Interview: Sk!nt

Off his own back, Sk!nt - formerly known as Skintman - put Sheffield on the map after emerging on the scene in 2020, with an acclaimed debut project; Fly Spray. Although Covid-19 struck and forced the world into lockdown, Sk!nt continued sowing musical seeds which this year has propelled his renown. Becoming spotted by West London, Shadow Player Records founder Formz, Sk!nt began working closely with Shadow Player to create his official debut album. In the meantime, he recently released a Shadow Player project called Look North with his Sheffield affiliate, Cagey. As well as this, Sk!nt also became involved with an exciting collective called Slum Government, who turned up for a lively set in Exeter’s One67 graffiti store, receiving praise for their energetic performance despite it being the first time the collective performed together live. Having just dropped a new project alongside Jack Danz, Delirium, Sk!nt spoke to reveal exclusive insights into each of these highlights and more concerning what he has in store.

Berlin, 2020.

The last time Sk!nt spoke with Wordplay was in February, 2020. Sk!nt had just returned from Berlin, following a holiday with his Bluga collective. Once back in Sheffield, Sk!nt began finalising the creation of Fly Spray. Featuring 14 tracks, the project received a modest reception upon its release in May 2020, receiving support from UK rap dons Sniff, M.O.N.G.O and Datkid amongst others. “To be fair, I wasn't expecting many people to listen to that G,” confided Sk!nt. “It was my first project, but yeah, people are still banging it now, from what I gather.” A full length release, the album clocked a lot of streams however Sk!nt did notice people tailing off towards the end. “That is what I expected,” admitted Sk!nt. “The way I laid the tracks out, I might do that differently next time - I think dropping something with that many tracks might have been a mistake, to be honest.” Nonetheless, the project was a statement of intent from Sk!nt, bursting onto the scene and receiving props throughout the UK. Particularly in his own city, Sheffield. “There is not a majorly big hip-hop scene here, but it's definitely happening,” said Sk!nt. “I know a lot of people in Sheffield so I know my reception was good for that… To be honest, Fly Spray for me is in the past now. I still see people putting on their stories and shit which is always sick - it is always good to know people are enjoying your music.”

Slum Government: Wyatt Earp, Teno, Mal, Sk!nt [L-R]

Around the release of Fly Spray, Covid-19 struck the world and artists were forced into lockdown, which made collaborations difficult. However as Sk!nt is also a capable producer, the lockdown didn’t prevent him from focussing on music nonetheless. “I didn't really stop you know,” shrugged Sk!nt. “Nothing changed for me really apart from the fact it was harder to go and have jokes and that.” When the lockdown eased temporarily in the Summer, Sk!nt was able to link for the first time with Slum Government, consisting of four members based in separate corners of the UK; Sk!nt - Sheffield, Mal - Liverpool, Teno - Shropshire and Wyatt Earp - Plymouth. “It’s Wyatt’s collective, he started it and them man shouted me after to be a part of it,” said Skint. “Trust man, them guys are fucking family now G, that shit is going to turn into something nice I think, I am enjoying making music with them.”

The festival season brings opportunity for up-and-coming artists to receive live performances, prior to lockdown Slum Government were in talks about festival slots. “We're coming for festival play G,” stated Sk!nt. “We want to shut down some stages.” Although Slum Government did have promoters offering them shows, as they weren’t set in stone Sk!nt declined to state which, but ensured that they were certainly coming. “Slum Government, we are coming for heads,” added Sk!nt. “When the festivals are booming again, that is when you are going to start seeing us about.” Other than that, Sk!nt didn’t have many more notable highlights concerning music in 2020. “I've just been kind of on a casual one,” explained Sk!nt. “I got a job and shit so my life kind of went on a bit of a boring one to be honest, G. But I am not stressing about it, I am just making my money then I am going to be making my music through that, know what I mean?”

In 2021, Sk!nt began working on fresh music with Leeds rap icon, Jack Danz. After meeting a few years ago, Danz has regularly assisted Sk!nt with production - specifically on his debut Fly Spray project. Around April this year, Sk!nt linked Danz at his studio in Leeds to record a new project, Delirium, over the course of two days. Featuring six singles, Delirium was released independently on May 30th. “We kicked the tracks out, kicked the beats out - it was a good process,” began Sk!nt, recalling the creation process. “The theme is kind of running off the vocal sample that we put in there - I am not giving too much away because you have to go listen to that yourself. The name of the project is Delirium isn't it? That is pretty much self-explanatory to what the music is like.”

