Skeme

Born Lonnie Kimble in 1990, California rapper Skeme brings a cool rasp to his verses while repping his Inglewood roots through the ongoing Ingleworld album series. His father and the rapper Dolla first sparked his interest in hip-hop, and as a teen his encounters with the law and street life supplied raw material that found its way onto early projects, beginning with the 2007 mixtape Skeme of Things. A follow-up appeared in 2009, and four additional mixtapes followed before his proper studio debut, Alive & Living, landed on RBC Records in 2012. The hardcore set included guest spots from Iggy Azalea, ScHoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, Problem, and Dom Kennedy, casting Skeme as a gritty West Coast MC in the vein of the Game or Tech N9ne. The first Ingleworld volume surfaced the next year, again featuring Azalea and Dom Kennedy alongside Wale and K. Roosevelt; shortly afterward the Game brought Skeme aboard his Blood Money Entertainment imprint. Ingleworld 2 arrived in 2015, adding occasional Auto-Tuned vocals and contributions from the Game, Young Thug, T.I., BJ the Chicago Kid, and Lil Uzi Vert. Months later Ingleworld 3 followed, with T.I. and Chris Brown appearing. As Skeme’s style gradually shifted from aggressive West Coast rap toward Atlanta trap, he released the Before 4Eva mixtape, a lean-centric, heavily Auto-Tuned project that showcased Sauce Walka, Jay 305, Chyno, and Yakki Davioshi.