Skilla Baby Talks Debut Album The Price of Fame And Tour

How did your early tours as a support act to artists like Travis Scott and Offset shape your performances as a headliner today, and what do you hope to bring to the audience each time you perform?

The earlier tours that I supported taught me professionalism, energy, to be intentional, to be on time, the business, and to curate merch. I learned so many things, different styles of performances. Audience interaction, performance tracks without the audio. So many things I took from other people that I need to go into this tour and headline for myself. It's unlimited; I could talk all day about it. I pay attention to details; I'm a people watcher and a learner. Every experience that I've had, I have learned something from it. Music and entertainment isn't just money to me. I want to be an icon, a legend; I want to do all that. Going to this tour, I want to take stuff that I just got from watching Chris Brown perform. All his intentional details, where he's at on stage, breath control, his performances, and what he's wearing. Everything goes into making this a fun experience for the audience which is the most important, is entertaining the people that paid to see you. Even with my project, I want people, when they go to this tour, to experience this whole experience. I don't want people to just watch me with a mic on stage. I want them to live it, feel it, laugh, cry, have fun and feel all the emotions when they come to this tour.

You've put out a lot of music leading up to this being your debut studio album. What feels different about Skilla Baby now compared to the artist who was making those earlier projects?

My faith has grown, I've matured, I've experienced more, I've met new people and I have respect for different cultures and religions. That's why I love New York; it's a melting pot. Having respect for different cultures, you learn and take stuff in, and you grow as a person. That's the difference between me then and me now.

This project features a star-studded lineup of Nas, Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown, and Erica Campbell. What was the vision behind this guest list, and how did it shape creative energy in the studio?

That was the most beautiful experience ever. We shaped the studio for whatever we were doing that day, even if it's not with the features. When Erica Campbell came, it was like everyone leave; we’re not going to have liquor or anything that goes against what she believes in. We're going to bring the choir and make this the most comfortable creative space for her. With Nas, I flew to New York and met him and chilled, and he told me stories before we even worked. I got the whole experience. Even with Erica Campbell, I went to her church and saw her in her element and her creative space. All that I got to really create with these people in real time and real life before we started creating. That was the most beautiful thing about it; it wasn't forced. There was a real connection there.

If you could play one song from this album to the version of you who were right in the middle of living through these themes, which song would it be and why?

It depends on which version of myself I'm talking to. If I was talking to the version of myself from 3 or 4 years ago, I'd play “Strength in Numbers”. If it was me in the accident, I would play “No Tears.” There was a point where I was feeling myself and getting into it with my mama; I'd play “Dear Mama.” If I was younger, I'd play “Product of my Environment.” I think that this is the first project that I put out that I gave all of me. So many versions of me that people didn't know were versions of me. So it just depends on which version I'm talking to and what point I'm at in my life. Younger me, older me, me in my fame journey, I'd play “He Never Left” because that's how I really felt. I was at a point, I thought about everything I lost, all the people that gave up on me. I was like, man, the person that never left me was God. I'm not comparing myself to God, but I don't leave people; I'm so loyal. No matter what you go through, I'll never leave, and the only person I know that is like that is God. He is so consistent in my life. That is why I never ask him why. I know everything he does is intentional; he doesn't make mistakes. It depends on which version I'm talking to. There are so many songs I could show myself.

You named the album The Price of Fame. What’s something success has cost you that you didn’t expect when you were coming up?

I think my privacy; it cost me a lot of stuff I didn't expect. Every day since I was a kid, my dad put this in me: that I've been working towards my 18th and 21st birthday or a time where my dad wouldn't be here, which he isn't. I'm glad I did it; I think he knew that. He was older, and I think he was preparing me for today. To go through things, the ups and downs of life. How to be sad, deal with depression, and cope with mental health problems. Fame just cost me that privacy that other people naturally have because they don't have that many eyes on them. In my childhood, I didn't get to hang out with friends. I was in the gym or studio. The little things that people don't think of is what really matters.