“I Need Somebody” is SKGLIZZII’s hip hop ode to truth and redemption
By Kurt Beyers
SKGLIZZII’s “I
Need Somebody” is a love story, a tale of justice miscarried, a life going off
the rails, tragedy, and redemption all rolled into one and told in hip hop.
The lyrical tone
is neither bitter nor mournful. It is simply what happened, and it is all the
more compelling as a song because of that. The music magnifies the
matter-of-factness, the electronic piano tones carrying the story along like a
raft on a river, light drums providing emphasis.
“It’s true. It
is, really. It’s my pain, it’s what I went through in a two- or three-year
span,” said SK.
They
fouled me wen they hit me with dat body yea
Stick’n’
to the code of staying silent yea
He was charged
with first-degree murder, facing a death penalty, basically because he followed
the street code of silence out of loyalty to a friend. He was jailed for almost
two years before being exonerated.
“It’s true.
Every bar, bar for bar, every bar is pain,” he said. “Bar for bar is release
though. I released a lot of stuff, a lot of pain, a lot of stress, a lot of
agony on to that record.”
The “I Need
Somebody” video is framed as a counseling session at the beginning, then
flashes back and forth to other scenes as he tells his story.
My
first child was born while I was in that cell
Praying
for them better days and waiting on that bail
I
lost my momma while I was lock and stuck up in that jam
They
just don’t know that broke my soul
His mother died
shortly before he was released. During this time, he turned to substance abuse,
and that’s in the song, too.
So is blessing:
My
sister answer global tel like when u coming home
My
nephew nieces said they love me and they miss me so
They
just don’t know that blessed my soul
His involvement
with music predates his legal troubles, which ended late last year, but since
then he has begun making a musical career with “Way2Real, House of Kings” in
his hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“I Need
Somebody,” released earlier this year, was his first. It has racked up more
than half a million streams on Spotify alone. His second release, “Free Big
Slime,” has more than 150,000, and he has more than a hundred thousand monthly
listeners.
His music began
when he was young.
“I grew up in a
Christian home, so you know it was gospel, but in my mom’s house Saturday was
the cleanup day. The whole house, top to bottom.”
While they were
working, they listened to music, but not just hip hop and rap.
“We listened to
reggae — which I love, it’s one of my favorite genres — we listened to reggae,
we listened to rock, we listened to pop. All that. My mother’s thing was, ‘You’re
not just going to listen to this rap and this hippity hop thing. You’re going
to listen to everything.’ That’s what she used to call it, ‘hippity hop.’”
It was a well-rounded
musical education, he said, that “grounded” him.
“It helped me
know how to do music — period. it helped me understand music and helped my
versatility.”
His first two
songs are this hippity hop thing, but, he said, “I am very versatile. When it
comes to SK, you won’t know exactly what you’ll get, but you know you’ll get
greatness. I don’t want to label myself as just a hip hop artist. I don’t want
to just label myself as just an R&B artist, or pop. I just want to be an
icon. I want to be there and just make good music. That’s my goal, what I see
in my career.”
With Way2Real,
SK says, he has a great team behind him, as well as a sister organization to
the label, House of Kings, a ministry that helps keep him on the straight road.
“We’re taking
this serious. I’m taking this serious. This is something I want to do in my
life.”
Plans for the
near- to medium-term include more songs, more videos (Way2Real has its own
YouTube channel), an EP or album, and making music in other genres in addition
to hip hop, including reggae, R&B, rock, and more.
“I wouldn’t be
where I am if it wasn’t for God, man. That’s a fact, and, you know, that’s one
thing about SKGLIZZI is I’m going speak the truth. I’m gonna speak. I’m ready
to get it going to the next level. I can’t wait ’til ya’ll hear these next
projects.”
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