Skuba Music (Official Website)

Stephen “Skuba” Douthit is an artist: that’s about the only way you can define him. Skuba’s musical history dates back to long ago, being introduced to music at a young age by his extensively musically talented family. He learned how to play the piano in elementary school and wrote his first lyrics shortly thereafter. With influences from Pink Floyd to Lynrd Skynrd, Ice Cube to Eminem, David Guetta to Calvin Harris, Skuba’s musical ingenuity has crossover written all over it.

In high school, he collaborated with longtime friend and producer/engineer Jonathan “J. Moe” Moe regularly in a makeshift recording studio at J. Moe’s house. They started off as friends who shared an interest and talent in music, and ended up with the realization that there was a chance that something special could be coming to fruition. That’s when fellow artist and friend, Niko Villamor, presented Skuba with an opportunity to join the Atlanta based group ‘The Ivy Leegue,’ a rap trio that featured soultry sounds and innovative style of rap mixed with R&B flavor. The group also had the stamp of approval from Atlanta native, Grammy Award winning Slim of 112. Skuba knew that this was his destiny, and it was only the beginning.

With knowing that he had to show and prove to his future mates that he could perform at a high level, Skuba recorded his first mixtape “Through The Eyes Of Greatness” in 2005. Amazingly, Skuba and J. Moe finished this project in one night, including mixing and mastering, a must since his flight left to Atlanta the next day. With this new mixtape that he and J. Moe had worked so hard on just 24 hours prior,The Ivy Leegue was very impressed, with Slim being one of his biggest advocates.

Since then, Skuba has released 5 more mixtapes: Mr. Superbad, Mr. Superbad Vol. II, Planet Swag, 3 Day Weekend, and Tonight & Tomorrow. These were hosted by the likes of Slim himself, Nu Jersey Devil, and DJ Backside. On these projects, he collaborated with Slim, Mac Mall, YB The Rockstar (Ya Boy) Erk Tha Jerk, A-Wolf (The Freshmen) The Federation, Boo Banga, Furious, Matt Blaque, Hope for AM, and many more. Planet Swag’s single “Take My Number” would take off, receiving regular spins on one of California’s top radio stations, 106.1 KMEL. This helped create a regional buzz, and helped Skuba and The Ivy Leegue both receive bi-coastal recognition.

With so many mixtapes under his belt, and singles playing on the radio without a full album release, it was only a matter of time before his fans would demand more. That’s when Skuba knew he would have to make a trip to Atlanta to where it all began. He and Slim would record an EP together entitled, “Turned Up,” with the first single being the title track. ‘Turned Up’ gained national recognition from many radio stations spinning the record from top markets, xm radio, and even online radio stations. The big buzz about this project was that no one had ever heard Slim on any songs of this capacity, collaborating with a rapper with such a boisterous voice…and the masses wanted more. This again speaks to Skuba’s versatility, working with a Grammy winner and still continuing to push the envelope.

Speaking of versatility, Skuba is also one of the main components to the Electro/ Pop group “Right Side Out,” in which he performs and even contributes to the production along with production team “The Perfect Team,” which still includes J. Moe, Joe ‘J-Mac’ McKinley, Bernard ‘Outbreak’ Robinson, Roane ‘R.O.’ Holman,’ and Lance ‘iWrite’ Niblet. Keeping an open mind about how he approaches each song is what drives his success. With so many different genres covered in his music, Skuba naturally has developed a worldwide appeal. He has even collaborated with artists in the UK, showing him that the scope of his talent does not stop at the home front.

What is the next step for Skuba? Who knows? The majority of people live within their own scope of capability, whatever it is that they perceive it to be. These are the people that are asking. The real question is, what does Skuba think his next step is? One thing we have to realize is this: we can’t compare what we see to what he sees. Ever since he has been recording, he has tried to show us, that even against the toughest of odds, he will still outshine the others. It’s up to us to see things as he has always tried to show us since the beginning: through the eyes of greatness.