Donnie Shaquan Lewis (born June 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Skillz (or Mad Skillz), is an American rapper. He first became known for his debut album '' From Where???'' (1996), titularly in reference to his origins in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, contrary of the prototypical New York City- or Los Angeles-based rapper at the time. He is also known for his yearly "Rap Ups," which he has done annually since 2002 (except in 2013). Skillz is also the creator of the web series "Hip Hop Confessions", a series of shows that gathers hip hop purists and hip hop lovers alike where they reveal something hip hop related that they have never told anyone. The show has featured Q-Tip, Peanut Butter Wolf, Kwamé and

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American DJ and producer. He was one half of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, along with Will Smith. He is credited, ...

. Skillz earned a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album nomination for the album ''The Seven Number Ones.''

Early life

Lewis was born June 2, 1974, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and after spending his early childhood in

Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-Ameri ...

he then moved to

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

at a young age. He credits

Run DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jam Master Jay, Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as ...

for getting him involved in hip hop as a child.

Career

He first made a name for himself by finishing in second place (Losing to MC Supernatural) in a national freestyle competition, which eventually resulted in a recording contract with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. At this time he went by the stage name Mad Skillz rather than just Skillz. Mad Skillz' Atlantic debut album, '' From Where???'', and its single, "The Nod Factor", were released in 1996, but neither received much commercial or critical attention. The album's title was a reference to the regionalism in hip-hop, and at the time the state of Virginia did not have a large hip-hop scene. In the late-1990s more of a Virginia scene emerged, and he allied himself with fellow Virginia natives due to his new friendship with Magoo. He made appearances on Timbaland & Magoo's albums ''Tim's Bio'' in 1998, and ''Indecent Proposal'' in 2001; Timbaland made plans to sign Skillz to the Blackhand label he was developing; however, this label failed to materialize. He along with Danja Mowf, & Lonnie B, members of Skillz' Supafriendz collective, also appeared on a remix of

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

's hit single "Are You That Somebody" in 1998. In 2000 Skillz was known for his single "Ghostwriter". The lyrics say he has written hit singles for others. Skillz eventually got a deal with

Rawkus Rawkus Records (or Rawkus Entertainment) is an American hip hop record label, owned by James Murdoch, known for starting the careers of many rappers. Rawkus started in 1995 with releases in hip-hop, drum and bass and fun-dustrial (Dystopia One) ...

, where he recorded his 2002 LP '' I Ain't Mad No More'', the title of which commemorated the official change of his MC moniker from "Mad Skillz" to just "Skillz." The aforementioned LP was never officially released in the U.S., however, during the Sprite Liquid Mix Tour in 2003 he sold some bootleg versions of this CD. The CD was re-packaged without several tracks as "Confessions Of A Ghostwriter" in 2005. A Supafriends LP, "The 804 Compilation''Supavision'' and another solo LP. Skillz released an album on December 30, 2014: ''Made In Virginia'', produced by Bink Dog. In 1997 Skillz became the founder of the supergroup, V.A. Playaz Supafriendz, which members consisted of

Timbaland & Magoo Timbaland & Magoo were an American hip hop duo, composed of Virginia natives Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley (born March 10, 1972) and Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff (July 12, 1973 – August 13, 2023). Formed in 1989, the duo signed with Blackground Re ...

Ginuwine Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine ( ), is an American R&B singer. He began his career as a member of the musical collective Swing Mob in the early 1990s. As a solo act, he signed with Epic R ...

N.E.R.D. N.E.R.D. (a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) was an American rock and hip-hop band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1994. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin. After producing songs for several artists ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott (born July 1, 1971), also known as Misdemeanor, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She began her musical career as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B girl group 4 All the Sistas Arou ...

Nicole Wray Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979, also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single " Make It Hot" was certified gold. In the 2010s, she began pursuing a more traditional soul sound, first as part of the d ...

, DJ Lonnie B,

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

, Sebastian, Tweet,

, Danja Mowf, and

Clipse Clipse, also known as the Clipse, is an American hip-hop, hip hop duo from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Formed in 1994, it consists of brothers No Malice, Gene "Malice" and Pusha T, Terrence "Pusha T" Thornton. Pusha T was known as Terrar during t ...

. In 2018 he released "I'm The DJ & The Rapper a compilation of songs that were all written by him. As of late he partnered with Gavin Williams and released an ep under a group called "The Bop Gods". He has recently gone back to his original moniker Mad Skillz and has returned to producing and deejaying. In 2018 and 2020 Skillz was an artist-in-residence at the University of Richmond where he taught The Voice of Hip Hop in America. On February 13, 2019, Mayor Levar Stoney declared it to be "Mad Skillz Day" in Richmond, VA to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of Skillz's debut album From Where??? and to recognize his "positive influence on our city." On January 14, 2020, he began his second semester as an artist-in residence at the University of Richmond. Skillz earned a 2025 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album nomination for the album ''The Seven Number Ones.''

Discography

Albums

* 1996: '' From Where???'' * 2002: '' I Ain't Mad No More'' * 2005: ''Confessions of a Ghostwriter'' * 2008: '' The Million Dollar Backpack'' * 2010: '' The World Needs More Skillz'' * 2012: '' Thoughts Become Things'' * 2014: ''Made in Virginia (with Bink!)'' *2018: ''Im The DJ..and The Rapper'' *2023: ''The Bop Gods'' *2024: ''The Seven Number Ones''

Compilations/Mixtapes

* 2002: The Neptunes Collection Vol. 1 * 2004: The James Brown Collection * 2006: Got Skillz? - The Timbaland Collection * 2009: Design of A Decade ( J. Period & Don Cannon) * 2011: Infamous Quotes Mixtape

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Features

References

External links

* Official Website

XXL Magazine Interview

The Smoking Section Interviews Skillz

Skillz - The Million Dollar Backpack Leaks

Skillz Interview (ArtofRhyme.com)

Skillz Interview on HHLO.net (Hip Hop Lives Online)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skillz Living people African-American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers African-American record producers American hip-hop record producers Atlantic Records artists Big Beat Records (American record label) artists Musicians from Richmond, Virginia Rappers from Detroit Rappers from Richmond, Virginia Swing Mob artists MNRK Music Group artists 1974 births Record producers from Virginia Record producers from Michigan Underground rappers 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians