SKAM2?

Since his mid-teens, SKAM2? has been one of Hip-Hop’s most sought out illustrators. A self-taught-turned-professional visual artist, the Miami native has made indelible images for the likes of Eminem and A Tribe Called Quest to name a few. But as an MC, SKAM2? has deliberately maintained a lower profile. With roots in the storied New York City underground, SKAM2?’s vivid lyrics have been heard alongside Raekwon, Ill Bill, The Jigmastas, as well as Slim Shady. SKAM2? lives one of the music industry’s greatest stories never told. As he puts it: “I’m that guy that everybody knows, but don’t know.”

A cousin of MC Kriminul of Brooklyn, half of the New York collective The Jigmastas, SKAM divided his youth between Carol City and the Rotten Apple. In the latter locale, the out-of-town artist split his days and nights between skateboarding, rhyming and hustling up art commissions anywhere he could. Running with “Krym” and the late I.G. Off, SKAM2? developed a extensive network and became a fixture at the epicenter of the underground. “The scene in New York at that time was so raw” he notes. SKAM2?’s witty, graphic, and brutally honest lyrics started winning over the masses over DJ Spinna (Jigmastas) production, via Kriminul and Spinna’s indie label Beyond Real, who pushed SKAM2? on early vinyl singles through conduits like Stretch & Bobbito, DJ EFN, and key college radio shows. Few realized that the artist behind the artwork for A Tribe Called Quest’s Beats, Rhymes, & Life LP was getting his own music played by many of the same tastemakers.

Through mutual friends, SKAM2? crossed paths with another out of town kid, Eminem. The pair found that they shared interests, having similar upbringings and attitudes. With two cult-championed tracks (“3hree6ix5ive” & “5 Star Generals”) developing from that bond. SKAM2? was instrumental in building on Em’s buzz in the New York underground. In turn, SKAM2? is mentioned in the lyrics to “Stan,” where Marshall says, “I even got the underground shit you did with SKAM2?”. That and his generally low profile has led him to a place of hip hop mythology. Em and the late Proof called their friend after recording the song, excited to share his inclusion in the soon-to-be smash hit with Dido. “I only heard those few lines and didn’t get the context of the song,” he admits, acknowledging the would-be impact of the Marshall Mathers LP blockbuster. But it has stood the test of time.

In more recent years his iconic logo for the top rated podcast Drink Champs (DJ EFN & N.O.R.E.) became an indelible image that is recognized across all generations of hip hop fans.

Through the years, SKAM2? has done art and had underground bangers with the likes of Eminem, Denzel Curry, Shabaam Sahddeeq, M-1 (dead prez), Ill Bill (Non-Phixion, Heavy Metal Kings & La Coka Nostra), Naughty By Nature, Rhyme Asylum, Da Youngstas, Infamous (Lil Wayne, Drake), Kevin Rudolf (Selena Gomez, Timbaland), Kieth Murray & Joell Ortiz to name a few, and the list keeps growing.