skillz: 2007 rap up.

I keep getting hits on Google from people looking for the Skillz rap up for 2007, and I feel like it's a total disservice to NOT post about it.

As I said in last year's post, Skillz has been on the hip-hop scene since 1992 hustling all over the place, ghostwriting, freestyling, and dropping an annual rap-up since 2002.

This year's effort comes with a first-- a video, complete with supporting visuals such as an Amy Winehouse lookalike. It features references to...DJ Drama, The White Rapper Show, Cam'ron, 50 Cent, All-Star Weekend, Jennifer Hudson, Mims, Fantasia Barrino, Tony Yayo, Jay-Z, Amy Winehouse (duh), Robin Thicke, Bobby Brown & Whitney Houston, Karrine Steffans, Don Imus, Russell Simmons, Oprah, Anna Nicole Smith, Akon, Three 6 Mafia, ringtone rappers, Virginia Tech, Barry Bonds, Ray J, Diddy, Eve, Rihanna, Paris Hilton, the final episode of The Sopranos, Hurricane Chris, Lupe Fiasco, Britney Spears, Jamie Lynn Spears, O.J. Simpson, Usher & R. Kelly, Kelly Rowland, Beyonce Knowles, Jena Six, Michael Vick, the iPhone, Foxy Brown, Lil Wayne & T-Pain's omnipresence, Kanye West, Souljah Boy, American Gangster, UGK & Outkast, DJ Khaled, T.I., and Lauren London.

Personally, I think this is a huge step down from the 2006 rap-up. Did he really have to cut out paying his respects to those who passed away? There was no reason to mention Mims, Hurricane Chris, or Souljah Boy. All he needed was the line, "For most of the year, a ringtone rapper would make a hit and his career would disappear." Can we get a holler to Donda West, Ike Turner, Pimp C, Yolanda King...Kurt Vonnegut?

Not to mention that the animal rights activist within me is a little outraged at the line "It's a damn shame what they did to Michael Vick. You can't kill dogs in your own backyard but you can go to Iraq and kill whoever you want." Seriously? I can understand that he's trying to be socially conscious. I can understand that he's trying to make a point about taking a dog's life vs. taking a human life, even if I'm not certain I agree with it. However, I just can't get over the fact that he's trying to JUSTIFY dogfighting. Pssh!

Problems aside, Skillz gets kudos for simply coming up with such a cohesive look at 2007 as a whole. And you can't help but giggle at the line, "Kelly Rowland falls and yall think it's cool, Beyonce falls and yall take it off of youtube." When you put it all into perspective, the reason this rap-up sucks so much probably has more to do with 2007 sucking elephant-balls as a whole.

If anything good came out of 2007, I finally learned how to appreciate Prince. How? I made friends with a cassette tape of Purple Rain while locked away in a studio working on my printmaking senior thesis. Because of this, I direct your ears to the bonus track, which features Skillz rapping over "Darling Nikki."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------d/l: SKILLZ - 2007 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2007 Rap Up (Jimmy Rose Remix) (YSI)

d/l: SKILLZ - 2006 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2005 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2004 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2003 Rap Up (YSI)
d/l: SKILLZ - 2002 Rap Up (YSI)

BONER TRACK: SKILLZ - Darling Nikki freestyle (YSI)

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