Skeme

Lonnie Kimble (born January 3, 1989) is an American rapper, better known by his stage name Skeme. He is from Inglewood, California and has collaborated with various West Coast rappers such as the Black Hippy members, Bizzy Bone, The Game, Dom Kennedy, Nipsey Hussle, E-40, Casey Veggies and Problem among others. On October 16, 2012, Skeme released his debut studio album Alive & Living under RBC Records. His second studio album Ingleworld was released on December 17, 2013, by MADE Headlines. In July 2014, The Game announced that he had signed Skeme to Blood Money Entertainment.

Early life

Skeme was born Lonnie Kimble on January 3, 1990.^[2] His parent split when he was two years old and his father was in the military.^[3] As a result he moved in with his grandmother in Inglewood, California.^[4] Once his father came into picture at age 10, he started listening to hip hop and memorizing his favorite songs. His dad originally gave him the idea to come up with his own material and start rapping.^[4]

Kimble acquired his name Skeme at 13, when a friend noticed his craftiness at generating money. He said most of these money making strategies, were of the illegal nature, but they allowed him to purchase a BMW 525I while he was in the twelfth grade at Gardena's Junipero Serra High School.^[2] He grew up affiliated with the Piru Blood gang and was a gangbanger throughout his high school years.^[3][5]

Musical career

2007–2010: Early mixtapes and Pistols and Palm Trees

Skeme first began rapping around age 12 and began writing around age 15. He recorded his first song at a studio in Long Beach, California, at age 16.^[3] When he first began taking rapping seriously at age 17,^[6] he was graduating high school. He shortly after met Dolla, whom he began hanging out and frequently working with. He credits Dolla for significantly influencing him.^[4] He has said, "Dolla kind of molded me when I was young. He shaped me into being somebody and trying to tell me what could happen if you took this shit seriously."^[7] In 2007 he released Skeme Of Things, which was then followed by Skeme Of Things 2 in June 2009.^[8][9] On February 17, 2010, Skeme released his third official mixtape, All Rap'd Up, hosted by DJ Ill Will.^[8][10] During those early years, he forged friendships with Los Angeles-area rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, Nipsey Hussle and Dom Kennedy. On October 19, 2010, Skeme released his fourth official mixtape Pistols and Palm Trees. He recorded the entire mixtape at Top Dawg Entertainment's studio in Carson, California.^[4][11] It featured collaborations with Tyga, Ty Dolla Sign, Dom Kennedy and Kendrick Lamar.^[1] On the strength of that mixtape, Skeme begun building his buzz.^[12]

2011–2013: The Statement and Alive & Living

On May 19, 2011, Skeme released his fifth mixtape The Statement.^[13] It featured collaborations with Casey Veggies and Dom Kennedy, with production by Boi-1da, Bink! and The Futuristiks, among others.^[14][15] Later that year, on November 29, Skeme released his sixth mixtape Before My Next Statement.^[16] With basketball player Baron Davis, Skeme started a Los Angeles-based entertainment management company named L.A. UNFD. Then he signed a one-album deal with RBC Records to release his debut studio album.^[3] On October 10, 2012, Skeme revealed that track listing for his debut album, titled Alive & Living. The album contained guest appearances by Iggy Azalea, Schoolboy Q, Kendrick Lamar, Dom Kennedy and Problem. The album's production was handled by Boi-1da, The Futuristiks, DJ Mustard, THC, and DJ Dahi.^[17] The album was then released digitally on October 16, 2012. It was supported by the singles "Ain't Bout Dat Life" and "Kidz With Gunz", the latter which featured Schoolboy Q.^[18]

In April 2013, Skeme told Bruce Smith of HipHopDX that he was in heavy talks with Top Dawg Entertainment about signing to their record label.^[19] He commented on it saying, ""It's yet to be seen where exactly I’m gonna go. I'm just trying to make the right move. The next move has to be the best one. [...] With that being said, I am very close to TDE, them is the homies, and we are in heavy talks. It could be something."^[20] He later stated that he chose not to sign to TDE so he did not get lost in the mix, wanting instead to remain independent and build his brand more.^[21][22] Skeme also revealed that he had been in talks with Def Jam Recordings, Universal and Roc Nation about record deals during 2013. However, he stated that he was in no rush to sign to a major record label.^[2] He was featured on an October 2013 commercial for Colt 45 along with Snoop Dogg, YG, Snow Tha Product, and Lil Debbie.^[23]

