SKI MASK THE SLUMP GOD TOUCHING DOWN IN AUSTRALIA
Ski Mask The Slump God arrives later this November for his debut Down Under tour. After a decade-long career, the Florida favourite finally treats Australian fans to one of rap’s best moshpits.
Born Stokeley Goulbourne in April of 1996, Ski Mask rose from the South Florida underground in the mid-2010s, brandishing jittery flows, dexterous wordplay and an unpredictable personality that rose above even the most raucous instrumentals. Alongside him since 2014 was his close friend and collaborator XXXTENTACION, who Ski met in juvenile detention before co-founding Members Only. Among the likes of Lil Uzi Vert and Playboi Carti, the pair became irrefutable founding fathers of hip-hop’s SoundCloud era, and responsible for inspiring an entire generation of rappers on innovative internet ways to foster their fanbase.Â
After amassing an army of listeners and firing up festival moshpits across continents with tracks like ‘Catch Me Outside’ and ‘Take A Step Back’, 2018 culminated into a defining year for Ski’s personal and professional life. He joined the XXL Freshman Class and delivered his well-received debut studio album STOKELEY, home to hits ‘Faucet Failure’ and ‘Nuketown’, both accompanied by iconic Lyrical Lemonade visuals. But the Broward County musician had lost multiple close friends including gone-too-soon artists XXX and Juice WRLD around the same time and by 2020, he knew it was time for a hiatus.
Although his break was short-lived, returning with the politically-charged ‘Burn The Hoods’ later that July, Ski remained relatively reserved with his solo releases. Already, Ski had become a young veteran of the underground and new-gen-led evolutions as SoundCloud rap seeped deeper into the hip-hop zeitgeist. He held fans over in the years following with Sin City The Mixtape and collaborations alongside Trippie Redd, Denzel Curry, Dreamville and more — not to mention the stacks of leaked tracks, something that’s become synonymous with rappers from his era.
Fast forward to 2024, Ski Mask The Slump God remains focused on artistic growth and healing from loss. The latest step along this journey came in the form of 11th Dimension, his first full-length project in six years. Announced just a week before its release in June, the album introduces several fresh elements to his artistry, sharpening already-established sonics in his catalogue and experimenting in ways we’ve never heard from him. From the island stylings of ‘WDYM’ to the moshpit-ready ‘Part The Sea’, the project also ventures into dimensions of glitchy rap, surrealistic rock and reggae.
The 21-track record features Future, Corbin, Skillibeng, a voice memo from XXX, and a never-heard-before Juice collaboration from their planned Evil Twin project. Backdropped by the healing process and the path to feeling whole again, Ski enters each dimension of the album with his offbeat references and infectious personality still front and centre. Released via Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic Records, the 28-year-old artist brushes off any murmurs of the sophomore album slump with one of the strongest comebacks in recent rap history.
Honourable mentions to previous singles ‘Shibuya’ and ‘Wake Up!’ but ‘Earwax’ is undoubtedly the album’s creme de la creme. As if Ski needed another song to prove his flow god status, he turns in further proof on the Swaggyono-produced track. 11th Dimension is the deepest personal exploration of Ski’s psyche in his music yet, it pays homage to the turbulent path that led him here while modernising the sound and blazing his own trail towards an exciting new evolution.
Ski Mask is making history with his first tour in the region to celebrate the album’s release. Produced by Live Nation, the 11th Dimension Tour will visit Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, with DJ Scheme and Danny Towers joining him on the road. Guaranteed to shut down any festival or sideshow, it makes so much sense that Ski Mask has performed at almost every Rolling Loud. With his high-energy stage presence and notorious moshpits, Ski’s performances promise a mix of classics and new material for one of Australia’s hotly-anticipated rap tours.Â
After a decade’s worth of skin in the game, cancelled visits and more mishaps, the elusive Australian tour has been a roller-coaster for Ski Mask fans and Stokeley himself. Off the back of one of his strongest career moments in 11th Dimension, seemingly in his best artistic mode, the present is as good of a time as any. With Travis Scott in the country recently for his Circus Maximus Tour, Christmas has officially come early for Aussie ragers.
Tickets to see Ski Mask The Slump God are available now via Live Nation.
