Over the past year, HBK Gang’s own Skipper has been making a lot of noise. He flourished heavily on the group project Gang Forever as well as dropping his two solo projects WET 1 & 2. We discuss his WET series, his crush on Nicki Minaj, and what’s next up for him and the entire HBK clique.
Def Pen Radio: So finally we get to chop it up, everything good on your side of town?
Skipper: Yeah bro! Its been a long time coming for sure, but things are good with me, just working on continuing to build my brand really. Same grind, different day.
Siting here I have to tip my hat because I seen the grind and hard work you’ve put in, everything you’re getting you deserve. What keeps you that motivated?
Thank you, I appreciate that. Really what keeps me motivated in this journey is the desire to grow and be great. I know my potential and what I can bring to the table and my goal is to make sure everyone knows.
So you’re from Richmond, growing up was music always your calling?
The crazy thing about that is, I grew up around music. Most of my family is musically inclined; whether singing, or actually playing an instrument. But at the time, I wasn’t making any music. I was just really good at dancing so I kinda stood out in that way. I always wanted to do music in some kind of capacity, I visualized ideas in my head but didn’t know how to articulate them until I met Su and the guys.
Skip or Skipper, which one you prefer?
Skipper is the official name, but at the crib and all the homies call me Skip. Pretty simple haha.
How did that name come about?
Really Skip is just a childhood nickname that just stuck and when i started rapping, I kinda just blurted out “Skipper” at the end of my verses like a tag and I like how it sounded good to me. So when time came for me to pick an official name it just felt right.
HBK formed while you all were in High School, take us back to that particular moment where y’all said, “we’re going to do this on a serious level”?
HBK Gang was formed by IAMSU, P-Lo, and our friend Chief back in ’07 in high school. I went to a different school and we met thru a mutual friend back in 09 and been rockin ever since.
When did reality set in for you, that moment of truth where you knew your foot was in the door so to say?
I knew we were on the right track with the success of UP record. To see how that song translated and popped off nationally showed us that we could actually contend with the rest of the industry with this music shit. We made that song in a small ass closet in Chiefs room, just fuckin’ around trying to make songs that we could play and dance to at parties and shit and to see it just explode like that and do what it did it made me want to make a million more.
If you had to put it in a few words, what would you say the Heart Break Gang represents?
For me, Heart Break Gang represents positivity, great music and truly being yourself.
Explain the concept with the WET series?
The whole theme behind the WET series was me wanting to showcase my abilities as an artist. W.E.T is actually an acronym for the 3 things in my opinion are necessary to be successful in this game. Work, Entertainment, Talent. With the first tape, I just wanted to show niggas I could rap. I tried to do it in a traditional mixtape style doing freestyles on other niggas beats, shit like that.
Definitely.
With WET2, I really locked in and focused on my song writing. Better ways to get my point across. I was more comfortable in my skin so to speak and had more artistic freedom. So it came out less forced and showcased more of my personality as well as my lyrical ability.
Are you shooting any more videos from off the tape?
Yeah most definitely putting out more videos off the project. We just dropped the Hate Me Now visual and I have another 3 in post production getting ready to drop as well, be on the look out for those.
Will there be a third installment to the series?
At this moment I’m in the beginning stages of my next project, its sort of a ending wrap up to the WET series, the 3rd piece to the trilogy. I don’t have a set in stone title for it yet but I’m pretty sure it wont be Wet 3.
Some folks compare the Bay to Brooklyn, what is it you think that brings that comparison?
Really?
Yea it’s something I heard a few times. First time was from Charles Crosby. (Cocaine Cowboys 2)
I never heard that. Thats interesting.
One thing the Bay is known for is to have fun, I hear a lot about y’all house parties, is that a fair representation of the Bay?
Hell yeah for the most part, we just wanna live long, and have a good time doing it. We wanna get money and live life to the fullest.
I’ll be out that way soon, you have to let me know some of the good spots to eat, what are some of your favorite places to eat?
I love Sushi. There’s this hole in the wall sushi spot in Berkeley on Telegraph ave. called TAKO Sushi. Best shit ever bro.
Not a fan of Sushi. (laughs)
Also there’s Blondies Pizza in Berkeley. I’m big on Chinese food so my favorite place to go to is Hunan Villa in Pinole, Ca.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about you?
Truthfully, I feel the biggest misconception about me, and more so the whole gang as a collective, is that we only make “Ratchet” music. or that we can’t make “real” music whatever that means.
What type of women catches your eyes?
Everyone who knows me, know that I have a weakness for women with curves, nice plump ass cute face, nice lips are a plus as well.
So I’ve come to notice you have this crush on Nicki Minaj, besides the obvious asset, what is it that attracts you to her?
HAHA man, yeah. The crush is real. Ive been had my eyes on her since way back in 2008 when she first signed with Wayne. I remember hearing her rap first and I thought she was dope… this was before I even knew what she looked like. Then I came across one of her viral videos on youtube and was on it ever since. but to answer your question, besides the fact that her physical attributes are CRAZY, I like her spirit and how she don’t take no shit from anyone… and her talent makes her sexy too. I don’t wanna get too deep on it cuz I’ll start sounding all sappy hahaha, but yeah I got love for shorty.
I think you and her on a song would be dope, don’t you think?
Yup! most definitely. I think me and her doing anything would be dope haha
Speaking of which outside of your HBK crew, who are some artists you want to get in the studio with?
I WANNA GET IN THE STUDIO WITH NICKI MINAJ. haha I’m kidding. I’d love to work with Pharrell, I think he is one of the most influentiial and out the box talents of our generation. whether or to people want to admit it or not, that guy changed the sound and style of music. Personally I feel that would be a great accomplishment for me.
Everything is in high gear for you and the entire HBK Gang, what’s next?
Taking over the world. but yeah! We’re completely locked in. We have a lot of exciting shit in the works for the fans and supporters. But as far as immediate future, we’re Workin on Gang Forever 2 and another tour in the fall.
We definitely gonna cause some chaos when I touchdown in the Bay, keep your foot on they neck. Anything else you want to tell the fans?
Yeah, I wanna tell the fans Thank You for all the support whether you’re an new fan or a day 1 original, we really appreciate it all y’all keep us goin hard to be better and grow as artists. Get ready for the storm cause its Heartbreak Terror Era.
Photo Credit: Julian Edwards of TyCA
