Today’s society has a tendency to place everything into categories; whatever it may be, and when it comes to music, there’s no exception to the rule. You’re either alt-rock, indie-rock, pop-alt-rock, jazz, jazz-fusion, gangsta rap, underground rap, backpacker rap, etc.

As for Hip-Hop, the so-called “underground” or “backpackers” are usually ushered far away never to been seen or heard by mainstream media. But should that be the case for an artist who has that tag pinned on him who’s also responsible for penning his share of hits for the glam-artists? That’s probably a question you should be asking Skillz (formerly known as Mad Skillz).

Since his arrival into Hip-Hop back in 1995, he’s made more of name writing songs for A-List rappers than he has for writing for himself. Among one of his dignitaries is Sean Combs, but that’s something the bad boy openly admits. Others that have not been so forth coming are people like Foxy Brown and Ma$e, and Jermaine Dupri.

Not one to be deterred by his lack of success while others harvest in the spotlight, he’s been keeping his name above water with his ‘Rap-Up’ songs mixed with a tour schedule that would rival that of The Rolling Stones. Now with a new deal on the table for the release of his newest offering Million Dollar Backpack through Koch, people will have more to look forward to from the Virginia lyricist than just one song at the end of each year.

Who did you work with on Million Dollar Backpack?

Common is on there, so is [Talib] Kweli, Black Thought, and Freeway. That’s about it. That’s actually a lot of features.

Did you plan it that way?

Nah, nah but it is a lot of features. But on my next album, it’s just going to be me…

[Laughs] Did you try a new approach with this record, or just keep your formula the same?

Well I can’t say that I’ve kept it the same, I’ve grown as an MC. I definitely show that, but for the most part, I just kept it real Hip-Hop. There ain’t really a lot to it, my album is a solid Hip-Hop album. I just kept it real basic Hip-Hop, I didn’t try and reinvent the wheel, its been about three years since I had a body of work out. So I definitely wanted to keep it gutter, and keep it me.

Speaking of your lay off, was it hard to get the creative juices flowing again?

At first yeah, because I was so busy touring, I was on the road for a good two and a half years. I was touring with [DJ] Jazzy Jeff and touring with The Roots. So just actually physically being in the studio and catching a vibe hadn’t happened, but I would do it periodically. But it still took a while to get it right, and once I stumbled on a song or an idea that I thought would sound good on the album, I just kept it.   

Speaking of The Roots, you’ve done a lot of collaborative stuff with them and Okay Player. How did you guys first cross paths?

I’ve been a fan of The Roots since they came out with Do You Want More?!!!??! and Organix. They were at a radio station in my state, and I happened to be there. You know? An unsigned MC just spitting on the radio couple times, and they invited me back. So I was excited because the next time, The Roots were there and these were the guys who made ‘Proceed’ and I liked their music. So me Black Thought, ?uestlove, and Rahzel were on the radio going in. They knew who I was, they knew where I was from, and they heard about me on a couple of different mix shows and mixtapes at the time. And they were like, “Yo that was the same kid at the radio station!” So when I got a deal and came out, we were hitting each other up as far as touring. I mean; I’ve known The Roots since ’94.     

Today, a lot of fans read SoundScan. Are first week sales something you ever think about?

Nah, because I don’t do music for the numbers. In order for you to do the numbers that you think you should be doing, I think that your awareness has to be there, and I don’t feel like that happens a lot. I don’t feel like that happens a lot for some of the biggest artists. I feel like everybody got at least a half a million fans, you just have to find them; and they might not go and get your album the first week. I don’t trip over the numbers. In this day age a lot of people run behind the numbers, and if you like me, it shouldn’t matter what I did the first week. There are plenty of artists that haven’t had good first weeks, but they’ve had great careers.

Jill Scott only sold 7,000 records her first week on her first album; you know what I mean? You didn’t hear anybody saying, “Oh sh*t!” “She only did 7,000!” “It’s over!” After that, she went onto sell a million records. It’s all about doing live shows, having awareness, and making good music. 

Do you think this album represents your growth as an artist?

Yeah, I would definitely say it does. I’ve traveled to so many different places, and I’ve been through situations. The last time you probably heard from me was on the Confessions Of A Ghostwriter album, which was really the Rawkus album but just repackaged. When that album came out, there were so many punch lines on it that weren’t relevant anymore because so much time had passed between the time I recorded it, to the time it finally got to the public. I don’t even count that as an album, because it has to happen at the right time, and it has to happen in a timely manor. So I can’t really count that.    

How do you feel about your career up to this point? Do you feel as if you’ve been underrated?

I can definitely say I feel underrated, but I can’t go outside and walk ten blocks without somebody saying, “Yo!” “You dope man!” “I don’t know why you don’t get the props you should, and why they don’t play your music.” I think to myself: The fact you just stopped me on the street and said that means I’m getting through, you know what I mean? A lot of artists throw ill temper tantrums and complain about the stuff that they don’t get, but I’m not one of those artists. I understand the game, I understand it takes time, and that everybody gets their turn. And if you keep putting out quality music and staying visible, you’ll have a career. That’s what I’m focused on, having a career. I’m not focused on having one hot song and then you never hear from me again, I’ve been in the game too long to do that.

So you think that’s how you’ve managed to stay relevant for the past 13-14 years?

