‘08 Rap Up - Skillz

“‘08 Rap Up” is Virginia rapper Skillz’ latest non-album annual single, released as part of the EP “The Rap-Up” and follows his previous installment “2007 Rap-Up”.

Skillz, as in previous years, typically seeks to review 2008 with a focus on events in Hip Hop, while incorporating comical lines, in particular with criticism of other artists.

With a Jay-Z like tone and measured flow, Skillz spits verbose lyrics constantly, without a repeating hook. He seemingly mentions every celebrity that appeared in the media throughout 2008, from George Bush, to Marian Jones, while dedicating a bit more positive tape time to the election of President Obama. Of course, the names of the music industry appear most often, with Mariah Carrey, Kanye West, Puff Daddy, Usher, Jay-Z, and 50-Cent all not escaping attention.

“2008 Rap Up” has a cool sound with a Piano lead and a layer of light beats, over which Skillz’ knits together all his references with rhythmically cohesions, such as:

“Wayne got bagged for having herb
and Nas tried to drop a CD that was called the N-word.
I chilled on the word, I was fine till I saw him at the Grammy’s,
I was like this n*gga’s lost his mind.”

“2008 Rap Up” was released with “The Rap-Up” EP on January 13 on iTunes (check it out here), providing an amusingly comical and rhythmical account of all things topical from 2008 well worth listening to. After listening to the single and reading this review, do you feel Skillz has reached the standard of previous years with this release?

Rating: 4/5