Skeez, more commonly known as James Scott IV, is an artist hailing from San Diego, California. The Un-Associated Projects Team took the time to dig deeper into the life of Scott, in an effort to trace back the origins of hip hop’s newest underground rapper. He has a personality as big as his hair, which makes him a unique person to listen too and look at. His music can be summed up as intimate, poetic, and reflective. The style of music he is most comfortable in is Hip-Hop/ R&B; the sound that comes from his work is genuine and authentic – which happens to all be reasons as to why James Scott or Skeez has acquired Un-Associated’s first endorsement deal.
He is a product of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, being born in October 1998. His parents made it a habit of practicing healthier consumption, this was reflected in his appetite for food and music, but also in his temperament. Early on, his ability to articulate himself was uncommon amongst his peers. The language and phrases he used would make conversations interesting and enjoyable for the adults he spoke with. By the time he made it to grade school, he was more than a familiar face and voice in the Southeast San Diego (aka Daygo) community.
His love for music was apparent as a child; freestyling with his dad may have cultivated his future inclination towards rap music, as he was already an impressingly expressive toddler/preschooler. Scott expressed his desire to be a DJ early on in his life, but then decided he would become a professional B-Boy. Growing up, Scott watched movies like Beat Street, The Last Dragon, and The Wiz with his cousins, turning flips, dancing, and singing along. It was normal to catch him in a full fledged dance battle at school. In the second grade, he wrote poems in a notepad his teacher had purchased for him, so he could get the music out of his head before class. That same year, Scott would go on to write a drug prevention rap for the school, performed by his friend over the intercom, months later he wrote a poem that was published in The Young Americans Anthology of Poetry. Before turning 10 years old, he had two published poems in Adolescent Poetry books. Vivid memories of his mother teaching nursery rhymes in his kindergarten class turned into interpretation assignments of poems pulled from Collegiate level Poetry books in a matter of three years. It’s safe to say that the roots of Scott’s fascination with rap were evident long before he even knew it.
Later in Scott’s life it would be athletic pursuits that kept him busy, however, he still continued to dance with music for the rest of elementary school. It was in middle school when the resurgence of his musical aspirations appeared when he and a relative began to make silly songs on his cousins laptop. Still heavily engaged in sports, his free time was consumed, but it was hard life experiences, James tells us, that drove him to begin writing verses again. His freshman year in high school, a friend of his would campaign for him to begin recording the verses he brought to school. He had it in his mind to one day build a studio and record music. Junior year he had an old laptop passed down to him, and was gifted a USB microphone. Shortly after receiving this gift, Scott would spend late nights putting his thoughts and ideas over beats. He won the attention and respect of his friend group, surprising them with his talent. With his entrepreneurial mindset, he developed his first logo and brand with the purpose of enlightening others. He encouraged his friends to record music also, and take it seriously, as he believed each of them had a story to tell coming from Southeast San Diego; James has always believed that music could change lives.
Since then his brand has expanded and they have all made music about their experiences and shared their perspectives with their community. They have also participated in a number of community affairs and work, developing revolutionary concepts, projects, and events. The majority of his organization have slowed down releases and taken the time to learn the technology and their crafts; they are now preparing to release for profit music and refine old gems that had been previously released. James Scott, or Skeez, is an artist to keep a watchful eye on, as he is special, captaining his entire camp as a well rounded force ready to leave their mark on urban culture.
It is with pleasure, that Un-Associated welcomes James Scott – AKA Skeez, as our first endorsed musical artist.
