Mad Skillz gathered with members of the 90s Girl Brunch virtual community for a private January screening of his new documentary at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach.
On a gray Sunday in late January, the auditorium in Charlotte, North Carolina’s Uptown Mint Museum was filling up. Even though it was AFC Championship weekend — when the eyes of folks in this football town would normally be glued to the gridiron — people continued to file in: men, women, Gen Xers, millennials and even a 5-year-old. The air was full of buzz and chatter.
The reason for their gathering?
To catch the North Carolina premiere of the documentary “Mad Skillz & the 90s Girl Brunch.”
Richmond native Mad Skillz, born Shaqwan Lewis, has a loyal following and a reputation for being a guy who shows up for his community. That’s why one of his childhood hometown neighbors drove nearly four hours (with her mother in tow) to Charlotte to see Mad Skillz and his film. “He’s always been that guy who looked out for everyone else,” she says. “We wouldn’t miss the chance to show up for him.”
Mad Skillz
Mad Skillz is a hip-hop pioneer, from his early days as an emerging rapper signed to Timbaland’s label to touring with icons including Missy Elliott and DJ Jazzy Jeff. In addition to his own music (he has seven studio albums), the songs he has penned or produced for others (including names such as Will Smith), his creation of the podcast “Hip Hop Confessions,” and his role as an instructor at the University of Richmond, he is always innovating while preserving the legacy of Black music and culture.
In March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mad Skillz was isolating in place, trying to stay busy. He was visiting Los Angeles, where his full schedule as a DJ, songwriter, producer and university lecturer on the history of hip-hop had come to a screeching halt. He was used to working independently, but whatever he created (a set mix, a beat, a rhyme, a lecture) had always been shared with an audience. Due to COVID-19, all that changed. Just as many thought in the early days of the pandemic, Skillz figured it was a temporary break from public gatherings. To occupy his time, he created “The Quarantine Mix,” an amalgam of his trademark sense of humor and classic tracks that tangentially gestured to the idea of a virus. The set included “Contagious” by Ron Isley, “Toxic” by Britney Spears, and “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” by Busta Rhymes, something he now realizes was more prescient than any of us knew at the time. Still, it was a lighthearted attempt at engaging with his online followers, many of whom quickly jumped on board when the artist joined Instagram Live to DJ his first virtual party.
Mad Skillz realized isolation had made people hungry for connection and that he could bring them together through the internet and the use of music. After that experience, he turned his home into a temporary DJ booth. He came up with a simple concept: a virtual brunch, complete with feel-good ’90s R&B music. It was more than shorthand for a weekend meal between breakfast and lunch, it also signified time spent with friends, laughter, music, fun and community.
Mad Skillz’s “90s Girl Brunch” was born.
Each Saturday and Sunday, the same names would log on and listen to his brunch sets. More than that, they would virtually participate and communicate, making jokes and making friends. The community soon spilled over into the real world. Once it was safer to gather again, Mad Skillz decided to host an in-person event. People flew in from across the country to spend time with their host, and most of all, each other.
My hope is that people come away from this film realizing that music can still bring us together [and] keep us together.
—Mad Skillz
The self-produced “Mad Skillz and the 90s Girl Brunch” took him two years to make. “My hope is that people come away from this film realizing that music can still bring us together and not only bring us together, but keep us together,” he says.
The film is available to stream on Mad Skillz’s YouTube page, and he’s also hosting a “90s Girl Brunch” event on May 5 at the Park on Fremont restaurant in Las Vegas.
The documentary explores how a weekly online DJ set became much more, building friendships that were planted online but bloomed in the analog world. It is a film that proves the power of music to bring diverse communities together. But more than that, it’s about our collective humanity and how we care for one another in the ways we know how.
When asked to explain the unique phenomenon of the “90s Girl Brunch,” which had followers tuning in religiously for a dose of sonic salvation, Mad Skillz notes, “Your imagination can take you places that travel can’t.”
