Mark Braboy
News Editor
Rapper and producer Daryl Williams II, better known as King Skrilla, is set to release his free album in April and will perform at the “Can I Live” rally on March 26. Skrilla advises fans at Jackson State University to “Stay Tuned for Greatness.”
Since the last time the East St. Louis, Ill. native was profiled in The Flash, he has been performing in many different venues across the city and in his hometown. Releasing more music than ever before, Skrilla is still walking the fine line between being a college student and being a full time rap artist.
“[Being a college student while pursuing rap], it’s actually not that hard because I’ve done that my whole life so to speak, like I’ve been in school my whole life. So I always found time to write or make music and I’ve always found time to do that. Now the hard part, the difficult part comes in when the business side of the rap comes to play. I have to do promotional things at times like selling t-shirts and performing a lot, which I love very dearly. Just orchestrating everything because I’m an independent artist, so it gets a little hectic at times,” said Skrilla.
His latest music, “One One 14”, a cover over Fabolous’ “Breath” and “L.O.S.T.”, an upcoming lead single from the album “Stay Tuned for Greatness” still maintains the images of what he has seen and experienced. The album details the harsh environment the senior English major overcame while sharing his current personal experiences. Some of themes of the album include addressing the social and economical issues of today’s urban youth from all angles and uplifting them without sounding corny. It is something that he practices outside of music with his outreach group, Better Off in College.
According to the Lot 7 Recordings signee, the “Stay Tuned for Greatness” slogan can be seen on t-shirts across campus and
represents how he decided to take his music seriously after noticing signs from different angles of his life. Coming from a city that is not well known for its hip–hop, he immediately understood that he had an uphill road to climb. Skrilla states that his hard fought journey began after realizing that there was greatness awaiting him.
The slogan is also a challenge to people from all walks of life. “It’s also a statement to whomever wants to be great, like you can be great as well, whether you’re rapping, whether you’re in law school, whether you’re an English major at Jackson State University, you can accomplish greatness. It’s a very inspirational album. I talk about real issues and I’m very proud to say that it’s my best project thus far,” said Skrilla.
The artist has also collaborated with many people from Jackson and Jackson State including Rich Kid Allen. He has also performed for local artist Mr. Franklin a.k.a. Kamikaze of Crooked Lettaz.
“My ultimate dream is to make it to a point in my music career where I’m known worldwide. I’m not really to big on fame, but I know in order to accomplish what I want to accomplish, which is to inspire as many people as possible, I’m gonna have to be famous. So that’s my dream and to really set my people up period,” he said.
“Stay Tuned for Greatness” is Skrilla’s fifth project since the release of his EP, “Just Some Good Music” in 2013.
Fans can check him out on lot7recordings.com and soundcloud.com. He can also be found on Twitter @KingSkrilla and Instagram at Skrillatheking.
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