If you’re not into the modern rap game, the name Ski Mask The Slump God could make you wonder if it was a phrase or a kind of slang. For rap aficionados, it’s a name that’s fast becoming a rap brand in Florida. As one of the city’s rising stars, it’s safe to say that Ski belongs to the new generation of rappers who have become celebrities thanks to the Internet.
In 2015, his career began with huge success on SoundCloud, starting with his first solo single, Catch Me Outside. Since then, his SoundCloud site has collected millions of tracks and currently has up to four million weekly streams on SoundCloud and the same numbers on Spotify.
Ski Mask Music Career Trajectory
He was born on April 18, 1996, in Stokeley Clevon Goulbourne and grew up in Florida, but had a childhood where he traveled extensively in Brooklyn, Atlanta, and New Jersey. His earliest musical influences were Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne, NellyMissy Elliott, and the Wu-Tang Clan.
Ski’s life turned entirely to music when he became friends with his colleague XXXTenacion from Florida, who, like himself, was put in juvenile detention in 2014. They made a connection through rap and formed a relationship that will last until the end of XXXTenacion. After his release Ski Mask, The Slump God formed the rap group “Very rare” and released his first song on SoundCloud. Together with XXXTenacion, he founded the “Member Only” collective. They continued working on 3 EPs: Members Only Vol. 1, Members Only Vol. 2, and Members-Only Vol. 3.
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His first mixtape drown-in designer was released in 2016 on SoundCloud, where XXXTenacion can be heard with hits like Where’s the Blow! and Take a Step Back. The rapper returned in 2017 with his second mixtape You Will Regret, and during the time he dropped the two mixtapes, the rapper released two EPs entitled Very Rare Lost Files and Slaps for My Drop-top Mini-van.
Musical Style
He is known for his fast, playful rap style. Ski did not make it into the XXL 2017 Freshman Class, although he made a video pitch for it. His prolific work, collaborations with major artists, and unique personality are signs that Ski The Slump God has become a household name. He introduced Missy Elliot on his single Catch Me Outside, which had a flip of the rap queen’s She’s a Bitch beat. Elliot was a big compliment to his talent, which means a lot since it comes from a childhood idol of Ski.
In mid-2018, Ski dropped his third mixtape since he entered professional sports, it was entitled Beware of Eli’s book. So far he had only released one mixtape, and finally, in November 2018, he released his first studio album, entitled Stokeley. This impressive work already had titles like “Nuketown” with Juice WRLD, “Faucet Failure”. Stokeley climbed to number 6 on the Billboard 200 charts.
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Ski Mask Controversies
Like many rappers of his age, Ski is never far from controversy. He was arrested in 2014 for possession of marijuana. He was sent to a juvenile detention center as he was then considered a minor. Two years later he was arrested on multiple suspicions of driving without a license and robbery. He was subsequently released on bail.
After an ongoing feud between ski and San Diego rapper Rob Stone, Ski Mask was thrown off the stage and handled by Stone’s loyal thugs in retaliation for his refusal to leave the stage during Stone’s opening performance.
At a concert in Texas in 2018, Ski Mask challenged his fans to beat up someone in the crowd who shouted “Fuck X, that woman beating piece of shit!” when he asked for a minute’s silence in honor of his friend and fellow rapper XXXTentacion.
Ski got into even more controversy when he announced on his social media sites that he would release a song called Coolest Monkey In The Jungle as an obvious reaction to the upheaval over H&M’s supposedly racist advertising. The company had come under fire because of his ad in which a young black boy models a hooded sweatshirt with the words “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle”. Ski was criticized for this move, as many thought he just wanted to make money with the whole debacle. The argument was that his decision to make a song with this title would further increase racial tensions.