Mad Skillz - From Where??? (1996)
Mad Skillz - From Where??? (1996)
EAC Rip | FLAC with CUE and log | scans | 401 mb
MP3 CBR 320kbps | RAR | 167 mb
Genre: hip-hop, rap
EAC Rip | FLAC with CUE and log | scans | 401 mb
MP3 CBR 320kbps | RAR | 167 mb
Genre: hip-hop, rap
From Where??? is the 1996 debut album from Virginia rapper Shaquan Ian Lewis, who was better known as Mad Skillz. The title of the album was often the response when he told people where he was from, as being from Virginia in the mid 1990's was a bit of an oddity. Things have changed a lot since then with people such as Pharrell Williams, Timbaland, and Missy Elliott all calling Virginia home. From Where??? was considered one of the best debut hip-hop albums of its time. Mad Skillz would later shorten his moniker to just Skillz.
When Mad Skillz first came on the scene he stood out for two things: the quality of his punch lines and the fact that he was from Virginia. Thus, the title of his first album From Where!?! referred to his somewhat obscure Hip Hop origins and his penchant for dropping random punch lines. At the time, Skillz was one of a handful of emcees who had managed to work their way up from rhyming in ciphers to actually making records. Do an Amazon.com search for his first album and you’ll find the names of forgotten emcees like Mic Geronimo, The Artifacts, Channel Live, and Kurious, all of whom dropped major label releases around the same time that From Where !?! came out on Atlantic. But thanks to a combination of talent, luck, and a couple of fat checks from the Diddy man, Skillz has managed to endure much longer than most of his punchline-spitting mid-nineties counterparts.
Unfortunately though, his debut album has fallen into hard to find status, which makes sense considering the record label it was recorded for has been bought and sold a good five times in the last ten years, but it’s kind of a shame because this is quality stuff through and through. To say that they don’t make Hip Hop albums like this anymore is kind of beyond the point. The fact is that this entire style of music is basically archaic at this point, though that doesn’t take anything away from the vintage sound that Mad Skillz spits out on From Where!?!.
For the most part, the beats on this album are in a straight ahead mid nineties style. The production isn’t really intended to overshadow the emcee on the mic, which suits Skillz just fine, because to properly appreciate his music, you have to listen for the punchlines anyway. Probably the best example of this formula is on “The Nod Factor.” The beat (provided by the Beatnuts) is just a simple loop set to a bubbly baseline that Mary J. Blige rocked a few years prior, but the punchlines are endless:
Emcees smoke me/ Take a tote/ I’ll fuck your career like the cast on Different Strokes/ No Jokes/ I see hairlines and start aimin mines/ My shit’ll have hard niggas in soul train lines/ Bumpin with some big black broad named Belinda/ Oh, you rap/ Don’t say jack/ just walk quiet like a ninja
Clever wordplay and a liquid flow were Skillz’s trademarks in the mid nineties and records like “The Nod Factor” where great examples of his talent. Another was “Extra Abstract Skillz” with Q-Tip and Large Professor. Over vintage Extra-P production, Skillz, Tip, and Large Pro get busy on some straight lyrical shit. And Skillz definitely holds his own in the presence of QB’s finest. Peep the word play:
Here comes that kid Mad Skillz/ rippin styles to perfection/ Making rappers uncomfortable/ like they had yeast infections/ So now that I’m home/ I’m prone to rip microphones/ got rap sewn/ Stepping on niggas heads/ giving crews down syndrome
Not everything on From Where!?! has aged as well as “The Nod Factor” and “Extra Abstract Skillz” but what remains of the album is high quality Hip Hop that represents well for the bygone era of punch line emceeing. While some of this album might sound dated at this point, the best songs are timeless, if only because people really don’t make music like this anymore.
