when your daughters
15:35
acknowledge you yes man cuz that's what
15:37
we do it for you know what I mean like
15:39
that's what we do it for so it's just a
15:42
beautiful feeling man to be able
15:44
to have connect with other people and
15:47
for you to be able to listen to my
15:49
journey and think about your own yeah
15:51
you know what I mean so like we said the
15:53
music makes you reflect and have memory
15:55
so I'm I'm just I'm just a vessel man I
15:58
was just a vessel to make
15:59
skills give it up for skills man the new
16:01
project is the seven number ones Yes Man
16:05
nominated Grammy nominated if you're a
16:08
voter man look listen to this project
16:10
you would not waste a vote if you voted
16:12
for him right we have black ice up here
16:15
yes one of the greats one of the greats
16:17
Amazing Project him and Rich KN put
16:19
together that too you know so we rooting
16:22
for all of you yeah man in the hallway
16:24
we bumped into another Regional hero
16:26
from where you're from yes go by the
16:29
name of mvin mayo man he's up next yes
16:33
Richmond VA we all over we all over
16:36
Richmond love you man love you too bro
16:38
thank you man congratulations and happy
16:40
holidays thank you man same to y'all I
16:42
see y'all in a minute 888
16:44
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