Battle of the 2018 Rap-Ups: Uncle Murda vs Mad Skillz

Virginia rapper and ghostwriter, Mad Skillz began his yearly Rap-Ups in 2002 and has had a monopoly on them until around 2012 or 2013,when Brooklyn born Uncle Murda decided to take a turn at it. I can’t find the exact date of Murda’s very first Rap-up, but the two had a brief beef about the year end song, and now it seems that they are both trying to co-exist peacefully. Of course, the hip-hop community will continue to pit the two against each other, because the concept is bound to have them both visit the same topics. In comparison, Skillz is the safer of the two, while Uncle Murda has proven that he doesn’t give much of a fuck about what anyone thinks. As a matter of fact, he mentions in this years Rap-up that he thinks he, himself is quite funny.

Mad Skillz decided his Rap-up should bless the beat of Lil’ Duval’s ‘Smile Bitch”, arguably some peoples favorite song of 2018. This was a safe yet obvious choice and was a bit disappointing for me as I could take or leave Duval’s breakout hit. Meanwhile, Uncle Murda decided to use a sample of Rose Royce’s “Wishing on a Star”, with breaks of Dr. Dre’s ‘Nuthin’ But A G Thang’, ‘Deep Cover’, Snoop Dogg’s ‘Gin and Juice’, and Biggie’s Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems. I’m a sucker for a sample, and still Murda’s choice came off as more original than Skillz’s. The point of the Rap-up, is to give an account of the happenings of the year from top to bottom, which both artists did, but it seems that Mad Skillz did the Rap-up as an attempt to stake his claim as the originator of the idea, and to make sure he didn’t give up without a fight. Something else that seemed a little awkward to me was his usage of ad libs. I can’t remember if Skillz utilized them before, but they were very similar to Murda’s use of ad libs, which usually makes his bars/punchlines much funnier. I went back and listened to Skillz’s 2017 Rap-Up, and he did use ad libs, but sparingly, so I stand by my previous statement that Murda influenced his usage of ad libs.

  They both touched on 45’s insanity, ( just so you know, my goal is to never refer y’alls president by name); Kanye’s weird alliance with him, Bill Cosby, Drake vs Pusha T, and a slew of other things. The things that stood out to me from Mad Skillz Rap-Up were the following; Monique boycotting Netflix, Will Smith joining Instagram, the Tide pod eating epidemic, Quincy Jones wilding out in his interviews, Beychella, the Philadelphia Starbucks controversy, Fabolous and Emily B’s scandal, Roseanne being fired by ABC, Eminem vs MGK, #whobitBeyonce, Shiggy being everywhere, the popularity of the Fortnite video game, the California Camp Fires, Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ Book, Kevin Hart’s Oscar debacle, and the monstrosity of immigrant children seeking asylum being separated from their parents at the border. I’ve enjoyed Mad Skillz’s version of the song in the past, but this year, it seemed like an afterthought or that he was pressured into putting the song out.

       On the flip side, Murda seemed like he had rightfully been preparing all year for this, so much so that he didn’t post the song until January 1, 2019, whereas it’s typically dropped on the last day of the previous year by both parties. As I’ve stated before, his ad libs are hilarious and pretty much make the song for me. He began the song with one of the year’s hottest topics, which is Tekashi 69 currently being in Federal prison. Tekashi 69 appeared on Uncle Murda’s ‘Get the Strap’ alongside 50 Cent and Casanova (a highly underrated song of 2018. One of my favorite songs to work out to). Some other stand-outs were the following; Suge Knights sentencing and the fact that no one cared about it, Nicki vs Cardi B; stating that Nicki raps better but Cardi puts out better music, Kanye’s liposuction admission, with Murda asking if he’s getting ass shots next. He also told Kanye we don’t want new music from him and pointed out that he fucked up Teyana Taylor’s album roll-out (I’m still quite angry about that myself Lenny). Murda touched on label boss 50 Cent’s Starz show Power, and said what everyone was thinking, that when Tariq gets killed, no one is going to miss him. He was a good sport and mentioned that 50 put him in a movie with Bruce Willis, but he got killed in 2 mins (RIP to that character). Uncle Murda brought attention to the fact that Black people didn’t care about George H.W. Bush’s death, Nipsey Hussle slapping someone at the BET awards, all while making fun of Jay-Z’s jet-ski photo. Cardi B left Offset, and Offset copped a plea that he didn’t cheat, he just entertained the idea (and Uncle Murda believes him). He, like many others reveled in the irony of gossip Maven Wendy Williams’ husband being caught cheating, allegedly expecting a baby with another woman, and Wendy leaving him, and ended that bar with “Good for you!” He brought us back to Nicki Minaj’s ex, Safaree getting robbed and crying on Angie Martinez’s show. While he doesn’t know if it actually happened, he hopes it did, because Safaree’s corny and Murda doesn’t like him because he was with Nicki. He paid quick homage to the legend Aretha Franklin and mentioned the horrible death of Junior the young kid from the Bronx. He confirmed that Jaquees is NOT the king of RnB and used Juelz Santana as a Say No to Drugs campaign cautioning kids that they could lose their teeth. Uncle Murda has very strong opinions and noted that he doesn’t think Stevie J and Faith look good together, and that Biggie would smack the shit out of Stevie J if he were still here. He sided with Katt Williams in that neither think that Tiffany Haddish is funny. Some of his final points were that Travis Scott is a coon like his brother-in law, and that Jay-Z gave Wayne money to pay his taxes, but he didn’t forget to tell Hov that he needs help too. I’d like to mention that Elliot Wilson posted a tweet from someone stating that they were going to smack an entire crew in an attempt to make Murda’s Rap-up, I’ve never seen such fervor to make it on Mad Skillz’s song.

