From Where???
Studio album by
Mad Skillz
ReleasedFebruary 13, 1996 (1996-02-13)
Recorded1994–95
GenreHip hop
Length1:01:48
Label
Producer
Mad Skillz chronology
From Where???
(1996)		 I Ain't Mad No More
(2002)
Singles from From Where???
  1. "The Nod Factor"
    Released: 1995
  2. "Move Ya Body"
    Released: 1996
  3. "Extra Abstract Skillz"
    Released: 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Los Angeles Times[2]
Muzik[3]
RapReviews7/10[4]
The Source[5]

From Where??? is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist Mad Skillz. It was released on February 13, 1996, via Big Beat/Atlantic Records. Production was handled by Buckwild, Shawn J. Period, J Dilla, DJ Clark Kent, EZ Elpee, Large Professor, 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 and number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums 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's All Eyez on Me and the Fugees's The Score. The singles "The Nod Factor" and "Move Ya Body" received moderate radio and video airplay.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."From Where??? (Intro)" Mad Skillz1:21
2."It's Goin' Down"
Jay Dee4:02
3."The Nod Factor"
The Beatnuts3:58
4."VA. In the House"
Buckwild4:33
5."Tongues of the Next Shit" (featuring Kalonji The Immortal)
  • Lewis
  • Kalonji Coleman
Mad Skillz4:22
6."Doin' Time In the Cypha"
Buckwild4:15
7."Tip of the Tongue"
  • Lewis
  • Nick Loizides
Nick Wiz3:51
8."Extra Abstract Skillz" (featuring Large Professor and Q-Tip)
Large Professor3:14
9."WMAD (Interlude)"  1:08
10."Get Your Groove On"
  • Lewis
  • Best
Buckwild4:42
11."The Jam"
  • Lewis
  • Yancey
Jay Dee4:18
12."Move Ya Body"
DJ Clark Kent3:58
13."Street Rules"
  • Lewis
  • Shawn M. Jones
Shawn J Period4:28
14."All In It"
  • Lewis
  • Jones
Shawn J Period4:26
15."Unseen World" (featuring Lonnie B, Kalonji The Immortal, Dr. Mindbenda, Lil' Roc and Javon The Medieval)
  • Lewis
  • Lonnie Battle
  • Coleman
  • D. Barbour
  • Ahmed Rahman
  • J. West
  • Lamont Porter
EZ Elpee4:51
16."Inherit the World"
  • Lewis
  • Jones
Shawn J Period4:21
Total length:1:01:48
Sample credits

Personnel

  • Donnie "Mad Skillz" 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" Williams – scratches (track 2)
  • Lester "Psycho Les" 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 "Large Professor" Mitchell – producer & mixing (track 8)
  • Rodolfo "DJ Clark Kent" 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 – mixing (tracks: 4, 6, 10)
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Daniel Hastings – design, photography
  • Miguel Rivera – design, photography
  • Christian Cortes – design
  • Glenn Orenstein – production coordinator

Charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[6] 154
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[7] 18
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[8] 5
Singles chart positions
Year Song Chart positions
Billboard Hot 100 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot Rap Singles Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1995 "The Nod Factor" — #76 #26 #16
1996 "Move Ya Body" — #85 #27 #8

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Mad Skillz - From Where??? Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ Coker, Cheo Hodari (February 17, 1996). "*** Mad Skillz, "From Where?," Big Beat/Atlantic.The..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  3. ↑ Ashon, Will (March 1996). "Mad Skillz: From Where???" (PDF). Muzik. No. 10. p. 96. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  4. ↑ Jost, Matt (October 25, 2011). "Mad Skillz :: From Where??? :: Big Beat/Atlantic". www.rapreviews.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ Poluhoff, Nicholas (November 1995). "Record Report: Mad Skillz – From Where???". The Source. No. 74. New York. p. 97.
  6. ↑ "Billboard 200". Billboard. March 2, 1996. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. March 2, 1996. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. March 2, 1996. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
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