Skillz Reflects on 2018 on Annual 'Rap Up'
Skillz is capping off the year right. On the last day of 2018, the Virginia rapper looks back with his annual “Rap Up,” which recaps the past year in music, entertainment, politics, and pop culture.
This time around, Skillz is joined by Lil Duval on the nearly five-minute track, which samples the comedian’s single “Smile (Living My Best Life).”
“Man, this past year was a trip,” says Skillz before referencing Will Smith joining Instagram, the Eagles’ Super Bowl win, and the “movie of the year,” Black Panther.
He goes on to rap about the birth of Chicago West and Stormi Webster, Nas and Kelis’ divorce, Bey-chella, the royal wedding, the #MeToo movement, and Meek Mill’s homecoming.
He also takes shots at Kanye West (“Your music got worse, your trolling got better”) and addresses rap’s biggest beefs, including Drake vs. Pusha-T, Eminem vs. Machine Gun Kelly, and Cardi B vs. Nicki Minaj (“How the hell you throw a shoe in a Fashion Nova fit?”).
“The whole year was ugly,” says Skillz, who highlights Demi Lovato’s overdose, Mac Miller’s death, and Cardi B and Offset’s breakup (“He went on, so she had to cut Offset off”).
Plus, he brings up Jacquees’ recent claim to the R&B throne (“Jacquees, stop running your mouth / Your R&B stands for run your ass back in the house”), and declares Beyoncé the “King of R&B.”
“Y’all live your best life and keep doing your thing / This Mad Skillz, welcome to 2019,” says Skillz.