Skee-Lo

Skee-Lo is the alias of American rapper Antoine Roundtree (born on March 27, 1975), who had a short-lived brush with fame in the 90s with his family-friendly brand of G-funk. A devoted member of the Nation of Islam, Roundtree is known for not using profanity or swear words in his lyrics, unlike many gangsta rap acts of that era. Hailing from Los Angeles, California, Roundtree started rapping around 1983 but it wouldn’t be until 1993 that he started working on his studio debut. I Wish (1995) became an instant hit, with the title track peaking at Number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and an accompanying video that won multiple MTV VMA Awards. The album eventually achieved gold status after selling 500,000 copies and earned the MC a Grammy nomination in the Best Rap Album category. Despite his rapidly-growing popularity, Roundtree prematurely retired from his music career after a legal dispute with Sunshine Records. From then on, his appearances were few and far between: following a brief stint as VJ in MTV’s The Beach House and The Grind, he co-wrote the song “I’ll Be Your Everything,” which was included in 1999’s Inspector Gadget soundtrack. Roundtree finally followed-up with I Can’t Stop (2001), an album that went largely unnoticed by critics and audiences alike. In subsequent years, he released the EP Overdose (2010) and Fresh Ideas (2013), both of which failed to achieve the success of the rapper’s heyday.