Currently one single from Delirium has been gifted a visual, Now Til Then, which received a good reception. Although Sk!nt doesn’t plan of dropping more videos from the project, he has many ideas in the pipeline. “I am definitely not taking the same approach as when you spoke to me the first time,” confirmed Sk!nt. “I am still interested in doing my own videos, but I want to get the best product, so I am going to have to start shouting other people supporting my stuff.” Progression is undeniably important, fans want to see an artist’s growth in contrast to watching them remain at the same level and become stale. “That's it, bruv,” nodded Sk!nt. “We are living in an age where videos are the most important thing, more time people hardly listen to lyrics init.” Lyricism and videos aside, production is another important component of creating captivating music. Although Sk!nt is a capable producer himself, he has multiple veterans assisting him with his releases as well. “Producers are the most underrated people in the whole scene man - shout out all my producers, G,” continued Sk!nt. “I can make beats and shit, but I can't make that crisp sound so I have my guys that can do that for me. Big ups to Formz, HushOne, even man like DeadBeat with his mastering skills, he kills the shit man.”

It was because of Formz that Sk!nt first hit Wordplay’s radar, as Formz stated in his 2020 in depth interview: “There's another guy I'm looking to sign from Sheffield called Skintman.” The pair met each other at a show in Leeds, where both artists were booked to perform. “I think I was talking to him in Leeds at a show hosted by Musicology, Blakey,” recalled Sk!nt. Impressed by Sk!nt, Formz asked him whether he would be interested in releasing a project on his own label, Shadow Player Records. Also, a rapper called Sniff played a key part as he knew Sk!nt well from his time in Sheffield, before moving to London to work with Formz more prominently, recommending Sk!nt to Formz in the process. “The Shadow Player thing is still in motion,” confirmed Sk!nt. “Me and Formz are taking it slow with that one, what I am aiming for is for that to be my first proper release - that one is going to bang.”

Slum Government set begins @ 1:36:00

After lockdown was lifted in 2021, Sk!nt was invited along with his Slum Government collective to perform live for an Exeter based graffiti shop called One67 hosted by Incognito Grinders. A spontaneous set, Slum Government didn’t have a many official tracks to drop but still killed it off with a dynamic performance. It was also the first time the group performed together live, however you wouldn’t have thought this from the chemistry displayed between them. “Shout out to Split Prophets and shit, they absolutely killed that one as well,” added Sk!nt. “That set was a taster of what Slum Government is coming with. We don't necessarily have a big arsenal of music yet, but there is a lot of music that's going to come out from Slum Government - that is going to be my main avenue which I'm probably going to focus on after dropping Delirium with Danz.” Despite being pressed for details, Sk!nt refused to reveal too much regarding Slum Government just yet. “Obviously there are four of us, we have all got ideas of what we want to be doing,” explained Sk!nt. “So obviously, I am not going to be the spokesperson for the group. When I have got something to tell you bruv, don't worry, you will know about that.”

Anyone waiting for more Slum Government news may have to hold out short a while longer, however in the meantime Sk!nt has plenty more music in store. He recently made a project with his Sheffield bredren HushOne, a hyperactive project with seven hard-hitting tracks called ‘A Fist Full Of Lizzies’ - “It is all Hush on the beats,” began Sk!nt. “Then I just kind of come with... I don't know, you would have to hear it to know what I am saying bro. It is not my normal vibe basically, but I am going to drop that at some point in the next few months.” Another rising Sheffield artist is Cagey, who has featured on Sk!nt’s past projects. “He has got music coming out.” added Sk!nt. “He is in that Look North project that I dropped, I forgot to even mention that Look North project to be honest - just put a link to that in the interview, init.” Our final question for Sk!nt was if there were any other up and coming artists he was watching, that we should look out for. “Leon Bailey,” replied Sk!nt, readily. “That's his rapper name as well, he's from Sheffield too but he has just gone to Manchester university - he is on his way to being a sick rapper, bro.”

Sk!nt, thank you for your time.
Words by Evo