Skee-Lo
While we’re on the topic of artists who experienced brief moments of fame, let’s talk about Antoine Roundtree, better known by his stage name Skee-Lo. In 1995, his hit single “I Wish” dominated both TV and radio over the summer. It earned several VMA nominations (and awards) all over the world, and the album he released shortly after– also called I Wish– was nominated for two Grammy awards. The song doesn’t have any deep, soul-crushing lyrics, but we all remember that Skee-Lo desires two things in life: a) he wishes he was a little bit taller, and b) he wishes he was a baller. Remember what we said earlier about the ‘fun for fun’s sake’ spirit of the 1990s? Skee-Lo is another example.
Skee-Lo experienced some smaller successes after the hype surrounding his hit song fizzled out. He recorded a cover of a Schoolhouse Rock! song, co-wrote one of the songs for the Inspector Gadget soundtrack, and had a song featured in the ending credits for the 1995 movie, Money Train. Then he vanished.
Well, until 2012, when Skee-Lo came out of nowhere with a second album. He now runs his own record label and enjoys a peaceful life with his wife and his two children. Unlike some flash in the pan one hit wonders of his time, he doesn’t seem bitter about his lack of consistent success. He has no complaints about the song’s popularity, or the fact that his later music didn’t achieve half the sales of “I Wish”. He does, however, have a bone to pick with the music industry, which he believes squelches originality and creativity in music. His label, SKEELO MUSIK, LCC, gives him an opportunity to bring new artists into the spotlight, even if on a smaller scale. No news on whether or not Skee-Lo has any plans to release another album in the near future, but if he does, we’ll be right here waiting.
Also no news on whether or not Skee-Lo has grown any taller. He does, however, appear to have a girl who looks good (his wife), and we assume that he calls her.
