If you’ve heard of Skuzii, you’ve probably heard of his project Veronica’s Apartment. Being the eponymous resident of that apartment, I’m here to give a little background of just how far he’s come. When we co-habitated way back when, he used to make these amazing burgers. Normally people place sliced cheese on top of the patty, those with a finer palate pack the cheese inside of the meat. That way when you take a bite there’s a delicious surprise inside. The same can be said of Skuzii’s music, sure he’s a gifted rapper, but the melty inside is his grasp on music as a whole.
Virginia, while under-appreciated on the rap map in the larger genre discussion, is a hotbed of talent. Just out of the seven cities area alone (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton and Suffolk), we got Clipse, Missy Elliott, Pharrell, and Timbaland. Which means that while lightning has struck multiple times in the area, a repeat might be as likely as finding a needle in a haystack. Consider this a metal detector on top of that massive pile, and Skuzii the elusive needle.
Original Art by Sadé Robinson
As hip-hop has grown as a genre the backgrounds of its contributors expands to cover more aspects of everyday life. Where there were once only gangsters and adjacents, the everyman is having his time in the spotlight now. Of course we’ve got the college graduates and the wealthy dropouts, but what about the ones just struggling to stay in? You know those triangles that have school, work, and a social life on each corner and they tell you to pick two? Skuzii makes music for those people. The people just trying to learn as much as they can to advance to the next stage.
From his early days at Bruton and Woodside High Schools in Virginia, Skuzii has been injecting knowledge into his creative process. What was once a hobby became a coping mechanism for the changing environment around him. With each project that he’s released thus far the methods surrounding it’s promotion has changed, be it through trial and error or internet research. He’s come along way from his Music For The People tape he released back in high school. Though you can still find it if you’re looking in the right place.
Tshirt x Vans was one of the first projects he distributed, in the most expensive way possible, the physical CD. Its purpose was to serve as a primer for the follow up, Dirty Chucks x Levis. The concept was simple, people always flaunt their supposed wealth through clothing, for those who can’t afford such luxuries outfit themselves in the basics. From its first mention, the creation of Tshirt x Vans was defined by the struggle. Skuzii recorded it all over Hampton’s campus and surrounding living spaces, on computers that were owned by a plethora of friends that became family. Here word of mouth was king, before the algorithms of social media had been cracked, a fan base foundation was built person by person.
Standout Track: “The Uncommon Common Man”
At a whopping 21 tracks, Dirty Chucks x Levis is the longest of any project Skuzii has compiled. As a part of his creation process many songs have been finely tuned after years of tweaking and the personal connection to the art runs deep. Which in turn makes it that much harder to leave on the cutting room floor. It was made for all of the kids who couldn’t afford the latest Jordan’s and the matching outfit for the more outrageous color ways. Despite it being very long, every track serves its purpose to drive the narrative forward and there are plenty of skits to fill in any discrepancies. To market this project, he had 300 plastic wristbands printed, like those yellow Livestrong bracelets. Word of mouth elevated to a physical reminder seen on many wrists in the 757 area at that time. If you look hard enough you might even still see a few folk wearing them to this day, though the print has almost certainly faded by now.
Standout Track: “The Need”
In 2012, he won Hampton Universities annual talent show, known as Hampton Idol. It was before they gave the winners trophies, but a plastic trophy couldn’t stand up to the opportunity to open a concert for Dom Kennedy, Curren$y and Kirko Bangz. And then like a lot of artists on the rise, he disappeared. Well, he went to basic training for the Army Reserve, joined a music fraternity, got a job and was very busy. Though he made time to drop songs here and there.
2015 brought The Musing, a project based on the Greek Muse of Chorus, Melpomene who later became the Muse of Tragedy. A heavy concept still deeply rooted in real time events, “Mike Brown,” and of course current memes, “Cinnamon Apple.” Somewhat of a return from a long musical sabbatical its subject matter covers all the lost time, from having to take a break from school to enrolling in the military for their education benefits. From this point all of his projects are more succinct, leaving less room for filler while still achieving the main goal of a release of scattered thoughts.
Standout Track: “Abaddon”
Before we talk about Infinite Vibes From The Land of Finesse, I just want to say, “don’t ask me about the octopus.” Now back to our regularly scheduled profile. What is the “Land of Finesse” you ask? Essentially it’s the the do it yourself show. When Skuzii had hit all of the Open Mic spots in the 757, looking to become a featured artist, he wound up just creating his own. The key that set him apart from all the others just looking to get a few verses heard was that he is trying to create a sound experience. In a world where famous rappers still holler over a microphone with the original track beneath their voices, Skuzii dared to bring a live band. Now I’m sure you’re no stranger to rappers and live music, but here’s where you can tell the difference because the artist can actually play an instrument. He cites his love of the craft to his grandfather who gave him his first saxophone. The result of all of this is a true master of the live performance.
Standout Track(s): “Red & Blue” and “Tew Lit (Tew Quick)”
As his most recent offering displays, Skuzii likes to keep it all in the family. Veronica’s Apartment is stacked with familiar faces; Lavahi, Yung IV, Conscious Kane and 94 Nicely (RIP). It’s a cathartic offering of the woes of a very specific time and place, my apartment. We were dealing with feelings of failure, family problems, but most of all not knowing exactly how to voice them all. We ate a lot of cheeseburgers and other strange food combinations. People who skim this work often think that the apartment was a lusty refuge. If you really listen, you’ll just hear about a bunch of lost kids drowning their sorrows in an obnoxious amount of liquor. In a way it’s our final goodbye to that period of our lives which leaves us wide open to the possibilities of the future. From this height you can see all the progress that’s been building behind the scenes. The small tweaks to his performance are apparent. Performing outside of what could be a comfortable crutch at home in Virginia by traveling up and down the East Coast and soon over to the west.
Standout Track(s): “All That I Know” and “Veronica’s Apartment”
We might not ever get a real explanation of the octopus from Skuzii himself, if you ask me it’s a perfect symbol of his artistry. He’s got more talent than his two hands can balance. Rapping, performing, writing, producing, playing the saxophone, organizing and marketing on top of just being an adult, one tentacle per task. It’s not easy growing up. No one tells you how hard it can get when things don’t go according to plan. Yet sometimes life surprises you, like biting into a burger filled with melted cheese.