Stokeley Clevon Goulbourne
(born April 18, 1996), known professionally as Ski Mask the Slump God (formerly stylized as $ki Mask "The Slump God"), is an American rapper. He initially rose to prominence alongside
XXXTentacion and their collective
Members Only. In 2017, he released the singles "
BabyWipe
"BabyWipe" is a song by American rapper Ski Mask the Slump God, released through SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in ...
" and "
Catch Me Outside", both of which were featured on his mixtape ''
You Will Regret
''You Will Regret'' (originally and alternatively titled ''YouWillRegret'') is the second mixtape by American rapper Ski Mask the Slump God. It was originally released on June 30, 2017, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. The mixtape ...
'' (2017), which was certified Gold by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
.
Goulbourne's mixtape, ''
Beware the Book of Eli'', was released in May 2018 and peaked at No. 50 on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart. His debut album ''
Stokeley'' (2018) peaked at number 6 on the US ''Billboard'' 200.
Early life
Stokeley Clevon Goulbourne was born on April 18, 1996, in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
. He is of
Jamaican descent.
Goulbourne grew up listening to
Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...
,
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...
,
Wu-Tang Clan, and
Lil Wayne, among other artists. He has said that his parents often played Jamaican music around the house. Goulbourne's father—a rapper who used the stage name "Sin City"—would often force his son to focus on writing his own rap music.
In 2013, Goulbourne was sent to a juvenile detention center for possession of "around $10 worth of weed", where he met
XXXTentacion.
The duo became friends and frequently collaborated on songs after being released from detention.
Career
2014–2017: Mainstream debut
Following Goulbourne's release from detention, he formed the rap group "Very Rare" with XXXTentacion and released his first song "Catch Me" on the streaming service
SoundCloud. Goulbourne eventually co-founded XXXTentacion's collective Members Only
after the release of ''Members Only Vol. 1'', a collaboration mixtape with XXXTentacion, in 2015. The mixtape would eventually be followed up with ''Members Only, Vol. 2'' and then ''Members Only, Vol. 3'' on June 26, 2017''.''
Goulbourne released multiple singles on the SoundCloud platform including "
Catch Me Outside", "Where's the Blow" featuring
Lil Pump
Gazzy Garcia (born August 17, 2000), better known professionally as Lil Pump, is an American rapper. He is one of the most prominent artists of the SoundCloud rap scene and is known for his minimalist music and hyperactive public persona.
Li ...
, "Stunt!" featuring UnoTheActivist, "Life Is Short", "Like a Soccer Mom", "
Take a Step Back", and "
BabyWipe
"BabyWipe" is a song by American rapper Ski Mask the Slump God, released through SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in ...
". Goulbourne has performed twice at the Rolling Loud Festival and has released songs with other artists including
Offset,
Lil Yachty,
A$AP Ferg,
Lil Peep,
Desiigner
Sidney Royel Selby III (born May 3, 1997), better known by his stage name Desiigner, is an American rapper and singer. In December 2015, his debut single " Panda" reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2019, he was released f ...
, and
Denzel Curry. Goulbourne has also collaborated with artists from the 88Rising label including the
Higher Brothers and
Keith Ape.
Goulbourne also worked with
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...
, who he had previously said was his favorite producer.
In May 2016, Goulbourne released his first mixtape ''Drown in Designer'', which included the songs "Take a Step Back", which was later certified Gold, and "Where's the Blow".
In June 2017, Goulbourne released his debut commercial
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
''
You Will Regret
''You Will Regret'' (originally and alternatively titled ''YouWillRegret'') is the second mixtape by American rapper Ski Mask the Slump God. It was originally released on June 30, 2017, by Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. The mixtape ...
'' under
Victor Victor Worldwide and
Republic Records
Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
.
2018–present: ''Stokeley'' and ''Sin City The Mixtape''
In May 2018, Goulbourne released his third mixtape ''
Beware the Book of Eli'', which featured the single "
DoIHaveTheSause?". In June that same year, he was named one of ''
XXL''s "2018 Freshman Class". On November 30, 2018, Goulbourne released his debut studio album, ''
Stokeley'', which includes the songs "
Faucet Failure" and "Nuketown" featuring
Juice Wrld.
The album peaked at number 6 on the
''Billboard'' 200 chart.
Following the success of ''Stokeley'', Goulbourne released only one single in 2019, "Carbonated Water". In July 2020, he released the single "Burn the Hoods" alongside a music video on
Lyrical Lemonade. Simultaneously, he announced that his second album would release later that year, however the album was never released. Goulbourne has stated that he plans to release more music to the public.
