Nichol9: The Skitzo EP

My high school track coach and I would exchange CD’s every afternoon after practice. Usually he’d pass along a Roots album or something by renowned beatboxer Rahzel. But one day he handed me a CD and said that a rapper from his hometown in Ohio made it and he thought I’d enjoy it. In lieu of a label, the disc had Nichol9/Skitzo scrawled across the front in Sharpie. I pulled up Google and did a few searches for Skitzo and Nichol9 before popping the CD in and giving it a listen.

It wasn’t until several years later that I found Nichol9’s (now offline) website. This website explained that the Skizto EP was set to hit stores but there was a copyright issue with another artist named Skitzo. So the artist formerly known as Skitzo became Nichol9. But unfortunately the Skitzo EP is pretty hard to track down. It’s a shame because the album is good. And I mean really good.

Featuring seven songs, the Skitzo EP comes in at just under 19 minutes. To this day it is still one of my favorite albums to work out to. The entire project has a high energy feel to it. My first observation upon playing the Skitzo EP was that the production value was excellent. Apparently the whole album was produced by Michael Seifert who has worked with a number of well-known acts including rappers Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Too Short, 8 Ball & MJG, and UGK. Seifert’s beats are hard, fast, and bass-filled. Nichol9’s delivery keeps pace. From the start he makes his motivation clear. He says “So say to me that I’ll never be a great MC, I said the same things about Shady but now he’s making cheese.” In the man’s own words, don’t underestimate him. Music making is a difficult business, especially for those just starting out as Nichol9 was when he recorded the Skitzo EP. He jokes about how fans went to Napster to download the disc. Though the file-sharing Napster has been put to rest, up-and-coming artists still suffer from illegal downloading a la Bittorrent and other sites.

Track three, “The Gift,” slows the pace down a bit. A tribute to the artist’s friend who was killed in a tragic accident, the album uses actual news clips as the chorus. This is one of my favorite tracks off the album. In it, Nichol9 shows his vulnerabilities. He questions whether he wants to keep making music and talks about a struggle with religion: “I don’t wanna worship a Lord that’s hurtin’ me more, by lettin’ people live who don’t deserve to be born; we got criminals, killers, drug dealers and rapeists, you coulda chose them but you decided to take him.” The track is very humble and shows a side of musicians which usually isn’t seen: the human side.

Following up “The Gift” is a skit poking fun at the rap group Insane Clown Possee, which segues into a diss song, “Fuck Da Clownz” with Cloud E. Skyz. This continues the high energy, aggressive flow which Nichol9 establishes from the intro. The guest stop by Cloud E. Skyz is pretty solid. Skyz says of ICP, who are known for wearing makeup and outlandish costumes when they rap “I suggest you apologize to Ronald McDonald for stealing his style he wants it back.” On top of comical lines referencing Barnum and Bailey’s and Ronald McDonald, the song’s beat is akin to a carnival fun house tune with hard hitting baselines slapped over it.

The Skitzo EP closes with “Hold Me Down,” featuring Suga Shak. Nichol9 chronicles the struggles he had with people claiming he wouldn’t make it in the music industry and comparing him to Eminem. This is followed by an outro, the “Wackroman skit,” which finds Nichol9 doing an acapella parody of Afroman’s “Because I Got High.”

Luckily, Nichol9 didn’t let anyone hold him down and refused to let obstacles such as copyright problems prevent him from making music. Right now he’s working on another album, “Throwback Lane.” Currently he has a couple beats by SoSoDef producer Mike Kalombo. According to Nichol9, “The Gift,” will reappear on the new album. Confirmed guest spots include Cleveland rapper Polysh and Bizarre of rap group D12, both of whom appear on the song “Weatherman.” While the album is still in the works, Nichol9 hopes to have verses from all members of D12, including Eminem. He is currently working with some connections to feature Keyshia Cole on the chorus of an upcoming track.

Nichol9 says that “Throwback Lane has been a challenge, mainly because my lifestyle has changed, I have a 6 year old boy and finances are tight, so although I would love to have it done by the end of the year, it’s not looking that way.” Keep up with the album as it develops by following Nichol9 on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube, and continue to support hardworking artists like Nichol9. Special thanks to Nichol9 for working with me for this post.