Skillz is stepping into a new chapter, and he’s got some heavy-hitter projects under his belt to show for it.
In a conversation with AllHipHop, the Virginia rapper-turned-ghostwriter reflected on his post “Rap Up” career and some major milestones, including penning Jay-Z’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction speech.
Skillz famously launched his annual “Rap Up” series in 2002, a tradition he popularized with witty rhymes that summarized the most significant cultural moments of the year.
He retired from the recaps in 2021, although he did come out of retirement to summarize the events of 2024.
His retirement from the “Rap Up” allowed Mad Skillz to focus, resulting in his album The Seven Number Ones, which was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category.
The Seven Number Ones is a spoken-word poetry album that narrates pivotal moments in his life, each track symbolizing a key experience that shaped his path.
“The album is about seven different things that happened in my life that changed the direction of my life. Each song is a moment,” Skillz told AllHipHop during an interview with DJ Thoro. “The first song is about my parent’s meeting. The second song is when my mom used to play music in the house. The third song is when I first heard Hip-Hop, my first daughter, first time I fell in love.”
Skillz’s decision to step away from his annual “Rap-Up” tradition, which had become both a hallmark and a limitation, allowed him to channel his creative energy into ventures that showcased his broader talents.
“When I look at the things that have happened in my life since I stopped doing the year-end ‘Rap Up’…like writing JAY-Z’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame speech. When he got inducted, I wrote that for Hov,” Skillz told AllHipHop.com in an interview with DJ Thoro. “I’m on to other things.”
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