In 2021, Mad Skillz closed the book on his Rap Up series with his “2021 Rap Up” to coincide with its 20th anniversary. Though his fans were sad at “The End Of An Era,” they understood Skillz’s decision to drop the mic and move on creatively. The multifaceted artist did just that, most recently releasing his GRAMMY-nominated spoken word album The Seven Number Ones this past August. However, he couldn’t stay away from his annual rundown for long. After a two-year hiatus, Mad Skillz has popped out to end this wild year with the “2024 Rap Up.”
Skillz had a copious amount of material to work with from the top of 2024 until its final weeks, so this edition of his Rap Up was light work for him. He kicked the song off by popping his collar and celebrating The Seven Number Ones’s GRAMMY nomination before recalling most of the year’s madness with his signature wit and slick wordplay.
The rapper had all the jokes and smoke for anyone Black and famous who was all over the news, the Internet and the group chat in 2024. Of course, there were bars for Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, Katt Williams’ infamous appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, Ashanti and Nelly’s union, Shaboozey’s rise, Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER moment and Kendrick Lamar snatching Drake’s wig with his ubiquitous anthem “Not Like Us.”
Following this tumultuous election year, Skillz had a few things to say about President Joe Biden choosing not to run for reelection, Vice President Kamala Harris’ historic and inspiring run for president and her eventual loss to the felon who shall not be named. He spent a few bars on Diddy’s downfall and shared thoughts and prayers for his victims before questioning “What the hell was all that baby oil for?”
Skillz was spitting hot fire, but he chose to wrap up his “2024 Rap Up” on the spoken word tip with some fiery verses. He flowed on the election, its consequences, racism, blackness, Black women, good versus evil and those we lost this year. He ended with a message for everyone to heed: “So take care of yourselves and each other. It’s about to be a wild ride. Y’all put your seatbelts on. Welcome to 2025.” Whew!
Mad Skillz hasn’t indicated if his Rap Up series is back for good or just a good time to end this cray-cray year, but we’re enjoying its return, even if it’s temporary. Watch this microphone master at work in the video for “2024 Rap Up” right here.