Mad Skillz - From Where??? (1996)
01. From Where??? (Intro)
02. It's Goin' Down
03. The Nod Factor
04. VA. In The House
05. Tongues Of The Next Shit
06. Doin' Time In The Cypha
07. Tip Of The Tongue
08. Extra Abstract Skillz
09. WMAD (Interlude)
10. Get Your Groove On
11. The Jam
12. Move Ya Body
13. Street Rules
14. All In It
15. Unseen World
16. Inherit The World
–-
SPECIAL GUESTS:
DJ Rock Raider (a/k/a Roc Raida)-scratches (track 2)
Psycho Les-scratches (track 3)
DJ Riz-scratches (track 14 & 16)
Kalonji The Immortal-rap (track 5 & 15)
The Abstract (a/k/a Q-Tip)-rap (track 8)
The Large Professor-rap (track 8)
Lonnie B.-rap (track 15)
Dr. Mindbenda-rap (track 15)
Lil' Roc-rap (track 15)
Javon The Medieval-rap (track 15)
Andrew Smith-keyboard bass (track 7)
Khim Davis-vocals (track 10 & 12)
Tracks 1 & 5 produced by Mad Skillz
Tracks 2 & 11 produced by Jay Dee
Track 3 produced by The Beatnuts
Tracks 4, 6 & 10 produced by Buckwild
Track 7 produced by Nic Wiz
Track 8 produced by The Large Professor
Track 12 produced by DJ Clark Kent
Tracks 13, 14 & 16 produced by Shawn J. Period
Track 15 produced by Ez Elpee
Mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Stound
Mad Skillz - From Where??? (1996)
Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 3 from 28. July 2007
EAC extraction logfile from 21. March 2008, 9:47
Mad Skillz / From Where???
Used drive : LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1633S Adapter: 0 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 12
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Installed external ASPI interface
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.32 | 1:21.28 | 32 | 6134
2 | 1:21.60 | 4:02.57 | 6135 | 24341
3 | 5:24.42 | 3:58.08 | 24342 | 42199
4 | 9:22.50 | 4:33.57 | 42200 | 62731
5 | 13:56.32 | 4:22.55 | 62732 | 82436
6 | 18:19.12 | 4:15.55 | 82437 | 101616
7 | 22:34.67 | 3:51.25 | 101617 | 118966
8 | 26:26.17 | 3:14.53 | 118967 | 133569
9 | 29:40.70 | 1:08.37 | 133570 | 138706
10 | 30:49.32 | 4:42.45 | 138707 | 159901
11 | 35:32.02 | 4:18.30 | 159902 | 179281
12 | 39:50.32 | 3:58.65 | 179282 | 197196
13 | 43:49.22 | 4:28.33 | 197197 | 217329
14 | 48:17.55 | 4:26.30 | 217330 | 237309
15 | 52:44.10 | 4:52.00 | 237310 | 259209
16 | 57:36.10 | 4:21.05 | 259210 | 278789
Track 1
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\01 - From Where (Intro).wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.42
Peak level 57.8 %
Track quality 99.8 %
Test CRC B1381519
Copy CRC B1381519
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [DE52E99D]
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\02 - It's Goin' Down.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 62A4B9CB
Copy CRC 62A4B9CB
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [2E6E80FF]
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\03 - The Nod Factor.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 29BC241C
Copy CRC 29BC241C
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [EA81C0C4]
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\04 - VA. In The House.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4CA55FC6
Copy CRC 4CA55FC6
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [8D7DDF0D]
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\05 - Tongues Of The Next Shit.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 87.1 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 6F5EFA1F
Copy CRC 6F5EFA1F
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [2ECD6F2E]
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\06 - Doin' Time In The Cypha.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 53331A2F
Copy CRC 53331A2F
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [88C7B612]
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\07 - Tip Of The Tongue.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 18BAC903
Copy CRC 18BAC903
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [DFC5E5DA]
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\08 - Extra Abstract Skillz.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D8326B5B
Copy CRC D8326B5B
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [4F40D23F]
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\09 - WMAD (Interlude).wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 38.8 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 92E5AE69
Copy CRC 92E5AE69
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [7A130E53]
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\10 - Get Your Groove On.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.05
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC F800A85F
Copy CRC F800A85F
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [675B8852]
Copy OK
Track 11
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\11 - The Jam.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5F2BBEB9
Copy CRC 5F2BBEB9
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [21ADD47B]
Copy OK
Track 12
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\12 - Move Ya Body.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.65
Peak level 94.2 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 3DE736AB
Copy CRC 3DE736AB
Cannot be verified as accurate (confidence 1) [D8236675], AccurateRip returned [7E60DBCB]
Copy OK
Track 13
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\13 - Street Rules.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.65
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC EEFE98AE
Copy CRC EEFE98AE
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [C161772E]
Copy OK
Track 14
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\14 - All In It.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC B8D050B4
Copy CRC B8D050B4
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [1EC01134]
Copy OK
Track 15
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\15 - Unseen World.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.16
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 2DC5052B
Copy CRC 2DC5052B
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [B31179D7]
Copy OK
Track 16
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\16 - Inherit The World.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 0139D887
Copy CRC 0139D887
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [8BF3212D]
Copy OK
15 track(s) accurately ripped
1 track(s) could not be verified as accurate
Some tracks could not be verified as accurate
No errors occurred
End of status report
EAC extraction logfile from 21. March 2008, 9:47
Mad Skillz / From Where???
