Skillz

In 1995, this Detroit-born, Virginia-based MC—whose stage name proved fitting—placed second to Midwest rapper Supernatural at the country’s premier MC seminar, revealing his boundless command of freestyle. His opening shot arrived via the single “The Nod Factor,” a long excerpt of which earned a memorable Hip Hop Quotable in The Source. Trading in caustic humor and menacing wordplay, Mad Skillz (later known simply as Skillz) specialized in rhymes sharp enough to leave opponents visibly defeated. A master of layered meaning, he demonstrated the technique with lines such as “put your clothes on backwards if you feel like frontin’.” His 1996 debut, From Where???, spotlighted the overlooked talent pool in his adopted state and included beats from Large Professor and Buckwild plus a Q-Tip cameo on “Extra Abstract Skillz.” Skillz resurfaced in 1999 on Rawkus’ Soundbombing, Vol. 2, trading verses with Mos Def on “B-Boy Document.” The following year he issued the Rawkus single “Ghost Writer,” produced by fellow Virginian Timbaland; the title referenced his behind-the-scenes work penning material for other rappers. Performing solely as Skillz by 2005, he delivered the album Confessions of a Ghostwriter on Sure Shot, while Rawkus issued I Ain’t Mad No More the next year, collecting many of the same tracks. In 2006 Koch released The Million Dollar Backpack.