All of us stumble upon some form of employment at one point or another in life. Whether it be knowing a friend of a friend, searching for one job and getting another or merely being in the right place at the right time. As for Skillz, well, he happened to be working on his own project and legend has it that a certain vodka slinging mogul walked in on his session and requested his lyrical assistance. And as they say it, the rest is history…the birth of The Million Dollar Backpack.
If you are an avid listener of Skillz, arguably VA’s greatest MC, then you know his career stretches far beyond the highly anticipated annual “Rap Up” joints that he’s been cranking out since 2002. If not, his first full length release since the demise of Rawkus should make you a believer. Known primarily for the aforementioned and also lending his million dollar pen to others, he sets out to show us why his talents are in such high demand. The album begins with a brief history of the MC’s and their backpacks (“Q-Tip rocked his live on Arsenio/Buckshot was the first one to put his in a video/MC Serch dropped a flow with his on his back/on the last episode of Yo! MTV Raps“). He then goes on to answer questions that many of his followers have in regards to his whereabouts on “Where I Been”. Shaquan comes out of the gate swinging; destined to prove that he’s not one of those so-called battle rappers isn’t capable of making palatable albums.
“Sick” finds Skillz once again, reminding us how nice he is and for how long he’s been that way. This effort is not quite as potent as the first, which was done as a freestyle on DJ Kay Slay‘s “The Drama Hour” and also remixed by Clinton Sparks as a mixtape song. However, despite the lackluster production from Kwame, we still get those bars that we love to hear (“I was sick when L.A. Reid was in a group called The Deele and wore eyeliner”). He continues to give us what we want on track like the Freeway assisted “Don’t Act Like You Don’t Know”. Yeah, you probably heard it before the album dropped but how can you not still like it, especially with one of his many references to The Wire (“And these youngins wanna act like Michael on The Wire/ till they realize Michael just an actor on The Wire“).
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The perfect marriage between lyric and song comes with “My Phone,” which finds Mr. Rap Up Man bragging on his celebrity female conquests. He tells us of how he was in L.A. and bagged all the women of your dreams…or at least has their numbers in his phone which happens to get run over by Jay Leno and leaves him back at square one. “Hold Tight” finds Skillz and the ever consistent Black Thought discussing what the pressures of life can do if you don’t take heed to the name of the song. It also happens to be produced by ?uestLove. The most personal piece is told over a drum heavy soundscape provided by fellow Virginian Bink. “I’m Gon Make It” finds the man from the two up two down gang expressing that even though he came From Where??!? he still succeeded.
This disc concludes with Skillz weighing in on the controversial statement that Nas made two years ago on “Hip Hop Died” and the most thought provoking song on the album “Preachin To The Choir.” He flexes his storytelling muscle in a tale of adultery, forgiveness, unforgiveness and more adultery, all in the name of the Lord.
The only factor that hinders this effort is the overall production. This seems to be a problem that many genuine MC’s run into (see Nas, Ras Kass, Royce Da 5’9″). At times it’s disappointing to hear him over production that he’s clearly outshining (“Be Alright,” “Sick”). I’m sure he has many million dollar favors that he can call in to remedy this issue (remember that Ciroc vodka slinging mogul? Or even his southern neighbor Mr. Dream Merchant). Despite this setback, your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper is lyrically flawless on this one and successfully manages to give us a peek inside the priceless accessory that made him who he is.
