I got this Skewby "Everday" on repeat right now as I post up by the living room window looking out at Bed-Stuy Brooklyn! I remember Sept 25th 2009 like it was yesterday.I almost moved back to Memphis because I felt so stressed out in NYC. I rode a Greyhound Bus back home, got into a debate with this young black woman yelling at her small child and ended up staying at my Mom's. I walked the city streets, riding the bus, visiting friends, eating Lenny' etc. (All of my favorite Memphis past times) I linked up with Ify and Logan Bradshaw and went with the flow to Downtown Memphis for Skewby's Mixtape Release Party.
I didn't know quite what to feel at first. I had mixed feelings about being back in the city and at that point no one really knew that I was gone and that I was back; temporarily. I liked that. As I was standing outside catching up with the folk, I was handed a mixtape. I graciously accepted it, put it in my pocket and kept it moving. "Another rapper from Memphis is trying to do his thing", I said to myself. I had to support it.
Honestly, I didn't know what was in store for me. As I made my way back to Brooklyn, pausing in Chicago O'Hare, I popped the mixtape into my computer and immediately was impressed. I had come to realize that the same hungry cats that were helping Skewby with his movement were the ones that I was building with on The University of Memphis Campus back in '06. Big shouts to Charlie White!
Tiime passed. I watched from afar. My high school homie is Skewby's Manager and the leader of 715 Management. Surpassing college, in a retograde like fashion, I appreciated that he had cats from my HS working with him too. I wouldn't be surprised if he had cats I knew from middle school in his crew.(Ha) I liked Skewb but didn't really feel his music that much. He was new to me. Being a poet/writer, I felt like I needed more. As the days turned into months and months turned into years, I continued to listen to Skewby and see his growth. He was doing his thang in a city that stereotypically supports a lower level of music culture. I could see that things were still the same in Memphis but Skewby and his team were staying consistent to their new and emerging music, (Real Rap, I call it.) but I still hadn't felt from him what I knew to be in my soul. As a hip hop student, I was searching for more. Then I caught wind of "Everyday" on DJBooth.net. Now I got these in-house Logitech Speakers on Memphis Hammer!
I soul had finally found the respect from a Native Memphis artist that it was seeking. Skewby is growing and that's what the world needs from this caliber of artist and his thorough team. Memphis has a new look. A new feel and it certainly is what it's gonna be "More or Less".
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