Skiddalz: New Artist Spotlight [Video]

People really do come in all races, shapes and sizes, and this ideology holds true for rappers as well. 

The Midwest, primarily been known for Black male artists such as Nelly and Twista, has an emerging addition, Southern Illinois Rapper Skiddalz. 

Skiddalz isn't your typical female rapper- she doesn't play the sex kitten or hold an overly hard persona.

Hailing from the Midwest, Centralia Illinois to be specific, Skiddalz is self described “Hip-Pop” artist, with influences that range from Nelly to Kelly Clarkson.

After the video, let us know what you think of Skiddalz and peep the interview after the jump. [More]

Like the new generation of artist these days, the internet was the launching pad to her career, and at the age of 21 she's just getting started.  Her life isn't without struggle, as a youth growing up in the small town Midwest she faced perils that included poverty and criticism for her body image.

Currently, the Midwest rappers hit single “OMG,” can be heard on the new season of Jersey Shore.   In her interview with Hip-Hop Wired, Skiddalz talks about being the underdog in the small female rap genre, growing up in the Midwest and how being an athlete prepared her for a music career.

Hip-Hop Wired: What would you describe your style as? I got a sense of a Pop/Hip-Hop style?

Skiddalz: I would describe it as Hip-Hop but pop, I call it Hit-Pop.  My style incorporates the dance and the club beats, I love just the fun style, but I can also get serious on the tracks.  My style includes everything, I like to incorporate all kinds of music into my music, but definitely Hip-Hop and pop.

Hip-Hop Wired: Where did you come up with the name?

Skiddalz: I came up with the name Skiddalz when I was like 16.  The way I like to describe how I came up with it is I relate my name to Skittles the candy because I feel that in Hip-Hop  it doesn't matter what race or color you  are - black, brown, red, orange, green, whatever.  It's a way of life, it's not a race issue.  Hip-Hop is just so universal, my name represents that.

Hip-Hop Wired: What was it like growing up in the Midwest and what kind of music inspired you or how did you get into Hip-Hop?

Skiddalz: I grew up in such a small town, I grew up in Southern Illinois, there's not a lot of Hip-Hop around here, but I grew up just naturally gravitating to Hip-Hop.  I listened to Nelly and Ludacris and as I got older I started to listen to other things like Kelly Clarkston.  I love to listen to all types of music, but the two  artists that really inspired my style are Nelly and Ludacris.

Hip-Hop Wired: Have you had a chance to meet any of them yet?

Skiddalz: I actually have met Nelly.  Contrary to what people might believe, he's actually a really humble guy and he's real nice and cool, so it was an honor meeting him because he was like my idol.

Hip-Hop Wired: Was it hard for people at first to take you seriously, due to being not only a Caucasian, but a woman in male driven Hip-Hop?'

Skiddalz: Yeah, definitely.  A lot of people did not take me seriously just based off what I look like. The first show I ever did they weren't going to let me go on just because of what I looked like.  They never heard me but they were like, “We're not going to put her on, what's she going to do?  She's going to be a joke.” The guy I was working with at the time got into a heated argument with this club promoter until the guy was like “Ok, I'll give her a 3 minute set at the very end of the show.” So that was my very first show at 17.  I went on and had 3 minutes to do one song.   I was the last performer, everybody started walking away and then my song came on and I started spitting and doing what I do and at that point everyone just turned around and stayed there and was cheering me on.

After that, that guy was like I want her to come back to every one of my shows, I want her to perform every week.  I like to say that my first impression is my worst impression but my second is my best because people take me seriously after they hear me or see me perform.  I just overcome the obstacle by letting people hear me, I prove it on stage or I prove it in my music, that's how I have been getting over these obstacles.

Hip-Hop Wired: How initially were you discovered?  I know you've been doing music for awhile, when was that moment when you got a manager and had your first performance, how did that happen?

