''From Where???'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist

Mad Skillz Donnie Shaquan Lewis, (born June 2, 1974) also known as Skillz, or Mad Skillz is an American rapper known for his acclaimed 1996 album ''From Where???'', a reference to his origins in Virginia, not a New York City or Los Angeles rapper. He ...

. It was released on February 13, 1996, via Big Beat/

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. Production was handled by Buckwild, Shawn J. Period, J Dilla,

DJ Clark Kent Rodolfo Franklin Sr. (born September 28, 1967), known professionally as Clark Kent or DJ Clark Kent, is an American hip hop record producer, DJ and music executive of Panamanian descent. His crew of DJs is called "The Supermen", and his DJ moni ...

, EZ Elpee,

Large Professor William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972), better known by the stage name of Large Professor (also Extra P. and Large Pro), is an American rapper and record producer. Based in New York City, he is known as a founding member of the underground ...

, Nick Wiz, The Beatnuts, and Skillz himself, with Rob "Reef" Tewlow serving as executive producer. It features guest appearances from Kalonji The Immortal, Dr. Mindbenda, Javon The Medieval, Large Professor, Lil' Roc, Lonnie B and Q-Tip. The album peaked at number 154 on the ''Billboard'' 200, number 18 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

and number 5 on the

Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

chart in the United States. The album was praised for its strong lyrical content and production, however, suffered from low sales, possibly due to being released the same day as

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's ''

All Eyez on Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoo ...

'' and the Fugees's '' The Score''. The singles "The Nod Factor" and "Move Ya Body" received moderate radio and video airplay.

Track listing

;Sample credits *Track 3 contains elements from "Superman Lover" performed by

Johnny "Guitar" Watson John Watson Jr. (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996), known professionally as Johnny "Guitar" Watson, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. A flamboyant showman and electric guitarist in the style of T-Bone Walker, his recording career ...

*Track 12 contains elements from "Only Human" performed by Jeffrey Osborne

Personnel

*Donnie "

" Lewis – vocals (tracks: 2-16), producer (tracks: 1, 5), mixing (tracks: 1-11, 13-16) *Kalonji Coleman – vocals (tracks: 5, 15) *Jonathan " Q-Tip" Davis – vocals (track 8) *Lonnie Battle – vocals (track 15) *Dr. Mindbenda – vocals (track 15) *Ahmed "Lil' Roc" Rahman – vocals (track 15) *Javon The Medieval – vocals (track 15) *Anthony "

Roc Raida Anthony Williams (May 17, 1972 – September 19, 2009), better known as Roc Raida or Grandmaster Roc Raida, was an American DJ, turntablist and producer. He was also a member of the DJ group the X-Ecutioners. He joined the X-Men in the late 1 ...

" Williams – scratches (track 2) *Lester "

Psycho Les The Beatnuts are an American hip hop group and production duo from New York City. Its current members are JuJu and Psycho Les. JuJu (born Jerry Tineo on December 14, 1968) is a Dominican American from Corona and Psycho Les (born Lester Fernande ...

" Fernandez – scratches & producer (track 3) *Diallo Malbrough Moss – horns programming (track 5) *Andrew Smith – keyboard bass (track 7) *Joseph "DJ Riz" Rizzo – scratches (tracks: 14, 16) *James " J Dilla" Yancey – producer & mixing (tracks: 2, 11) *Anthony " Buckwild" Best – producer & mixing (tracks: 4, 6, 10) *Nicholas "Nick Wiz" Loizides – producer & mixing (track 7) *William "

" Mitchell – producer & mixing (track 8) *Rodolfo "

" Franklin – producer & mixing (track 12) *Shawn M. Jones – producer & mixing (tracks: 13, 14, 16) *Lamont "Ez Elpee" Porter – producer & mixing (track 15) *Rob "Reef" Tewlow – executive producer, A&R *Tony Smalios – recording (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 10, 11, 13, 15), mixing (tracks: 1-3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15) *George Karras – recording (tracks: 3, 4, 7) *Rich July – recording (tracks: 6, 14, 16), mixing (tracks: 14, 16) *Troy Hightower – recording & mixing (track 8) *Kenny Ortiz – recording & mixing (track 12) *

Tim Latham Tim Latham (born November 18, 1966) is a Grammy Award-winning American recording engineer working in the music industry. Latham attended Berklee College of Music in the 1980s. In 2008 Latham shared a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album ...

– mixing (tracks: 4, 6, 10) * Tom Coyne – mastering *Daniel Hastings – design, photography *Miguel Rivera – design, photography *Christian Cortes – design *Glenn Orenstein – production coordinator

Charts

;Singles chart positions

References

External links

* {{Authority control Skillz albums 1996 debut albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by J Dilla Albums produced by Buckwild Albums produced by the Beatnuts Albums produced by Large Professor Albums produced by Clark Kent (producer) Big Beat Records (American record label) albums