Skitched Out

Skitched Out THE UNIQUE CREATIVITY BORN FROM ONE OF HIP-HOP’S OLDEST TRADITIONS BY MATTHEW HARRISON

“K where my motherfuckin’ dominoes at?” This now-iconic line from Kendrick Lamar’s father ends the first track from his 2012 smash hit album Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, an album peppered with rap skits ranging from the humorous bantering between Kendrick’s parents on “Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter” to the heart-wrenching shootout and subsequent killing of Dave, one of Kendrick’s friends, on “Swimming Pools (Drank).” Skits are a theatrical form of expression unique to hip-hop, a method for rappers to create comedic or dramatic moments that elevate the album from a loose collection of singles into a work of art. To many modern listeners, this practice may seem bizarre. However, the creative expression permitted by rap skits throughout the last few decades has been a crucial component of hiphop’s legacy.

Skits are different from sampled dialogue. Sampling, a widely-used technique in hip-hop, is when parts of recorded audio, such as a phone call or a line from a movie, are lifted and inserted into a song. A skit, on the other hand, is a spoken interlude recorded specifically for the album. This practice dates back to the 1989 De La Soul album 3 Feet High And Rising. It was subsequently adopted in the hip-hop mainstream, where it flourished for a decade or two before fading out of popularity.

Not all skits are meant to be funny, but a significant portion of them are - or at least, they try to be. This makes sense - hip-hop is a genre that has always been tied to comedy, with rappers setting up and delivering punchlines in much the same way stand-up comedians do. Putting the beat on hold and letting the punchlines speak for themselves in the form of a skit is a logical step for rappers to take. And, in a genre that prizes authenticity, a rapper’s humor is a way to define themselves further. Who else but Kanye would write the line “Have you ever had sex with a pharoah? Ahh I put the pussy in a sarcophagus.” The skits Kanye features on his albums, like “Lil Jimmy Skit” from College Dropout or the Chris Rock interlude on “Blame Game” also bear the fingerprints of his iconic offbeat-humor . Writing and performing skits is another way for a rapper like Kanye to make a project distinct from the creations of his peers.

in a genre that prizes authenticity, a rapper’s humor is a way to define themselves further

Some rappers use skits to heighten the message of their music, taking advantage of the skit’s freeform style to speak directly to a listener without regard for rhyme or flow. Take, for example, Gang Starr’s

“Robbin Hood Theory,” where, as part of a staged conversation with rapper Guru, Elijah Shabazz says:

“And no matter what we say our religion is, Whether it’s Islam, Christianity, Juddaism, Buddha-ism, Old School-ism or New School-ism, If we’re not schooling the youth

WITH wisdom, Then the sins of the father will visit the children.

And that’s not keepin it real… That’s keeping it -*WRONG*

This pre-song skit functions as a thesis statement for the dense lyricism to follow, where Guru delivers a veritable sermon on the importance of taking care of one’s community. Sure, the message of the song would remain the same without the skit, but having this attention-grabbing poetic appetizer prompts the listener to consider Guru’s ideas before he even starts rapping. By introducing a song in such a unique and ear-catching way, every line of the song makes an impact as it ties back to the central theme of giving back.

While Gang Starr uses a skit to set up the central theme for his song, André 3000 takes that a step further with “God (Interlude),” from his 2003 project The Love Below. This skit, approximately two and a half minutes in length, features an earnest radio call from André to God, where he asks Her for help finding a romantic partner. He speaks about his own flaws and desires, and while we never hear the voice of God on the other side, André reveals through his words that She has been receptive to his pleas. From here, the album goes on to paint the picture of a relationship and all its highs and lows, while maintaining the earnest romanticism and humor established with “God (Interlude).” This skit establishes the tone of the album and kickstarts the storyline of André’s desperate search for true love.

This style of using skits to enhance the story of an album is perhaps perfected by Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. The skits on this album serve as segues between lyrical ideas, beautifully bridging the topics of two consecutive songs. Take, for example, “The Art of Peer Pressure,” a song about being a teenager cruising the streets of Compton and being influenced by friends, smoking weed, drinking, and even breaking into and stealing from someone’s house. The last line in the outro skit about “trying to be the man in these streets” is: “Matter of fact, ni**a, get in the mothafuckin’ car! We finna get active!” The album then transitions into “Money Trees,” a song about hustling and trying to make money. With this pairing, Kendrick shows how he and his friends’ illicit actions have been motivated by their being broke and trying to find a come-up. Or take the outro skit from “m.A.A.d. City,” a song about the hardships of growing up and living in a city like Compton: “Hey, Dot, you good, my ni**a? Don’t even trip. Just lay back and drink that.” This skit is immediately followed by “Swimming Pools (Drank),” a song about alcoholism. By gluing these two songs together with this skit, Kendrick shows the connection between the two—how growing up in an environment like he did can easily lead to alcoholism. Kendrick uses skits throughout this album to connect the narrative from song to song, in effect fortifying its message, deepening as well as polishing the truths they deliver.

Unfortunately, skits have seen a sharp downturn in popularity over the last two decades. This is largely due to the way music is distributed. At hip-hop’s inception, having long track lists on an album was a bonus, since this appeared to give a record more value for the money one would spend on it. Now, with music being made for streaming, having individual songs that pop from an album’s tracklist is more important, as listeners often prefer to listen to singles on a playlist rather than whole albums. Furthermore, hip-hop is much more mainstream now than it was in 1989. When De La Soul introduced the skit they didn’t worry about how their chatter between songs would be received by an audience of radio listeners.

Despite its declining popularity, the rap skit is a unique and important part of hip-hop’s legacy.

Throughout the life of this massive genre of music, skits have been used by all sorts of different artists to different ends. From the light-hearted humor of Kanye or André 3000 to the thought-provoking sermons of Gang Starr’s Guru, the skit has functioned as a unique fingerprint on a project, a thesis statement for a song, and a storytelling device to thread an album together. In short, this practice is emblematic of the boundless creativity and penchant for powerful self-expression embodied by the genre’s greatest stars.

Now, at what may be the end of the rap skit’s multi-dimensional and vibrant life, we can be sure that its impact on the culture of hip-hop will never be forgotten.