Yeah, I do what I need to do—I put out material and I still tour. If I’m not thee busiest—than I’m one of the busiest touring artists out there. I do shows, I’m overseas, and you’ll see me at a party or whatever. You’re going to run into me at some point. I stay busy and I keep a good report with the DJ’s, and I make sure I get them my music, and whatever happens; happens.       

As a veteran artist, do you think there’s any particular reason why newer artists don’t have staying power

Because they’re not really groomed into having a career, they’re groomed into having a “song.” A lot of these A&R’s don’t really focus on making this person have longevity in the game, they just want that one song and that’s it. A lot of these people that had big hit and big ring tone records, I wouldn’t know them if they were sitting right beside me right now. They would have to tell me, “Hey I’m in that group, and we had that hit, and we sold two million ring tones.” I’d be like, “[Sarcastically] Word!” You don’t have a problem with that?! You don’t have a problem with your ring tones and radio songs being hits and you still don’t get recognized?! That’s where these artists are making their mistakes, because they’re not thinking about the long run. They’re thinking, “I’m hot right now, and I’m always going to be this hot,” and I already know that you’re never going to always be hot. I don’t care who you are.  

Do you feel as if you’re competing with the younger acts?

Nah not at all because I make a different kind of music, and my music attracts a different kind of person, you know what I’m saying? That’s why I don’t have a fear or have concerns. I don’t have those concerns to where I go to a show, and I need security, because I don’t make that kind of music. I don’t have that concern if n*ggas is waiting for me in the hotel lobby. When you don’t make that kind of music, you don’t get that kind of energy.Imagine is somebody tried to pick a fight with Common during one of his shows? Imagine somebody trying to pick a fight with Mos Def? They don’t make to kind of music to where they’re going to attract those kinds of people.

There ain’t gonna be no gangsters at the Common show, and if there are; they’re not going to feel like gangsters at the Common show. He makes feel-good music and stuff about the community, like social commentary. You don’t wanna come to the Common show and fight the next n*gga beside you. I think a lot of artists should really focus on the image that they’re portraying, it’s like, “Why do you need that security n*gga?” Look at what you’re talking about. Who wants to go to [Talib] Kweli’s show, and beat up [Talib] Kweli? Nobody. 

[Laughs] Your ghostwriting history is well documented. But how exactly does it work? Do you have a set price for whatever you write?

I used to have a base price before I even came to the studio or accepted the project. I needed X-amount of money before I even would show up. But that didn’t really help to create a process, so I changed that up. Now its, “If you wanna work with me, then lets work and see what we come up with.” “And then we can talk money later.” I’m going to get my credit regardless, but I want you to have a hot record. When we’re in the creative process, I don’t want you to be thinking about money. When you have something that’s hot and represents you, then we can talk about money. I don’t really talk about money from the jump, because I think that kills the creative process.

“I need you to fly out to Miami, to help me out with these records.” “Okay, how much are you going to pay me to fly out there?” It’s like, “Damn!” “Can you at least hear the tracks first?” I do it because I can make a living at it, I’m good at it, and people give me those opportunities. It’s not really bout the money, I’ve written songs where I didn’t get anything up front. When the song took off, and it did what it was supposed to do, I got compensated but there was never a situation where I was fighting for the money up front. It just doesn’t make you look professional. 

Has there ever been a time where you didn’t get what was owed to you?

Yeah, but I think everything happens for a reason. A couple people tried to take advantage and say things like, “Oh he doesn’t have any legal representation, so we don’t have to worry about him.” You do it to me once shame on me, you do it to me twice [Pauses] I think I f*cked that saying up, but you know what I mean. [Laughing] You ain’t gonna get me twice! [Laughing]

[Laughing] Does it ever bother you that you’re writing songs for other people that can be a potential hit for yourself instead?

Nah not really because my whole mindset is that I’m doing what you hired me for. You hired me to do a job, and I did the job. I’m not going to b*tch and complain about what my record didn’t do, and what yours did because that was my record still, you know what I’m saying? [Laughing] I know why your record did what it did. If I write a record for Justin Timberlake, I know it’s going to be bigger than any Hip-Hop record I ever made, because he’s a superstar in his own right, and his company is going to spend the marketing dollars to make that record turn into whatever they want it to be.

It’s not only about the record nowadays, it’s about how much they put behind it. If you hire me to build a roof for your house, I’m not going to drive by your house everyday and be like, “F*ck this n*gga’s roof!” I built it, I got paid and that’s it.   

With the exception of Snoop [Dogg] speaking up recently about his use of ghostwriters, a lot of rappers that use them, still don’t want to admit it. Why do you think a lot more rappers don’t come clean?

Because it was always the taboo about if you didn’t write your own stuff, then you stink, but look how long Snoop [Dogg] has been in the game. If somebody comes to him with a hot hook, a dope concept, or a dope melody it’s not going to hurt him to use it. He’s in a position where he can do that now and help other artists, and help these guys get on. He’s letting them know there’s another job in the game that you can do, and you don’t always gotta be in front of the camera.

Everybody knows that in the early Chronic days he was writing sh*t down for [Dr.] Dre—[Dr.] Dre wouldn’t tell you that then, but that was [Dr.] Dre giving him an opportunity. I’m sure he got compensated when the music sold, as long as his publishing was correct. I would be in the studio now writing for Dr. Dre! You don’t ask Dr. Dre for no money up front before you get on the plane! I would just appreciate the opportunity.