Skiddalz: I was 17 and had been doing music in my bedroom because no one around here did Hip-Hop music or the people that did didn't really want to mess with me.  So I was just in my room constantly making music and putting it on websites and stuff and when I was 17 a guy from St. Louis hit me up and was like “I really like your music, I want you to come perform” and in December of 2006, he had me come out to a show in St. Louis and started managing me.

After that I met Slo'Down from the St. Lunatics in January of 2007 and he seen me, it wasn't until that next year in 2008 that he started working with me.  Those two people, this guy that I met in St. Louis pretty much found me and then Slo'Down from the St. Lunatics he helped a little bit and that's how I got noticed.  St. Louis is where I started doing my shows and where I put my music out, so St. Louis is the city that helped launched my career.

Slo'Down

Hip-Hop Wired: How has the Internet helped your exposure?

Skiddalz: If it wasn't for the Internet I probably wouldn't have got seen or noticed because I put so much effort in before I was ever noticed on the Internet.  I just put my music up on there and getting feedback  and stuff and the internet was basically the start of everything.  I think the internet, there can be thousands of upsides to it but there are downfalls, but for me it's been an upside because you can get your music out to the world with just one click of a button and selling the stuff on iTunes and promote on Twitter, Myspace, whatever.  It helped my career a lot because I wouldn't have ever gotten noticed if it wasn't for the internet.

Hip-Hop Wired: Lyrically, what would you say your style is?  What is the content of a majority of your songs?

Skiddalz: My lyrical content, I like to talk about so many things, I don't try to stick myself in one lane.  I'll have a song that you'll want to laugh to and dance to and then the next song you'll here you want to cry.  I like to write about my personal life, I like to write about different situations that I go through and I would just say that my lyrical content is very relatable, I think so many different people can relate to what I have to say in my music.

I just try to have my own style, I don't try to mimic or copy anything else that I hear and if I do hear something, let's say I'm watching TV or listening to the radio, I hear something and I'll take that word and I'll make it into something of my own and put my own persona on it.  I have different but relatable music that anybody can listen to and enjoy it.

Hip-Hop Wired:   You say you don't want your style to sound like anyone else, but have you ever got comparisons to any other artists?

Skiddalz: Well being white in Hip-Hop, people will try to automatically compare you to Eminem. There's no way that I can compare to Eminem because he's like the best rapper ever and in my music I don't try to be a rapper.  I rap, but I don't try to be that person, I like to make universal music like I said.  I get compared to him just because, not on a music level, but just because I'm white.  Also I've been compared to, some people said I sounded like Left-Eye.

Hip-Hop Wired : Have they told you Lady Gaga before?

Skiddalz: Yeah, people have told me Lady Gaga before because they said I could sell numbers like Eminem or Lady Gaga.

Hip-Hop Wired Lady Sovereign, have you ever gotten comparisons to her as well?

Skiddalz: No, actually that's funny because no one has ever brought her up.

Hip-Hop Wired That was the feel I kind of got a little, you have that high energy feel to you.

Skiddalz: That is funny, I expected to be compared to her but no one has really ever brought her up, but that's cool to me, I like not being compared to anybody.

Hip-Hop Wired:  So what can we expect from this mixtape?

Skiddalz: The mixtape that I did came out in March.  Basically I just took a bunch of tracks, I have Miley Cyrus on there that I just spit a verse too, I have Miley Cyrus to Gucci Mane to Drake to Kelly Clarkston.  I just put a verse of mine onto that song and made it my own, but also I have my original music on there as well.

I have music that I've done with other artists, I have my verses on there.  The mixtape is really fast-paced, it's switching constantly, there's tracks on there that are like a minute long and it just changed right into a different song and it's something real easy to listen to.  If you listen to the lyrics it really proves who I am as an artist and lets people know what I really bring to the table.  The mixtape is just fun and put it in your car and it's so easy to listen to.

Hip-Hop Wired I know your music appeared on the MTV show “Next,” how does it feel to hear your music on the radio or on TV for the first time?