In May 2021, Goulbourne announced a mixtape titled ''
Sin City The Mixtape'' to be released in June. He released ''Sin City'' on June 25.
Musical style
Goulbourne has said that his musical production has been most influenced by Busta Rhymes,
Missy Elliot
Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...
, and
Chief Keef
Keith Farrelle Cozart (born August 15, 1995), better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. His music first became popular during his teen years in the early 2010s among high school s ...
. Goulbourne has also stated he does not have any main musical influences; "I listen to every genre: rap, rock, classical, heavy metal...I listen to
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...
sometimes too".
Personal life
As of June 2018, Golbourne lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
He had a heart condition that required surgery in March 2018.
In a 2016 interview, Goulbourne signaled support for the legalization of
gay marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
. In 2020, Goulbourne expressed distaste for President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
, comparing him to a
white supremacist
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...
.
Friendships
XXXTentacion
Goulbourne was close friends with
XXXTentacion before they both started rapping. They met in a juvenile center in 2013. Goulbourne said in an interview with
Adam22 that he was surprised by X's criminal charges. Whilst in jail, X had taught Goulbourne about different rapping cadences. After the duo were released, they met up with the intention of committing
home invasion
A home invasion, also called a hot prowl burglary, is a sub-type of burglary (or in some jurisdictions, a separately defined crime) in which an offender unlawfully enters into a building residence while the occupants are inside. The overarching i ...
s but instead began releasing music together. The rappers founded the collective
Members Only. In 2017, Goulbourne and XXXTentacion embarked on ''The Revenge Tour'' with
Craig Xen. The tour was postponed following the shooting of XXXTentacion's cousin. By late 2017, the two had parted ways and begun working on their own projects. Around this time, it was insinuated that the two were feuding.
At the Rolling Loud Miami festival in 2018, Goulbourne and XXXTentacion were reunited, reaffirming their friendship. On June 18, 2018,
XXXTentacion was murdered; Goulbourne learned of his best friend's death while on Instagram Live and tearfully informed his fans of the rapper's death.
Juice Wrld
In early 2018, Goulbourne befriended rising rapper
Juice Wrld. The two went on to collaborate on the track "Nuketown", which became Goulbourne's highest charting song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was announced that the two were working on a mixtape titled ''Evil Twins'', but the project never released. In 2019, following the release of Juice Wrld's second album, the two embarked on the ''Death Race for Love Tour'' together along with Cole Bennett of
Lyrical Lemonade.
On December 8, 2019, Juice Wrld died from an opioid-induced
seizure. Goulbourne reacted emotionally to the news of the rapper's death. Goulbourne was present at Juice Wrld's funeral later that month.
= Aftermath
=
The death of his two best friends in a span of eighteen months had a profound impact on Goulbourne. Following XXXTentacion's death, Goulbourne honored him multiple times during his own concerts; Goulbourne met XXXTentacion's son, Gekyume Onfroy, for the first time in person at a show.
Controversies
Concert incidents
During a concert at
The Fonda Theatre,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, on April 11, 2017, Goulbourne was pushed off stage and then assaulted by an associate of rapper
Rob Stone. The attack was said to be instigated by an ongoing feud between the two rappers, starting when Goulbourne refused to leave the stage during Stone's opening act. Rob Stone was kicked off the remainder of
Desiigner
Sidney Royel Selby III (born May 3, 1997), better known by his stage name Desiigner, is an American rapper and singer. In December 2015, his debut single " Panda" reached number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2019, he was released f ...
's Outlet Tour.
During a concert on August 10, 2018, in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous cit ...
, Goulbourne asked the crowd for a moment of silence for his murdered friend XXXTentacion. An audience member
heckled, "Fuck X, that woman-beating piece of shit!" Goulbourne threatened the audience member and told the rest of the audience to "fuck his ass up", leading to a melee fight. While the crowd was beating the man, Goulbourne played one of XXXTentacion's most popular songs, "
Look at Me" before the venue's security dispersed the disturbance and escorted the man outside of the venue.
Legal issues
In 2014, Goulbourne was sent to a juvenile detention center for possession of marijuana.
Goulbourne was arrested for driving with a suspended license, driving without a license, and robbery in August 2016.
He was later released on bail.
Discography
Studio album
* ''
Stokeley'' (2018)
Collaborative album
* ''
Members Only, Vol. 4'' (2019)
Filmography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:God, Ski Mask the Slump
1996 births
American hip hop musicians
American rappers of Jamaican descent
American prisoners and detainees
Republic Records artists
Rappers from Florida
Living people
African-American male rappers
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
Southern hip hop musicians
Members Only (hip hop collective) members
21st-century African-American musicians
People from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
American comedy musicians