Skillz: The Million Dollar Backpack"

Way before the breakouts of his longtime friends--The Neptunes, Timbaland, Missy, and the Clipse--the name Mad Skillz has been synonymous with quality word fare from Virginia. Arriving onto the rap scene proper in 1994, Skillz stuck a flag in the ground and put the world on notice that Virginia was for rhymers as much as lovers.

The emcee now records under the moniker 'Skillz' because, well, he "ain't mad no more." His latest offering Confessions of A Ghostwriter is not your typical hip-hop longplayer. It's full of topics and textures, rhymes and rhythms, wit and wordplay, and guest shots from Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliott, Musiq, and Cee-Lo Green.

It's hard to believe that a record like Confessions of A Ghostwriter is coming out on any label in this day and time. Confessions of A Ghostwriter eschews the hip-hop orthodoxy of regurgitated topics and harder-than-thou anthems, replacing them with an abundance of lyrical virtuosity and soul-drenched, intricate tunes.

On Crew Deep, Skillz borrows from KRS-One noting, "Rap is like a setup/It's a lot of games/A lot of suckers with colorful names/I'm so-and-so, I'm this, I'm that/But all y'all cats rap about is cars and crack." Produced by Hi-Tek, "Crew Deep" is an outright bragfest tricked out with a blaxploitative gangsta lean featuring the incomparable Missy Elliott and former Xscape member Kandi Burruss.

"Wave Your Hands" is a cut of hip-hop soul held down by Philly crooner Musiq. It's backed by a track that's current enough for new school fickleness and bouncy enough for the dance floor, while seeming like a throwback to earlier more carefree times, especially when Musiq blows sublimely behind Skillz as he directs listeners to "Keep on to the break of dawn as we rock on y'all to the early morn."

Similarly, "Y'all See Me," featuring St. Louis rising star Pretty Willie, is a catchy anthem loaded with playful string and key arrangements. There's also "Skillz Vs. Shaquaan," a self-produced conceptual coup, where Skillz battles a hater whose girlfriend likes Skillz' music a little too much over the phone.