With Skinny, it’s never been a story about a boy in transit from inner-child to outer-adult; it’s always been about a man whose identity is pasteled by his free-spirited nature and musical artistry.
“I have known Skinny since I was in school,” John Henry, the musician’s friend and pioneer publicist, recounted, of his experience pushing Skinny’s music in the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). “He never liked being compared with The Weekend, even though they looked alike at the time. He’s always had his own unique identity!”
With Skinny Skater, real name Promise Markson Ikenna, the premise has always been on his versatility as a singer. Draped in a mesh short-sleeve and red leather pants, Skinny Skater walked into the Clout Africa Live Performance studio, bandied with his movement director Elfreda Grey and vocal coach; and with barely an hour to go, he managed to stop time and serve a captivating live-music experience performing all his favourite hits.
“I asked her if she has a boyfriend/ She said ‘I don’t know’/ I drive her crazy, like Ajinomotor,” Skinny Skater’s witty and hearty lyricism stunned this writer as the musician clutched the microphone with both hands performing the song, “R Kelly” off his Close To Home extended play, released last year. His live band also elevated the banging Afro-Pop tune with percussion motifs and trumpet improvisations that created a warmer musical ambience for Skinny’s vocals to skate freely on.
He also performed his more recent songs including “Ozempic”, and “Birkin Baby”, to a rousing applause from the audience, especially for his energetic showmanship. “Dey calling my guys this afternoon/ They don’t know what I am about to do/ You talk say na slim tea/ But you do surgery and dey on Ozempic,” his knee and foot-work dance steps matched his groovy cadence as he further let loose on the mic. One second, he’s singing about body dysmorphia and the next he’s got everyone lost in a dance craze.
The thrill of the show was his performance of “Birkin Baby,” a fusion-focused bop that melds RnB, Afro Swing, and Reggae, as he floated with the most heartfelt melodies of the evening. “
Minus his engaging performance, Skinny’s music prowess lies in his exciting storytelling. The “soul” in his melodies also saltened his performance with further intrigue; on every rendition, one could feel the emotions like a tender embrace.
“I started calling myself Skinny Skater, because it was a name I used to bear as a skinny person back when I was younger, and I also loved to skate. When I was searching for a professional name, I just went with that,” he tells Guardian Music, during a Q&A at the end of the show. It’s not just the personification of his former insecurities that keeps the young musician as vivacious as can be, it’s actually in how his music has equally grown to be a bold and exciting reflection of reality, positively showcasing all its good, sad and ugly versions in true form as an artist.
