Skeelo is coming back!

[Silver Tiger]

Here's an interesting article that talks about the history and reutrn of Skee-lo. I had no idea why he bowed out of the game until now. It's not too long of a read, but it's interesting. I hope we see some good things from him.

Excerpt (full article at the link):

"I retired five months after it was released," Skee-Lo says, drinking coffee at the Denny's on Crenshaw and 37th, a few blocks from the home he shares with his wife and two children. "Not only did my label [sunshine] take credit for producing 'I Wish,' they took all the profits. So I refused to shoot any more videos, promote or record music. I'm not their slave. I wasn't working for free."

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2012/01/skee-lo_i_wish_i_was_a_little_bit_taller.php

[Big Ben]

Good read. I didn't know his story either, it's nice to see that he got his due. It's a shame though, it makes you wonder what the world missed out on because of a couple of shady people making decisions at the record company. I didn't see anything mentioned but I do you know if he's released a single yet? Be curiose what his subject matter, and style (beat and flow), would be now.

[VIsqo]

Good article, I hope he comes back strong!

[DevilsJim89]

He released an album back in 2000-2001 but it really wasn't anything significant in terms of mainstream. I have both Skee-Lo albums and he's a great rapper and its a shame that he had to deal with all that ugliness with labels.

[JumpinJack AJ]

Skee-Lo Wished He Was a Little Bit Taller. Then He Promptly Retired

By Jeff Weiss Wed., Jan. 18 2012 at 3:30 AM
​[Editor's note: Weekly scribe Jeff Weiss's column, "Bizarre Ride," appears on West Coast Sound every Wednesday. His archives are available here.]

The directions haven't changed. If you want to find Skee-Lo, take the 110 to the 105 and get off on Crenshaw. It's everything else that's been altered since "I Wish" transformed the Snapple-size South L.A. rapper from obscurity into an evanescent national phenomenon in the summer of 1995. The gold-certified smash yielded Grammy nominations, stints as an MTV VJ and a spot on the television adaptation of Dangerous Minds. Then he disappeared.
"I retired five months after it was released," Skee-Lo says, drinking coffee at the Denny's on Crenshaw and 37th, a few blocks from the home he shares with his wife and two children. "Not only did my label [sunshine] take credit for producing 'I Wish,' they took all the profits. So I refused to shoot any more videos, promote or record music. I'm not their slave. I wasn't working for free."

You expect to hear rappers indict the improprieties of a corrupt industry. But you don't expect to hear Skee-Lo inveigh against its sheer "wickedness." It's like hearing the Easter Bunny go off on Big Chocolate.
For those foreign to the charms of "I Wish," the rapper born Antoine Roundtree plays an endlessly endearing ne'er-do-well. "I wish I was a little bit taller," he posits, adding that he's saddled to a Hatchback with an 8-track, where "Everywhere I go, I gets laughed at." The indelible underdog anthem reached No. 13 on the singles chart but branded him a one-hit wonder.
"The one-hit-wonder thing used to really irritate me. But no one knew the true story," says Skee-Lo, the spitting image of his '95 self, plus a few pounds.
He graduated from high school in Moreno Valley, and while attending El Camino College performed every week at the Good Life in Leimert Park, the Left Bank of early-'90s underground hip-hop. That's where he unveiled "I Wish," one week after writing it during a study session gone wrong.
"I wanted to do anything but school. So I started listing wishes and wrote the whole record without music," Skee-Lo says. "Two days later, I'm cleaning my room and in the middle of an ugly old record. I heard a beautiful horn section that made me feel like I was at a casino, on a beach or a boat. I threw my broom down, got on my MPC-60 and made the beat."

The hook floated into his mind that Thursday night at the Good Life, following a successful preshow freestyle in the parking lot. When Sunshine Records (the parent company of Scotti) heard it, he received a $150,000 advance. The song's success created a familiar paradox: His music was omnipresent but he never made a penny. Nor did he get with Leoshi (though she did appear in the video).
After a half-decade of legal battles, Skee-Lo wrangled back his publishing rights. He proudly notes that he receives every cent when the song is purchased and played today. But even though he kept busy doing shows during his "retirement," his recording hiatus left him adrift and depressed, even after the royalty money kicked in.
"It got to the point where I told my wife and children that I didn't want to live anymore," Skee-Lo says of his low ebb five years ago. "Then a voice spoke to me clearly and said, 'At what point in your life were you truly happy?'"
The religious vision caused Skee-Lo to rededicate himself to the Nation of Islam, which he had joined at 16. His raised spirits and reaffirmed spirituality inspired him to form his own indie label, Skee-Lo Musik, whose flagship release will be April's Fresh Ideas, Skee-Lo's first real record since "I Wish."
But no matter the outcome, he's achieved the crucial goals of his lone smash: People still remember his name, and he'll be played on classic rap radio until the day everyone is 6 foot 9.
"I've had people from prison tell me how much that record helped them through the years they were locked down," he says. "People treat me well wherever I go. How can you hate on Skee-Lo?"

Edited January 21, 2012 by JumpinJack AJ

[JumpinJack AJ]

Skee-Lo has always been one of my favorite emcees. I Wish is easily one of top 20 favorite Hip-Hop albums of all time. Every line, every song is just dope. I was heart broken that it took him 5 years to get another album out. I Can't Stop was a good album too but some of the production was a little basic. Still good, you could just tell he was doing it all on his own financially on a couple songs. If u get I Can't Stop, make sure you get the 2nd version with the "At The Mall" remix and "When I Was Comin' Up" as the last 2 tracks. "When I Was Comin' Up" is one of his best songs and is only the 2001 version of the album.

Back in late 2009/early 2010 he released and EP called Overdose. I bought it off his website back then and I have a mixed feeling to it. It's a mix of traditional Skee-Lo with an influence of today's Hip-Hop and Rap. I hardly listened to it. I also wasn't thrilled that after over 10 years of only making non-explicit music and non-sexed up music, he went there. His subject matter just got more common and predictable. There's still "Skee-Lo" in those tracks but a lot of his charm is gone.

The same year he also released a few "single"...the "I Wish (2010 Rock Remix)...which is dope, and "I Love L.A." He's also been on some mixtapes. "Fly Away" on a Rappin' 4 Tay mixtape is a song that finally has proper Skee-Lo/West Coast sound to it. A couple months ago a song was released that he did with some guy named King Kong and his literally sounds like every other unsigned/uncreated rapper. It's really disappointing. Hopefully he's rejuvenated himself for this new album. Originally he was going to release an Overdose LP which would have bee an extension of the EP. Since a few years have passed, I'm hoping he's back to his own musical identity and not "that guy" I heard on that King Kong track.

[Hero1]

interesting.. "top of the stairs" is my fav skee lo track..