Hi, I’m Meathead. Boy, 1995 sure was a great year. (If you’re too young to remember, ask your dad about it sometime when he’s sober.) I got my driver’s license (and crashed into my first tree), Windows 95 came out, O.J. got away with murder, and oil multinational Royal Dutch Shell caved in to international pressure and abandoned plans to dump the Brent Spar oil rig at sea. Crazy times. But the biggest event of the year by far was the release of the smash hit rap song, “I Wish.” As with other major milestones in human history, such as the John Lennon assassination and the Murphy Brown finale, I’ll never forget where I was when I first saw the groundbreaking music video that accompanies “I Wish.” Well, okay, I don’t remember precisely, but I was probably sitting on the couch eating Doritos or something. Regardless of where I may or may not have been at the time, the important thing is that I was greatly moved by the unparalleled artistic vision of Antoine Roundtree, a.k.a. Skee-Lo. I knew from that point on that life would never be the same.
In pre-Skee-Lo society, there were no preeminent voices speaking up for the vertically challenged (commonly referred to as “short people”). In fact, due to my above-average, borderline grotesque height and accompanying elevated eye level, I didn’t even know short people existed up to that point. Skee-Lo opened my eyes to an entirely new world simply by having me look down slightly.
The “I Wish” music video brilliantly illustrates the plight of the short person and their inability to become ballers by satirically referencing the film Forrest Gump. Like Tom Hanks’ titular character, Skee-Lo sits on a park bench with a box of chocolates. The similarities pretty much end there, but it’s still a very powerful metaphor for something or other. “Do you want to know what’s really wack? / See, I can’t even get a date / So, what do you think of that?” muses Skee-Lo while lamenting the substandard vehicle he was forced to settle for due to his diminutive stature. Obviously, as a tall person I cannot relate to his predicament, but I can only imagine it must have been quite traumatic. By the way, can someone explain why the hell that card table keeps changing color from green to blue and back? I’m sure there is some deeper meaning behind it, but I’ve never been able to figure out how it fits into Skee-Lo’s overall message.
In the years following “I Wish,” Skee-Lo has been quite busy creating other songs, I guess. I haven’t actually heard any others, but I would imagine he’s probably made some. Tragically, his public profile was overshadowed in the wake of 9/11, and the short person’s burden was once again forgotten. But now it’s a new decade, and Skee-Lo is ready to reclaim his throne with his upcoming comeback record, Overdose.
Like the true virtuoso that he is, Skee-Lo has been carefully developing and honing his craft in the years since “I Wish” was in heavy rotation on MTV and radio. And what better way to herald his long overdue return and demonstrate his evolution as an artist than by releasing a dated nu-metal remix of the same song 15 years later? Such inspired innovation is tragically hard to come by in this day and age, and we should all be eternally grateful for the undying passion of Skee-Lo leading the way. Especially you short people.
Check out this breathtaking new promotional video for “I Wish 2010 Rock Remix,” featuring the man himself in a bitchin’ sweater vest, some old dude who apparently produced the remix, and a really uncomfortable-looking woman who I guess is blowing the old dude or something.
Overdose “drops” sometime in March, and if you’re lucky enough to live in L.A., you can catch Skee-Lo LIVE at the Whiskey A Go Go on March 5, where he will presumably play different variations of “I Wish” for two hours. Get your tickets while you still can! And if you’re reading this, Skee-Lo, hook me up with some backstage passes.
