One big oxymoron has to be the term “almost famous.” Most people believe that you’re either famous or not, there’s really no grey line in between. But when your name is Shaquan Lewis AKA Mad Skillz AKA Skillz, those two words just might apply.

The Virginia native by way of Detroit got up-and-running with his mid-90’s hit, The Nod Factor. Back then he was one of the first MC’s to really start incorporating punch lines and metaphors into his material (along with Big L and a few others).

The young rhyme-slinger had built up plenty momentum for his debut album, From Where??? The only problem was that when his album was released, it was greatly overlooked. Now some people might say; “How could this happen?” “How can a new artist with a new sound, and trend-setting lyrics get neglected on his own release date?”

The answer to that is very simple. Because on that day of February 13th, 1996 the man that made folks need a neck brace while listening to The Nod Factor probably had an “All Eyez On Me” mentality, but he ended up having to keep “Score.” Because that day was also the release date for The Score by The Fugees, and All Eyez On Me by Tupac Shakur.

Collectively, those t wo albums went on to sell over 30,000,000 copies to date, while From Where??? was lost in the shuffle. During his downtime he hooked up with fellow Virginia alumni Timbaland, Missy Elliot, and The Neptunes, and made appearances on Timbaland’s Tim’s Bio and Indecent Proposal albums, and was also on the "Are You That Somebody" remix by Aaliyah.

From there he fell into the unspoken profession of ghostwriting hits for other rappers. He then released a song titled “Ghostwriter” which was supposed to be a name-dropper of the who’s-who from his client list. The song had the Hip-Hop community salivating from their mouths over which artists purchased his services, but all the names were edited out, and still keeping people wondering. But as time was went by, names has surfaced and Skillz has reportedly penned hits for the likes of Sean Combs, Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, and Mase. But out of those artists, Puffy is the only one that admits to writing a check for services rendered.

After his album I Ain’t Mad No More failed to materialize at Rawkus Records, the once young and brash MC now turned wise businessman (ready to pen your favorite rapper’s next hit) keeps his name in Hip-Hop circles with his patented yearly jest of currents events known as the “Wrap Up.” Where he pokes fun at celebrities and whoever else made a fool out of themselves that year. With his new album getting ready to drop, The Million Dollar Backpack, hopefully people won’t associate him with being “almost famous” anymore.

What have you been up to these days? Any new projects in the works?

Ah man, just trying to connect the dots man, and keep it moving. I got The Million Dollar Backpack dropping this year. It’s a very good Hip-Hop album, and I wanted to name it that, like: “A Very Good Hip-Hop Album” but [they] wouldn’t let me. [Laughing]

[Laughing] You wanted to name it; A Very Good Hip-Hop Album?

Yeah. I had the marketing champagne too. The Marketing champagne was going to be: “When was the last time you heard A Very Good Hip-Hop album?” I was going to keep it real plain and simple. 

I dig it. So what made you name it The Million Dollar Backpack instead?

The Million Dollar Backpack is just another way of saying that just because I make the music I make, doesn’t mean that I don’t have the same dreams as other people have. Throughout my career, whatever I’ve been able to accomplish or get, has come out of [this] backpack. They tend to say [we] make underground music, or they call it backpack-type music or whatever. So you can label it whatever you want to, but that don’t mean I don’t have the same dreams; know what I mean.

Does it get on your nerves when people label you that?

Not really because they don’t have to be talking about me at all, I could be a nobody. I’m just appreciative of the people that support my music, and listen to it. I’m just happy to still be able to do what I love.

Speaking of doing what you love, what first gave you the idea of doing the yearly Wrap Up?

Basically I was working on a mixtape really, I was working on a mixtape. When I make mixtapes, I try to make a theme, I just don’t rap over whatever. So the theme I had was, I was going to use one producer’s tracks. So it was like; “If I was to do an album with this person, these are the tracks I would’ve took.” So the first one was naturally The Neptunes. So I’m rapping to “What Happened To That Boy”, “Grindin’”, and my manager was like; “You should rap over the Common joint, that "Come Close" song.” “Nobody even knows that The Neptunes did that.”

So I was like; “That joint ain’t hard!” “It’s more in the realm of "Bonita Applebum!” And he like; “That joint is still hot though!” So I listened to it; and it was right after Christmas, and he was like; “How come nobody ever did something with Hip-Hop?” “Like what happened during the year.” And he was like; “You’re about to put the mixtape out at the end of the year, and that could be the last song, it would be dope.”

So I did it. And the guy I recorded it with, he had it on his website. And he called me the next day and said that is broke his server, because the song had 24,000 hits in 12 hours. So I’m like; “GET THE F**K OUTTA HERE!” So I’m out on the streets, and people are playing it on the radio. And this to me is a “freestyle.”  So the next year I did another Wrap Up, and then I was like: “Man I don’t want to do anymore more Wrap Ups, and just be known as ‘The Wrap Up Man.’” But then everybody started asking, so I did it again.

But the next year wasn’t as hot as the first; I can say that. Because the year really wasn’t popping like that. Then the next year comes, and people are like; “You gotta do another Wrap Up!” Then I publicly came out and said I wasn’t doing anymore Wrap Ups, and people started going crazy.

