TheRealSkitso: East Side Raised, Worldwide Connected

Muzikscribe
13 hours ago
5 min read

Buffalo music don’t always get its flowers, but it’s always been there in the DNA of real ones — funk, soul, and a certain cold-weather hunger you can’t fake.

TheRealSkitso comes out of that East Side energy where you learn quick, move quiet, and let the work speak first.

He didn’t come up through shortcuts or co-signs. It was crates, early gear, trial and error, and figuring out how to make something out of nothing until it started sounding like something only he could make.

So when “Well Connected” hit BET Jams, it didn’t feel like discovery — it felt like confirmation. Buffalo linking with the West Coast, no forcing it, no overthinking it… just a record that clicked and moved like it had always existed.

Now The Asylum Vol. 1 is loading up like a cipher you can’t ignore — different voices, different eras, all running through one frequency. And Skitso isn’t just making beats in the background anymore — he’s building a whole lane with Illustrious Music, the clothing, the relationships, the motion. Same Buffalo mindset, just amplified now: keep it real, or don’t do it at all.

Q: Buffalo gave us legends like Rick James and Grover Washington Jr., but it also gave people cold realities and survival instincts early. What part of East Side Buffalo still shows up in your sound no matter where your career goes?

Uptown/Bailey Ave will always show up in my sound. It’s what made me who I am.

Q: Before BET Jams, the industry looks, and all the collaborations, when did you personally realize this music thing was bigger than just making beats or rapping — that it was really becoming your purpose?

When I stopped trying to force things and just let it happen naturally, that’s when I knew music was my purpose.

Q: A lot of people mention DJ Premier, Dr. Dre, and Alchemist as influences, but your production actually carries pieces of all three. What was it about each of them that hit you creatively and shaped the way you approach records?

Premier’s dusty, gritty boom bap sound definitely influenced how I approach samples. Dr. Dre’s hard-hitting West Coast bangers taught me how to really listen and perfect my sound to the fullest. Alchemist helped shape the way I choose my drums and snares. Everything I know, I learned from all three.

Q: You started out on a Korg ESX-1 at a time when producers really had to learn the craft without shortcuts. What do you think that era taught you that a lot of newer producers relying on technology and templates are missing today?

The creative process from scratch. Digging for my own vinyl samples, building beats from the ground up, and really perfecting my craft.

Q: “Well Connected” doesn’t feel like a forced collab record — it feels natural, like two worlds connecting through respect. When Kokane and Tha Eastsidaz came into the picture, what made that chemistry work so well?

I heard it in my head while I was creating the track. That’s when I knew I had to reach out to OG Kokane and make it happen immediately.

Q: Buffalo and the West Coast aren’t two places people automatically connect musically, but somehow you made it make sense. Why do you think those worlds actually relate to each other more than people would expect?

I think we relate because of the funk. Buffalo gave the world Rick James, one of the funkiest of all time. Plus, people sleep on the West Coast and people sleep on Buffalo too, so I think that connection naturally makes sense.

Q: That BET Jams triple-play debut for “Well Connected” was a major moment. After grinding independently for so long, what did seeing your work hit television like that do for you mentally?

It helped me believe in myself more and trust my abilities.

Q: Even with the motion you’ve built, your energy still comes across hungry instead of comfortable. Do you think that hunger comes more from your past, your ambition, or feeling like people still haven’t fully seen what you can do yet?

The hunger comes from my past and my ambition.

Q: What made Project Pat the perfect fit for “Fired Up,” and what did he bring to the record that set the tone in a way nobody else could?

Project Pat’s style made the record a perfect fit and set the tone in a way nobody else could.

Q: Now that the “Fired Up” DJ contest has wrapped, what really stood out from the submissions — raw skill, creativity, or just that undeniable energy on the cuts?

The energy stood out the most. The energy was crazy, and the raw DJ skills were dope across the board.

Q: You brought Bud E Boy Music, Fleet DJs, DigiWaxx, and Kokane into one rollout — what was the real vision behind turning a single into a full DJ-driven moment?

The vision was to bring DJs back to the forefront and create a real culture-driven moment around the record.

Q: When you hear DJs flipping and reworking your production like that, does it shift how you even hear your own records after the fact?

Not really, but it’s dope hearing DJs flip the record around like that.

Q: The Asylum Vol. 1 lineup is crazy because it pulls from so many different corners of hip-hop history at once. What was your mindset putting together a project with artists like Styles P, Devin the Dude, Westside Gunn, Project Pat, Kokane, and Cormega under one vision?

My mindset was to do something different from what everybody else is doing without seeking validation from anyone.

Q: There’s producers who just make beats, then there’s producers who create spaces artists can really talk on. What do you think artists hear or feel in your production that makes them lock in the way they do?

They hear me. They hear what’s going on inside Skitso’s mind.

Q: Hip-hop used to feel more regional, more personal, more connected to where artists came from. Do you think music today lost some of that identity, and is your sound part of bringing some of that feeling back?

Yeah, I think music lost some of its identity because everybody’s trying to sound alike now. Back in the day, everybody had their own sound and style. My goal is definitely to bring that nostalgia back. Hip-hop needs it.

Q: From East Side Buffalo to building Illustrious Music, Illustrious Garments, and major industry relationships, your story keeps expanding. At the end of it all, what do you want people to say TheRealSkitso brought to the culture that nobody else did?

I want people to say Skitso helped save hip-hop and brought that mid-’90s and early 2000s vibe back into the game.