Antoine Roundtree (born March 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Skee-Lo, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 1995 song " I Wish", which became a hit in several countries and reached No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
His first single "I Wish" became a hit on radio and TV during the summer of 1995 with a number one MTV video directed by Marty Thomas that won many nominations and wins from VMA Awards worldwide. The song was known for its lack of explicit lyrics at a time when gangsta rap was very popular. His debut album of the same title was released shortly thereafter, earning him two
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominations for both the album and single. Afterwards he stopped his rapping career before coming back to release a new album in 2000 and another in 2012.
Early life and education
Born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
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, Roundtree and his family subsequently relocated to and then moved to
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...
, when he was nine. He first started rapping in 1983.
He graduated from high school in Moreno Valley before moving back to Los Angeles in 1993. He attended
El Camino College
El Camino College (Elco or ECC) is a two-year public community college located in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County known as Alondra Park.Islam and joined the
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930.
A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...
.
Career
Skee-Lo's debut album '' I Wish'' was released in 1995, which he first started working on in 1993. The album was a huge success. One of the singles, "Top of the Stairs", was featured in the ending credits as well as the soundtrack to the 1995 film ''
Money Train
A money train is one or more railcars used to collect cash fare revenue from stations on a subway system and return it to a central location for processing. This train was typically used to carry money bags guarded by transit police to det ...
''. He quietly "retired" from rapping five months after the album's release because of a dispute with
label
A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...
Sunshine Records. Skee-Lo claims Sunshine Records took all the credit from the album's success, and he did not make a single cent from it. "So I refused to shoot any more videos, promote or record music. I'm not their slave. I wasn't working for free." After many years, he eventually won the rights against the label in court.
Skee-Lo recorded a cover of the
Schoolhouse Rock!
''Schoolhouse Rock!'' is an American interstitial programming series of animated Musical film, musical educational short films (and later, videos) that aired during the Saturday-morning cartoon, Saturday morning children's programming block on the ...
song "The Tale of Mr. Morton", which taught sentence structure (
subject
Subject ( la, subiectus "lying beneath") may refer to:
Philosophy
*''Hypokeimenon'', or ''subiectum'', in metaphysics, the "internal", non-objective being of a thing
**Subject (philosophy), a being that has subjective experiences, subjective cons ...
,
verb
A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...
and predicate). The song appears on the 1996 compilation album, '' Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks''.
In 1996, Skee-Lo became a VJ for both MTV's ''The Beach House'' and '' The Grind''.
He co-wrote "I'll Be Your Everything" by
boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...
Youngstown
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...
. The song is featured on the 1999 '' Inspector Gadget'' movie soundtrack.
He returned to the music scene in 2000 with a new single ''I Can't Stop'', which would be the titular track on his second album released in 2001.
In January 2010, Skee-Lo returned from another musical hiatus with the EP ''Overdose'' where he collaborated with record producer Michael DeBarge.
In 2011 he wrote "Burnin' Up" as part of the soundtrack of the 2013 horror movie '' Killer Holiday'' from Lionsgate Entertainment. MTV produced a music video directed by Marty Thomas that was filmed at actor
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael Mandel (born November 29, 1955) is a Canadian-American comedian, television personality, actor, and producer. Mandel voiced the character Gizmo in the 1984 film '' Gremlins'' and the 1990 sequel '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch''. ...
's house, which was rented by his son to MTV without Mandel's knowledge. It was released under his own indie label, Skeelo Musik.
Skee-Lo made a guest appearance on a track "Now You See My Life" with former
Hollywood Undead
Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. All of the band members use pseudonyms and previously wore their own unique mask, most of which were based on the common hockey goaltender design. The ...
rapper
Deuce
Deuce, Deuces, or The Deuce may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Deuce, in the '' Danger Girl'' comic book series
* Deuce, a character in ''Shake It Up''
* Deuce, in the '' Wild Cards'' science fiction universe
* Deuce Bi ...
from Deuce's album '' Nine Lives'' in 2012.
He released his third album, ''Fresh Ideas'', on his own label Skeelo Musik, via iTunes on November 13, 2012. It appeared in stores July 9, 2013.
Personal life
He and his wife, Stacy Ambrose, reside in Los Angeles. He has two children.