       In conclusion, Uncle Murda is the captain now. Mad Skillz can continue to do his Rap-Up, and I’ll listen, but you made it a hot line, Murda made it a hot song. Welcome to 2019! Let me know who won in the comments.

T.Nicole

I QUIT!

How I Quit a Job I Knew Was Holding Me Back

I quit my job at 7:40AM on 7/26/18. It was absolutely time to go. When I left the building, it felt as if a HUGE weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I don’t want to sound cliché, but I could literally feel the stress leaving my body as I pressed send on that final email and drove away.

Here’s the back story. I began this job exactly 1 year and 1 week prior to that joyous day. What started out as high hopes, and pure optimism slowly turned into skepticism and regret. Unlike previous times when I’ve applied for contract positions, I was recruited by an agency specifically for this position. I went through the usual routine of researching the company and individuals that would be conducting the interview, having a phone screen, an in-person interview, and sending thank you notes immediately afterward. Apparently, my thank you note is what solidified the position for me; and they decided to move quickly to get me in. I should have known immediately that something was wrong when I arrived on my first day and nothing was ready for me to begin. The person I was replacing was on vacation for a week, my PC hadn’t been ordered, I had no log-ins, but who cares right, I got the job!

When my predecessor finally returned, I had exactly 4 days to train with her as she was moving across the country at the end of her 2 weeks. Thankfully enough for me, she was prepared to train, and I was eager to learn. I did find it odd that I was replacing her as she had a more senior title and obviously made more money. That was a concession I gladly made as I was transitioning back into a field that I had previously worked in and understood that I needed to work my way up to gain more experience and become a permanent employee. Eventually, it all fell into place. At the time I was the only contractor with my title, and I was able to fully take over the account I started with in addition to becoming an integral part of 3 other accounts. I purposely began taking on more than what was defined in my scope of work, because as anyone that has ever contracted knows, you take on more to show that you’re a team player and an asset, not a liability. You’ve got to be proactive and take initiative to set yourself apart from the others. 

At 6 months, I sat down with my direct supervisor to discuss the plan for me to become a permanent employee. That’s when red flags began flying. I got one time span from him and another from the agency. I decided that I needed to stay on top of the transition plan, so they knew it was important to me and that it was never left up to chance. In January of 2018, I was told I would become permanent in April, in April, I was told June. I made a promise to myself that I would give them until June 1st  to make me a permanent employee before I decided to move on. I made my resume live on every hiring platform imaginable June 1st. I also gave myself a deadline to be gone after one year.

This time around, I knew I had to be more discerning about what I would accept in my job search. I had the upper hand when it came to money, hours, and work load. When an opportunity came about that underpaid for the position offered, I told them my bottom line for pay. When they asked if it was negotiable, I strongly stated no. When contracted opportunities appeared; I thanked them for the consideration, but kindly explained that I was only interested in Direct Hire positions, when they countered that the position was temp to perm, I thanked them again and asked to only be contacted with permanent opportunities. 

Ironically, on the day of my one-year anniversary at the company, I had a promising interview with my current company. I created and brought with me a brag sheet AKA brag book of all my accomplishments at my previous job. I also brought scaled down spreadsheets (protecting proprietary information) of my projects to show that I was fully capable of handling the position being offered. When the interview was over, I immediately sent thank you notes to the interviewers recapping our conversation and included a 90-day plan detailing what I would do if I were hired on. Exactly one week later, I had a 2nd interview with the President of the division and sent a thank you note including the same 90-day plan. 

By the grace of God, I was offered the position the next day, and well; this leads me back to the day that I quit. 1 year and 1 week later, I was able to obtain a better position, with higher pay (salaried), bonuses, vacation and sick time (I know this is normal, but as a contractor; it’s common you don’t get paid for either). I am truly grateful for the experience I gained at my previous position, and the people I met. At some point, I realized that it was a stepping stone, and not where I would end up, and had to make an exit plan immediately. Ladies, I know it’s rough out here, and we’re resilient, but we know ourselves, and we really should stop fighting intuition. I knew very early on that I should have parted ways with that company, but I’m an adult with adult bills and responsibilities. It was much easier said, than done. However, we all have a drop-dead bottom line and mine was overworking and being paid the absolute least. Know your value, and trust when it’s time to go!