6 Unexpected Rap Firsts With Skilla Baby

“These bitches icky, give me Vicky vibes / N***as Timmy odd, and they give me pick me vibes,” Skilla Baby raps in his hit song “Icky Vicky Vibes” like he’s the Chip Skylark of Fairly OddParents if the cartoon were R-rated and culturally diverse.

In the last year, the 25-year-old Detroit native has performed at Rolling Loud Miami, been brought out on stage by Lil Baby, released a collab album with Tee Grizzley, and secured features from G Herbo and Rylo Rodriguez.

He’s about to join Lil Tjay’s Beat The Odds tour and was just name-dropped in Jack Harlow’s new song teased on TikTok. What is it about the rising rapper that’s resulted in him collecting co-signs like infinity stones? The answer is in his name.

The origin story of Skilla Baby traces back to his childhood nickname, Skillz. He started hooping in second grade but was determined to make the fifth-grade basketball team. With the same essence of clever mischief that creates a concept for an explicit rap song out of a childhood cartoon, he told the coach, “Let me play, I got skills.”

“Skillz” was born because he could back up his claim, and Skilla Baby is no different. Both names mirror his intrinsic drive to only receive attention for his talent. But he knows that skills are like your TikTok fyp—they get better with each use.

Switching his focus to rap at the age of 15, it was his work ethic and dedication that caught the attention of a veteran rapper in his city, Sada Baby. The opportunity to learn from being around Sada and his team fueled Skilla’s tenacity to excel at whatever he set his mind to. Coupled with his sharp-witted pen, it’s no surprise he found success beyond the pigeonhole of a local rapper.

Jack Harlow’s bar, “I get love in Detroit like Skilla Baby,” isn’t a fairly odd contradiction of Skilla’s success. It’s proof that his star is ascending to something much bigger than the co-signs and love he’s already received.

Below, Skilla Baby reveals his six memorable rap firsts, how a parody of rapper Rob49 turned into their hit song “MAMA,” what gives him the ick, and why working with different artists is like traveling.

First album you bought?

Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne.

First shoutout from another artist?

Sada Baby.

First time a fan recognized you?

I was in Kroger with my manager. The daughter didn’t know me, but the mama knew me. She was like, “Omg you don’t know who this is?” to her daughter.

First recording session?

I was 15, my sister had a boyfriend who did music. And he took me to the studio because I said I wanted to go. I ended up loving it and never stopped going.

First chain?

I bought the chain that represented my first logo because I thought that was what I was supposed to do as a rapper. [Chain is pictured below, the iced-out tent with a tree behind it].

First tattoo?

My first logo for my [We Eat The Most] label and the artwork for Push That Shit Out Skilla [the first album I released].

You recently celebrated your birthday and held the 1st annual Skilla Day Festival. What was the concept and intention behind that?

I’ve always been inspired by Boosie Bash and stuff like that—I know J. Cole got a festival. I wanted to do my own for my city and something for the kids every year. I’m big on giving back to the kids, and we don’t have a lot of concerts for [them].

Can you describe a memorable moment or experience from that day?

The police shut us down, but while [they] was shutting us down, the kids and the whole crowd sung Happy Birthday to me, and I got em’ to say “Thank you, DPD (Detroit Police Department).”

You were on the lineup for Rolling Loud Miami this past summer. How was that experience compared to when you’ve been brought out on the RL stage by other rappers?

It was really cool because it was like I was being acknowledged for what I love to do. Rolling Loud is big for artists, especially artists coming up. The crowd was really hyped, I was surprised [they] knew all my music.

Your “Icky Vicky Vibes” music video hit 12M views, I love the video and how you translated the Fairly Odd Parents references. What was the initial concept, and how did it evolve into the final product?

I wanted to be Chip Skylark for real, but it was a budget thing. The whole concept of it is things just be giving me Icky Vicky Vibes. It’s not necessarily girls, a lot of people do icky stuff. If you do anything out the way or something that’s not normal to me, I feel like you giving me Icky Vicky Vibes.

Your song “Bae,” and your collaborative single “MAMA” with Rob49 and Tay B seem like favorites amongst your female fans. When working on either of those songs, are you consciously creating with a specific listener in mind?

I did “MAMA” just to make fun of Rob49—like how he talks. We left the BET Awards, and we were making fun of Rob, and I was like “Imma rap like Rob49 on this song.” I never knew it was going to be a big song [but] Rob wanted to get on it. “Bae” I was consciously trying to make something for the female listeners, but “MAMA” was just rapping, I was doing anything to try and make the studio laugh for real.

All your projects in the last two years have had no more than 14 songs. While working on your upcoming EP, what does that process of elimination look like for you when you’re finalizing the tracklist?

Surprisingly, I’m putting more songs on there this time. I probably have like 17 or 18 songs on this mixtape. I haven’t been going to the studio a lot lately, so I won’t overwhelm myself with what to pick because everybody likes different music and wants me to put different songs on there. So I take what they say in, and then I try to go with what I know.

Talking about collaborations, you said you’ve become more intentional about who you choose to make music with. Why was Tee Grizzley the right person to do the collab album, Controversy, with?

I knew it would make a statement for the city [of] Detroit. The title of the album tells you something like why did they name it Controversy? [There’s] controversial stuff around me and Tee Grizzley working together. He’s the biggest artist, especially street artist, from Detroit, so it was a pleasure for me to even work with him. I appreciate him a lot, and I gained a friend out of that too, we real close now.

You’ve also worked with G Herbo, Rylo Rodriguez, Luh Tyler, and Doe Boy. What stands out as a memorable collaboration because it changed your perspective?

All of them, for real, I gain something just by knowing their culture like G Herbo, he’s from Chicago. I learned how they talk and how they react to certain stuff you say. It be different when I’m working Doe Boy, he’s from Cleveland. So his perspective and G Herbo’s perspective on certain stuff be different. It’s like traveling, you see new things, learn new things, [and] you learn people’s cultures.

Would you say you’re a very observant person?

Definitely, I’m a people watcher. Whether I’m working or not, I just sit and watch people. A lot of stuff I be wanting to see how people move but [most] times I be gaining knowledge [and] adding to my repertoire, I don’t mind using somebody else’s stairs to go up so I take lingo, mannerisms, little words, [and] sayings—if I like it.

You grew up playing basketball, and you often pay homage to the sport in your music. What drew you to basketball, and what drew you to rap? Are there any similarities?

In my normal life, I don’t seek attention and stuff [but] when it comes to my talent—I just be on. I like reactions, I’m big on that, I like being the man on the basketball team, [and] I like being the man in rap. It’s a friendly competition with yourself like, damn, what can I do to be bigger? Or better?

There are so many facets to being a rapper, other than making music in the studio. What do you enjoy most and least about this career?

The stuff I like the least is cameras and fake people. I hate the fact that everybody is always in your business, and you can’t just be normal.  I like traveling, meeting people, [and] performing. I like how happy [fans] get when they see me. That’s always going to keep me going, so the good outweighs the bad.