They were like; “How is he not going to do another Wrap Up?!” “This has been the best year ever, and there’s so much to talk about, how are you not going to do a Wrap Up?!”

And I was like; “Are y’all serious?!” People were really walking up to me in the streets like; “Man you WHACK!” “How you not gonna do another Wrap Up?!” Then I started thinking that the Wrap Up is my own little thing, and people like it so I would be stupid not to do it.       

Yeah, that does make sense. But does it bother you that less-talented artists have achieved mainstream before you?

Nah because at the end of the day, I wrote songs that have been way better than what I did for myself, and that was the point of the song, know what I mean. You hired me to write you this record, and I wrote it. People always tend to say; “Aw man, that’s a good look for Skillz.” “I saw Skillz on 106 and Park, that’s a good look.” So as long as you keep saying stuff like that, I’m good. Because if I sell 10,000,000 records, there ain’t nowhere to go but down after that.

You know how the underground-thing is, people support you. They’re like; How come ain’t nobody recognizing Skillz?” “When is the world going to catch onto Skillz?” And after I do 10,000,000 records, they’re going to be like; “F**k that n***a.” “He ain’t the same.” Know what I’m saying? [Laughing] They’re going to be like; “Man, I saw him at the VMA’s sitting next to Pam Anderson and Beyonce.” They build you up, and tear you down. So I’m like, if I do it, it’s going to be a slow grind for me. If I only get 15 minutes of fame I’m getting my 5 minutes first.  
 
But do you think there’s a reason why you haven’t reached that plateau?

I don’t know why it’s eluded me. But right now, mainstream success is what? Like what is that? Is that getting a hit record? Or is that having a career? Cause I don’t want a hit record, I want a career; you feel me? I don’t want to have one hot song, and then you never hear from me again.

Look at how many people that happened to this year. And I definitely don’t want to be a “ringtone dude” and sell a million ringtones and then I can’t even get a deal next year. I’m about building something; I’m about building my brand.

I’ve been here for a hot second, and success has eluded to this point, but and that’s almost a good thing. Because to this day there’s still people that haven’t heard of me. And that boggles me, because I’ve been doing this for over 10 years. Then they make me a “Myspace Featured Artist” and people are like; “Wait a minute” “Are you the same Mad Skillz that made the Nod Factor?” And I’m like; “Are you serious?” [Laughing] “You didn’t know that?” “I’m the same guy who made the Wrap Ups!” Since they made me a Myspace Featured Artist, the traffic on my page is crazy.      

I can imagine. Are you still doing the ghostwriting hustle?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That ain’t going nowhere, I’m definitely going to stay on that.

What makes an MC go from naturally writing his own material his whole career, to needing a ghostwriter?

Some people just don’t have the time to sit down and construct what they think is going to be a hit. It’s no different than; “I wanna eat tonight, but I don’t feel like cooking.” “I wanna come home, and have my favorite dish ready, so I’ll hire a cook.” Puffy don’t have the time to sit down and write 16 bars, 3 three verses, a killer hook, and a killer beat. It’s like: “Just give me the song, I’m a businessman!” “I don’t have to do all of that, but if it’s a hit, I got it!” 

Is it hard to differentiate what you write for yourself, and what you write for others?

Nah, because when I write for me its from the heart. When I write for someone else I’m trying to be them. I’m trying to think like them. I think to myself; “If I was them, what would I say?” “Or what would I want to hear them say if I was that person?” It’s no different than acting. If you cast me in a movie as a policeman, I’m not going to act like “Skillz” as a policeman. I’m going to act like the policeman.

Has there ever been a time where a person didn’t like the song you wrote for them?

Um. There’s been times where I just didn’t deliver it right. Maybe it didn’t chart well, or it didn’t do what I felt it could’ve done. Then I step back. Because a lot of times, it’s the artist or the label. And it’s about whether they’re going to push the song. You can make a hot song, but are they going to push it? I make a song for myself that might be sub par for me, but if I sell it to Justin Timberlake, I know it’s going to get pushed. 

Speaking of hit makers, do you still have a good relationship with Timbaland and The Neptunes?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I haven’t seen Timbaland though. Last time I saw Timbaland was in Miami, I don’t always speak to him that much. But me and Pharrell are still cool.

What would you say you learned from them on a professional level?

What I learned from Pharrell is just [Pauses] Pharrell is a backpacker, so what I learned from him is that anything is possible. And what I learned from Tim is just to keep your business in order. Pharrell is more like; “Anything is possible, you can do whatever you wanna do, just put your mind to it.” He’s definitely a big influence on me, as well as Will [Smith].

Will is one of my biggest influences on me, because he’s someone that took Hip-Hop to a whole ‘nother level. And what I learned from him is that you don’t gotta be the most talented person, you don’t gotta be the best like the very top notch best, you just gotta be able to work. And you gotta be willing to work. Because if you stay on the path long enough to get something, you will get it. It’s not a question or not if you’ll get it, the question is when will you get it. Nobody said it’s going to happen over night, in two months, or in two years, but if you stay on the path long enough to get something you will get it.