Used drive : LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1633S Adapter: 0 ID: 0
Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No
Read offset correction : 12
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Installed external ASPI interface
Gap handling : Appended to previous track
Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo
TOC of the extracted CD
Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.32 | 1:21.28 | 32 | 6134
2 | 1:21.60 | 4:02.57 | 6135 | 24341
3 | 5:24.42 | 3:58.08 | 24342 | 42199
4 | 9:22.50 | 4:33.57 | 42200 | 62731
5 | 13:56.32 | 4:22.55 | 62732 | 82436
6 | 18:19.12 | 4:15.55 | 82437 | 101616
7 | 22:34.67 | 3:51.25 | 101617 | 118966
8 | 26:26.17 | 3:14.53 | 118967 | 133569
9 | 29:40.70 | 1:08.37 | 133570 | 138706
10 | 30:49.32 | 4:42.45 | 138707 | 159901
11 | 35:32.02 | 4:18.30 | 159902 | 179281
12 | 39:50.32 | 3:58.65 | 179282 | 197196
13 | 43:49.22 | 4:28.33 | 197197 | 217329
14 | 48:17.55 | 4:26.30 | 217330 | 237309
15 | 52:44.10 | 4:52.00 | 237310 | 259209
16 | 57:36.10 | 4:21.05 | 259210 | 278789
Track 1
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\01 - From Where (Intro).wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:02.42
Peak level 57.8 %
Track quality 99.8 %
Test CRC B1381519
Copy CRC B1381519
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [DE52E99D]
Copy OK
Track 2
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\02 - It's Goin' Down.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 62A4B9CB
Copy CRC 62A4B9CB
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [2E6E80FF]
Copy OK
Track 3
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\03 - The Nod Factor.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 29BC241C
Copy CRC 29BC241C
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [EA81C0C4]
Copy OK
Track 4
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\04 - VA. In The House.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 4CA55FC6
Copy CRC 4CA55FC6
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [8D7DDF0D]
Copy OK
Track 5
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\05 - Tongues Of The Next Shit.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 87.1 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 6F5EFA1F
Copy CRC 6F5EFA1F
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [2ECD6F2E]
Copy OK
Track 6
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\06 - Doin' Time In The Cypha.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 53331A2F
Copy CRC 53331A2F
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [88C7B612]
Copy OK
Track 7
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\07 - Tip Of The Tongue.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 18BAC903
Copy CRC 18BAC903
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [DFC5E5DA]
Copy OK
Track 8
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\08 - Extra Abstract Skillz.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC D8326B5B
Copy CRC D8326B5B
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [4F40D23F]
Copy OK
Track 9
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\09 - WMAD (Interlude).wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 38.8 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 92E5AE69
Copy CRC 92E5AE69
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [7A130E53]
Copy OK
Track 10
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\10 - Get Your Groove On.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.05
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC F800A85F
Copy CRC F800A85F
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [675B8852]
Copy OK
Track 11
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\11 - The Jam.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5F2BBEB9
Copy CRC 5F2BBEB9
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [21ADD47B]
Copy OK
Track 12
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\12 - Move Ya Body.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.65
Peak level 94.2 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 3DE736AB
Copy CRC 3DE736AB
Cannot be verified as accurate (confidence 1) [D8236675], AccurateRip returned [7E60DBCB]
Copy OK
Track 13
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\13 - Street Rules.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.65
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC EEFE98AE
Copy CRC EEFE98AE
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [C161772E]
Copy OK
Track 14
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\14 - All In It.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC B8D050B4
Copy CRC B8D050B4
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [1EC01134]
Copy OK
Track 15
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\15 - Unseen World.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.16
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 2DC5052B
Copy CRC 2DC5052B
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [B31179D7]
Copy OK
Track 16
Filename D:\FLAC\Mad Skillz - From Where (1996) [FLAC]\16 - Inherit The World.wav
Pre-gap length 0:00:00.02
Peak level 97.7 %
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 0139D887
Copy CRC 0139D887
Accurately ripped (confidence 1) [8BF3212D]
Copy OK
15 track(s) accurately ripped
1 track(s) could not be verified as accurate
Some tracks could not be verified as accurate
No errors occurred
End of status report