Skilla Baby opens up about his musical influences: 'I got to be like that'

Skilla Baby makes sure not to cheat the culture when he's composing or performing — just one of the things he's learned from Travis Scott.

The Detroit-born rapper recently confessed looking up to his favourite musicians to incorporate some fragments of them in his performances, including Micheal Jackson for his social media.

"I try to take a little bit from everybody. I try to take a little Uzi. I try to take some Sada Baby. He was one of my favorite performers. I try to take some Michael Jackson," he admitted in a recent interview with People.

"I've never seen Michael Jackson live, but I've seen his impact and I've seen videos of him live. So I try to take all of that and put it into one."

Skilla, 25, also got candid about lessons he learned from Travis Scott the past year, like pushing boundaries and taking his craft seriously.

"Every time I get around these big artists, I ask them, 'How you keep going?' And they all tell me, they just act like they haven't done anything. They in love with the hustle. They in love with it. So I got to be like that." 

"For me to give any less effort or energy, that'd be me cheating the culture and myself, like what I'm in it for. If this guy, rich, successful, all these accolades and accomplishments to take his craft serious and don't take no shortcuts, why would I?"

Doubling down on his love for collaborative ventures, he also expressed his willingness to do a duet with Adele, who he listed as his dream collaborators, including Nicki Minaj, Summer Walker, Anita Baker, and Jhené Aiko to name a few.

“I would love to have a song with Adele,” he added. “I don't put a limit on myself. I don't limit myself to, ‘OK, I'm just going to be a gangsta rapper. I'm just going to be a rapper today.’ I'm going to do what I feel like,” the hip-hop rapper added.

Skilla also referenced musicians like Brandy, Monica, and Keyshia Cole who he'd more driven to collaborate with than rappers. 

However, he did not shy away from admiring his partnership with fellow MC Rob49, who he is joining forces with for their first co-headlining tour Vultures Eat The Most. 

“I think we both just want to see each other win,” Skilla said of Rob who he has collaborated with on multiple songs including C4, Mama, and Mike Jack.

“I think his brand is real gritty. My brand is like, I'm more like hustle and slowed down. And when you combine them, it's smooth and gritty at the same time,” he adds. “I don't really know how to explain it. But I’m excited for this tour.”

“What we do is so popularity based and it's like a competition, it's so competitive. Once you get some people that genuinely want to see you win and do as good as them, you just keep them around.”