Skiddalz: Oh man, when I first heard my song on”Next” or on the radio, it's crazy, I'm so happy.  It's mind-blowing because I think about where I came from, it was nothing, it was just me and a pen and paper and coming from that to having your music played on national TV or radio is crazy, I can't even express the feeling and even if my song is being played a million times on radio I will still have that feeling like “Wow I can't believe this is happening.” That's all I want, just for my music to get out to the world and for people to hear it, so every time I hear my song come on something it's definitely a great feeling.

Hip-Hop Wired: Are there any artists out there that you want to collaborate with?

Skiddalz: Yeah, if I ever make it bigger I definitely want to collab with Nelly, just because I grew up listening to him.  I definitely want to do some different stuff like do a song with Kelly Clarkson or do a song with Alanis Morissette or get Kings of Leon to do a track for me.  I want to branch off to these different artists and do something with them, but my #1 person that I would love to do a track with is Nelly.

Hip-Hop Wired: I read that you were an athlete, how do you think that prepared you for being in the music business and being a performer?

Skiddalz: It prepared me so much because in sports you're taught to stay focused and always stay grounded and never let your head get too big when you're winning.  Just taking that into music has helped me because there's so many times in music people get their song on the radio or they get a step ahead and forget all the work they put in to get there and they think that it's going to be easy and that they're going to be on top forever.  They learn very quickly that they will fall down if they don't keep the steady pace of grinding and working.

It doesn't matter if you have a million dollars or $1, you have to be constantly working hard.  Sports has just taught me motivation and drive and to know that I always have to be working hard.  Just like going on to the basketball court I would get butterflies right before the game, that's the same when I go on the perform, every performance I have butterflies and you know that it's game time when you're doing a performance.  You know that you have to kill it because there's no other option, sports has definitely helped me out in that.

Hip-Hop Wired: If you had to choose between recording and performing, what would be your favorite activities within your music career?

Skiddalz: My favorite thing would probably be performing.  I love people getting into my songs and sing the song along with me and just giving people a show, I love entertaining.  Definitely performing.

Hip-Hop Wired: Can we see any music videos yet?  Are you shooting any of those?

A. Skiddalz: I haven't shot any videos yet, but on Youtube I have videos of me performing.  I have this funny video I did for my single “OMG” and it just has a bunch of people, fans and stuff, singing along to every word of my song and getting into character and everything.  I haven't done a real music video yet, but that will definitely be soon.

Hip-Hop Wired: So what can we expect in the future?  What do you hope to accomplish?

Skiddalz: I hope to accomplish just creating a lane for myself and showing the industry that it doesn't matter about image or whatever, all it comes down to is great music.  Overweight people that don't have anyone in the music industry to look up to, I think I can be that person because I am a bigger girl but I want to show people that doesn't matter.  If you're great at something, you can make it anywhere.  I hope I can create that lane and be on top of music.  I just want to sell records and be that person that my name can be with the greats.  That's who I want to be.

Hip-Hop Wired: Would you ever want to branch out to any other industry outside of music?

Skiddalz: Oh definitely.  Once I got into music I definitely, I could be behind the scenes.  I can video edit, I can do promotion, I can do everything, but one thing that I would really want to get into is I would want to be a coach or something.  I would want to inspire kids to get into sports and do that kind of stuff.  I think that once I made it in the music I would love to just travel and meet kids that don't have opportunities and help those people that just can't catch a break.  Anything that has to do with kids, I would be there.

Hip-Hop Wired: Are you currently on tour now?

Skiddalz: I'm not on tour yet, but I think in the next couple months everything will start to happen.

Hip-Hop Wired : What is the best way for your fans to keep in touch with you?

Skiddalz: The best way is to go to Skiddalz.com or Twitter.com/Skiddalz, I'm on Twitter, Myspace, Facebook,  all of them just /Skiddalz. Hit me up on there and I get back to people, so don't be afraid to talk to me.