By Tai Saint Louis
Virginia-based rapper Skillz continued his year end tradition with a twist for 2007, releasing a video for his annual "Rap-Up."
The clip, directed by Chris Robinson, features appearances by comedians including D.Ray Davis and Affion Crocket, as well as impersonations of various artists who made the news in 2007, including rapper-turned-singer T-Pain and Bobby Brown.
Also included in the video are clips of various news events from 2007, ranging from Paris Hilton’s teary ride back to jail to Cam’Ron’s appearance on 60 Minutes.
"It’s become a tradition now," Skillz told AllHipHop.com. "Like, if I don’t do it, people gon’ be like, "Why he ain’t do a rap-up. If I do it, every year I’m gon’ try to do it bigger and better. So this year, I hooked up with Chris Robinson [and] Robot Films. We made a crazy video."
While the "2007 Rap-Up" debuted on various websites on Dec. 27, the video launched yesterday (January 1) on Robot Films’ new internet video network Fresh (www.soveryfresh.com).
The director’s cut of the video will be available on Fresh until January 28. Speaking exclusively to AllHipHop.com while in the studio putting the finishing touches on his upcoming album Million Dollar Backpack, Skillz also made some predictions about the state of Hip-Hop in 2008.
"This year, I think the public’s gonna really get a chance to see who does music because they love the music," he said. "Cuz Imma keep it all the way funky: ain’t nobody eating like they was five years ago. So we about to clear all them people out that’s just f***ing with music or with Hip-Hop for the money."
While putting the finishing touches on his upcoming album Million Dollar Backpack, Skillz can be heard each Friday on E!’s Daily Ten, where he provides a weekly rap-up similar to the yearly version he’s provided for Hip-Hop for the past five years.
The rapper, whose real name is Shaquan Lewis, is also scheduled to appear in Japan with The Roots later this month.