2013-present: Ingleworld

On September 27, 2013, Skeme released his seventh mixtape Bare With Me. It featured guest appearances by The Game, Nipsey Hussle, Problem and TeeFlii.^[24] It was met with a positive review by HipHopDX.^[25] Bare With Me consisted of left over songs from Ingleworld, that either did not fit the theme of the album, or had sample clearance issues.^[4] Following its release, Skeme appeared on E-40's "Turn Up or Burn Up" from The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 6 and on The Game's "Welcome to California" from OKE.^[4] Skeme toured in promotion of his second studio album, in the United States, along with internationally in countries such as the United Kingdom and Sweden.^[2]

On November 15, 2013, Skeme released the music video for "Millions" from Ingleworld.^[26] On November 26, 2013, Skeme revealed the cover artwork and the track listing for his second studio album Ingleworld. The track listing revealed that it would contain 15 songs, including guest appearances from Wale, Nipsey Hussle, Iggy Azalea and Dom Kennedy, with production handled by Boi-1da, Wizzo and Sean Momberger, among others. He explained that the album had a serious tone, which is why he choose to release it at the end of the calendar year.^[27] The album's lead single "Different" was released on December 4, 2013.^[28][29]

As promised, Ingleworld was released digitally by MADE Headlines on December 17, 2013.^[22] The next day, Vice premiered the music video for the Wale collaboration "Ain't Perfect".^[3] The album was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Bruce Smith of HipHopDX said, "On Ingleworld, Skeme combines an array of styles and cadences and an unheralded but highly skilled production team to craft an album with charm and depth."^[30] Olivia Arezes of Exclaim! gave it a six out of ten saying, "Ingleworld is a valiant effort from Skeme but mediocre overall. Still, with some growth and improvement, Skeme could easily become a leader of the new West Coast sound."^[31] Following the release of the album, MTV called him one of "hip-hop's top prospects for 2014."^[22]

Starting January 23, 2014, Skeme begun touring with Dom Kennedy on the Get Home Safely tour, in promotion of Kennedy's album Get Home Safely that Skeme also made an appearance on. The tour ran through February 27, 2014.^[32] Skeme was nominated for the 2014 XXL freshman class, however he was not selected.^[33] His first project of 2014 will be Play Dirty, Stay Dirty, a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with DJ Drama. It is set to be released in the near future.^[34][35] On June 2, 2014, Skeme revealed that T.I., The Game, and Eric Bellinger would make appearances on the mixtape, while he was waiting on Kendrick Lamar and Young Thug to submit verses for Play Dirty, Stay Dirty.^[36] The following month, The Game revealed that he had signed Skeme to his new record label Blood Money Entertainment. Skeme will be featured on the label compilation Year of the Wolf, which will be released on September 16, 2014.^[37]

Personal life

Skeme's great-uncle is the late blues legend Howlin' Wolf.^[2] Skeme's first son Khalil Amari Kimble was born during October 2013.^[3]

Musical style

Brooklyne Gipson of Complex said that Skeme is a "testament to diversity in L.A.'s sound. With his raspy voice, marked by a slight southern drawl hidden under a distinctly West Coast dialect." She then stated that his raps have the "passion of 2Pac and the wit of Lil Wayne" also complimenting his production choices.^[38]

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

• 2007: Skeme Of Things
• 2009: Skeme Of Things 2
• 2010: All Rap'd Up
• 2010: Pistols and Palm Trees
• 2011: The Statement^[15]
• 2011: Before My Next Statement
• 2013: Bare With Me^[39]
• 2014: Play Dirty, Stay Dirty (TBD/Not Released)

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

References

External links

• Official website
• Skeme on Twitter