Interview: Skeme – (11/03/10)

While out in New York City for this year’s CMJ festivities, Inglewood’s Skeme released his well-received Pistols and Palm Trees mixtape.

The project features beats from producers such as Boi-1da, Chris King, and Roosevelt, as well as a few verses from fellow emerging emcees such as Kendrick Lamar, Dom Kennedy, and Tyga. Skeme decided to keep the features West Coast in an effort to help showcase Los Angeles’ budding talent.

HipHopAtLunch met up with Skeme to discuss the mixtape artwork for Pistols And Palm Trees, his favorite track off of the project, working with Alley Boy, and the upcoming mixtape, Overtime.

If you’re interested in hearing the track that Skeme made with Alley Boy, here’s “Riding Out,” produced by DJ Burn One.

It was interesting to hear the story behind Pistols And Palm Trees‘ artwork and how Weshootpeople put it together.  Sounds like it was a real cross city adventure, ha!  Below is one of Skeme’s favorite tracks off of the project, “Chuck Taylors.”

Skeme – “Chuck Taylors”

“Don’t ask me where I’ve been, I’ve been gettin paper,
And done it all in a fresh pair of Chuck Taylors.”

Boi-1da definitely gave this track a light-weight, smooth feel with the production.  As mentioned in our interview, Skeme obtained that “West Coast Feel” with this one.

Skeme – “Don’t Lose Focus”

“In it to win it like Bennett bitch,
Fuck hoe niggas, no time for censorship,
If I feel the need to say it, then it’s said,
I live to see these lame niggas dead,
Get bread.”

“Don’t Lose Focus” is the first track off of the project to receive the visual treatment, and arguably the smoothest cut on the mixtape.  I’d like to hear Skeme’s raspy voice go in over a few more samples like this!  Keep an eye out for the emerging artist’s Overtime mixtape, where he’ll be showing how he would’ve went in on other people’s tracks.