The self-proclaimed "The Hardest Working Artist from the Capital," Young Skillz was able to transcend his local sensation status and become a national rap contender using inspirational hip-hop as the vehicle for his clever wordplay and music. James Edwin Jones was born in Washington , D.C. , in 1986. Skillz was mostly raised by grandparents, Frederick & Erma King in S.E. D.C. Skillz moved to Forestville with his mother & father Astor & Sandra Chambers, & graduated from Suitland High in 2004. The music bug had already bit him hard, though, and soon he would turn towards a recording career.
Skillz got his first airplay circa 2006-2007 with "Pop It Out," thanks to the help of a local radio DJ who believed in his potential. This gave him the momentum to do over 200 shows in & out of the DMV (DC, MD, VA) area the following year. In 2009, Skillz enjoyed a string of hits in the DMV area that year. Many of those records were from existing mix tapes that he released, “DC Jones The Story Of Young Skillz” was picked up by mixtapefactory.com & received over 15,000 downloads. Smart use of the Internet was also a big factor in his success.
Despite not being signed to a label, he was met with a good deal of positive press, ranging from DMV.life.com to The Baltimore Sun.