2007–2010: Early mixtapes and Pistols and Palm Trees Skeme first began rapping around age 12 and began writing around age 15. He recorded his first song at a studio in
Long Beach, California, at age 16. he was graduating high school. He shortly after met
Dolla, whom he began hanging out and frequently working with. He credits Dolla for significantly influencing him. In 2007 he released
Skeme Of Things, which was then followed by
Skeme Of Things 2 in June 2009. On February 17, 2010, Skeme released his third official mixtape, ''All Rap'd Up
, hosted by DJ Ill Will. During those early years, he forged friendships with Los Angeles-area rappers such as Kendrick Lamar, Nipsey Hussle and Dom Kennedy. On October 19, 2010, Skeme released his fourth official mixtape Pistols and Palm Trees''. He recorded the entire mixtape at
Top Dawg Entertainment's studio in
Carson, California. It featured collaborations with
Tyga,
Ty Dolla Sign, Dom Kennedy and Kendrick Lamar.
2011–2013: The Statement and Alive and Living On May 19, 2011, Skeme released his fifth mixtape
The Statement. It featured collaborations with
Casey Veggies and Dom Kennedy, with
production by
Boi-1da,
Bink! and
The Futuristiks, among others. Later that year, on November 29, Skeme released his sixth mixtape
Before My Next Statement. With basketball player
Baron Davis, Skeme started a Los Angeles-based entertainment management company named L.A. UNFD. Then he signed a one-album deal with
RBC Records to release his debut studio album. The album was then released digitally on October 16, 2012. It was supported by the singles "Ain't Bout Dat Life" and "Kidz With Gunz", the latter which featured Schoolboy Q. In April 2013, Skeme told Bruce Smith of
HipHopDX that he was in talks with Top Dawg Entertainment about signing to their record label. He commented on it saying, "It's yet to be seen where exactly I’m gonna go. I'm just trying to make the right move. The next move has to be the best one. [...] With that being said, I am very close to TDE, them is the homies, and we are in heavy talks. It could be something." He later stated that he chose not to sign to TDE, out of the concern he would get lost in the mix, or overshadowed, wanting instead to remain independent and build his brand more. Skeme also revealed that he had been in talks with
Def Jam Recordings,
Universal and
Roc Nation about record deals during 2013. However, he stated that he was in no rush to sign to a
major record label.
2013–2015: Ingleworld and first two sequels On September 27, 2013, Skeme released his seventh mixtape
Bare With Me. It featured guest appearances by
The Game, Nipsey Hussle, Problem and
TeeFlii. It was met with a positive review by HipHopDX.
Bare With Me consisted of left over songs from
Ingleworld, that either did not fit the theme of the album, or had sample clearance issues. On November 26, 2013, Skeme revealed the cover artwork and the track listing for his second studio album
Ingleworld. The track listing revealed that it would contain 15 songs, including guest appearances from
Wale, Nipsey Hussle, Iggy Azalea and Dom Kennedy, with production handled by
Boi-1da, Wizzo and
Sean Momberger, among others. He explained that the album had a serious tone, which is why he choose to release it at the end of the calendar year. The album's
lead single "Different" was released on December 4, 2013.
Ingleworld was released digitally by MADE Headlines on December 17, 2013. Olivia Arezes of
Exclaim! gave it a six out of ten saying, "
Ingleworld is a valiant effort from Skeme but mediocre overall. Still, with some growth and improvement, Skeme could easily become a leader of the new West Coast sound." Following the release of the album,
MTV called him one of "hip-hop's top prospects for 2014." Skeme was nominated for the 2014
XXL freshman class, however he was not selected. On July 14, 2014, The Game announced that Skeme had been signed to his
Blood Money Entertainment Label. He released a collaboration with The Game titled "No Limit" after the announcement. He was featured heavily on the Blood Money Entertainment collaborative project released by The Game entitled
Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf. In 2015, Skeme worked heavily with
DJ Drama and
Don Cannon as an artist in their
Generation Now label/company. He is still currently a part of this organization which consists of himself, DJ Drama, Don Cannon and
Lil Uzi Vert. His first single of 2015 was "Red Carpet (Roll Out)". On June 9, 2015, Skeme released the mixtape
Ingleworld 2 (hosted by DJ Drama), which featured artists such as The Game,
T.I.,
RJ,
Young Thug,
BJ the Chicago Kid and Lil Uzi Vert. Ingleworld 2 was later released as an album as a no DJ version. Later he announced a third album in his "Ingleworld" series, which was to be released on November 13, 2015.
2015–present Ingleworld4Eva Skeme featured on The Game's second disc of
The Documentary 2 on the song "My Flag/Da Homies", which was also released as a single prior to the album's release. A video for this song was released on December 17, 2015. Skeme also featured on a track released by rapper
Wale, "Know Me". Recently, Skeme announced another and possibly final addition to his Ingleworld album series, to be entitled
Ingleworld4eva. In preparation for this album, he has released a mixtape entitled "Before 4Eva" through datpiff.com and other music sites that stream free music. On May 6, 2016, DJ Drama released a single off his
Quality Street Music 2 album, title "Wishing" featuring
Chris Brown, Skeme and LyQuin. A music video has been shot for the single and features DJ Drama, Chris Brown, Skeme and LyQuin, with
cameo appearances by
50 Cent and The Game. == Personal life ==