Skilla Baby Releases Debut Album THE PRICE OF FAME Feat. Nas & More

Detroit rapper Skilla Baby has released his debut studio album THE PRICE OF FAME. The 22-track project presents the artist mixing slick bars and raw melodies, described as vulnerable yet confident, down to earth but destined for greatness. The album features Nas, Bryson Tiller, Chris Brown and gospel artist Erica Campbell, along with candid skits, and is styled as a classic hip-hop album crafted to stand the test of time.

Skilla Baby also released the new music video for the track 'For Sure.'

'Going into this album, I approached it differently,' Skilla says. 'I had a different story to tell.'

That story begins with the cover: an evocative image inspired by an iconic photograph of Tupac Shakur in a wheelchair, hand bandaged, in 1994. Skilla survived similar circumstances last year — a brush with death that only crystallized his motivation and pushed him to rebuild himself top to bottom: physically, mentally, spiritually. In the run-up to THE PRICE OF FAME, he's dived deep into the album title theme in talks with 50 Cent, A$AP Rocky, G Herbo, and even himself.

Skilla shared what this LP means to him in XXL — both online and in the recently released 2026 Freshmen Class issue, a full circle moment for the 2024 alum: 'The Price Of Fame is an album for the average man. The working man. The struggling man. People that could go through hell and back to provide and protect their family and be successful. […] I want people to understand my journey. I want to understand other people's journey. And when people listen to my music, I want them to be like, 'Yeah, I've been through some of the same things.' […] This is me shedding skin. This is the part where I transition from one type of artist to another, switch tiers.'

He's demonstrated that on THE PRICE OF FAME singles like 'Show Me Love,' an ode to knowing your worth, counting your blessings, and standing on that while haters and fakes fall to the side. The celebratory anthem puts Skilla at the helm of a powerful lineup of producers including Sean Momberger (Kendrick Lamar, Jack Harlow), Rance (A$AP Rocky, Ella Mai), BoogzDaBeast (Drake, Ye), and Warryn Campbell (Alicia Keys, Brandy) as he infuses his bars with sing-song joy: 'Don't come around me, with that fake s—, my life amazing / 'Cause all the real n— show me love.'

Before that came 'Face Card' featuring Brown and Tiller, produced by Hitmaka and Aye YB, a slinky bedroom cut that quickly became the #1 most added song at US Urban Radio. Skilla kicked off this era with lead single 'GYSM' ('get you some money'), a tribute to the daily grind that earned love from VIBE, Billboard, and okayplayer, who noted, 'His new single showcases his growth.' The music video brought that to life, following Skilla as he progresses through different everyday professions: construction worker, delivery driver, office employee, janitor. With humor sprinkled throughout, the clip portrays the star as pure, uncut American hustle.

THE PRICE OF FAME is Skilla's first full-length project since 2024, which delivered both his Crack Music 3 mixtape — with highlights 'Jwett,' 'So Bad' with 4Batz, and 'Controversy 2' with Tee Grizzley — and the Deluxe Edition of The Coldest mixtape, which dropped the same month that Skilla scored the coveted fan-voted 'People's Champ' slot on the XXL 2024 Freshman Class cover. But after all of the fan-favorite drops, critical acclaim, and love from his fellow artists, THE PRICE OF FAME is where Skilla's intentionality truly comes to bear. Instead of some sort of victory lap, the new album is a complete picture of the man as he stands today: grateful, grown, on his grind, and putting in the work to be someone who the culture talks about for years to come.

Tracklist

1. 'Baptism Sunday'

2. 'God's Favorite'

3. 'For Sure'

4. 'Standing on It'

5. 'London Ting'

6. 'LoganGPT (Skit)'

7. 'Show Me Love'

8. 'GYSM'

9. 'Tough Guy (Skit)'

10. 'Face Card' (feat. Chris Brown & Bryson Tiller)

11. 'Ain't Enough'

12. 'May 22nd (Skit)'

13. 'No Tears'

14. 'The Suits (Skit)'

15. 'Respect My Gangsta' (feat. Nas)

16. 'Paranoid'

17. 'Dear Mama'

18. 'Product of My Environment'

19. 'Be Me'

20. 'The Price of Fame'

21. 'Strength In Numbers' (feat. Erica Campbell)

22. 'He Never Left'

Skilla Baby Live Dates

Sep 4 – Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six Pavilion w/ 42 Dugg

About Skilla Baby

Skilla Baby stands out in a vibrant Detroit rap scene by being unshakably smooth but never too-cool-to-care. A former teen basketball hopeful who started recording when he lost his father at age 15, he's wanted this for more than a decade. He cares about his music, where he's mastered dual strengths — slick yet rugged bars and a raw romantic croon. And he cares about his legacy, seeking mentors in everyone from Motor City veterans like Sada Baby to multihyphenate forces like 50 Cent and Teyana Taylor.

Skilla isn't just beloved within the creative community, where he's a devoted collaborator, but also by a loyal, diverse fanbase who show up in force for his understated wordplay, natural melodicism, and moving storytelling. Born Trevon Gardner, Skilla broke through with 2015's 'I'm Good' before becoming one of his city's defining voices via projects like We Eat the Most, Crack Music, and joint tapes with Sada and Tee Grizzley. Along the way he earned a Gold certification for 'Mama,' landed in XXL's 2024 Freshman Class as the People's Champ, and won praise from sources as broad as Billboard and Pitchfork, Jack Harlow and Travis Scott. A true artist known to spit bars off the cuff on IG Live from the seat of his car, he's also a burgeoning fashion force and is studying acting with plans to dive deeper into film and TV. But Skilla Baby's many achievements haven't dulled his pen for his most important release so far: his 2026 debut album, THE PRICE OF FAME.

Photo Credit: Andres Castillo

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