In this new entry in our ‘Diamonds In The Rough’ category, we would like to introduce you to upcoming artist Sk8tie and his brand new single titled “Cost Me Alot”.
Jacksonville, Florida rapper Sk8tie, the stage name of Khiry Bivins, is back with his new single “Cost Me Alot,” a raw and confident record that puts the realities of building an independent music career front and center. Out now, the track captures the sacrifices behind the ambition, turning Sk8tie’s personal journey into a statement about what it really takes to chase a dream on your own terms.
For Sk8tie, that journey began at just nine years old. Growing up in Jacksonville’s Fairytale Lane, an area known for streets with names like Pinocchio, Bo Peep, Tinkerbell, and Goldilocks, he was introduced to Southern hip-hop through his older brother, who returned from Atlanta’s Birthday Bash with a CD packed with music from artists including Future, Gucci Mane, T.I., Rich Kids, and Travis Porter. The sound immediately connected with him, and his brother became an early collaborator, helping Sk8tie record songs, shoot videos, upload music to YouTube, and establish a local following.
Music, however, would become much more than a creative outlet. Sk8tie spent much of his childhood helping care for his mother, who lived with multiple sclerosis, before she passed away when he was 14. Before her death, he made a promise that he would succeed in the music industry. That promise remains at the heart of his journey today.
“He’s doing it for her.”
“Cost Me Alot” reflects that determination while shining a light on the financial and personal investment required to remain independent. Sk8tie has funded his own recording sessions, music videos, promotion, and travel while simultaneously working as a merchant seaman, spending extended periods aboard ships around the world. Rather than allowing his demanding career to put his music on hold, he built a mobile recording setup that he could take with him to sea.
That DIY approach has allowed him to create music everywhere from Greece and Diego Garcia to the Suez Canal, Panama, New York, California, and Louisiana. The result is an artist whose music is shaped not only by Jacksonville and the Southern rap tradition that first inspired him, but by a life defined by movement, responsibility, sacrifice, and persistence.
On “Cost Me Alot,” those experiences give the record added weight. The song operates as a flex, but beneath the confidence is an understanding of everything that has gone into getting here. Sk8tie isn’t simply talking about ambition; he’s documenting what he’s personally invested to keep that ambition alive.
His independent grind is also beginning to translate into wider attention. After years of building his catalog and performing throughout Florida and beyond, Sk8tie has earned coverage from outlets including Say Cheese Digital, WorldStar Hip Hop, and Vevo, while also appearing on radio and interview platforms such as The Social Hour in Los Angeles and The Full Blown Laboratory in Atlanta. His previous mixtape, Sacrifice, hosted by DJ Shab, further established the mindset that continues to define his music.
Now, with “Cost Me Alot,” Sk8tie turns that mindset into a new chapter. Influenced by Southern rap heavyweights such as T.I., Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, and Boosie Badazz, he combines the confidence of a seasoned independent artist with the hunger of someone who still has something to prove.
For Sk8tie, the cost has never simply been financial. It is measured in time, distance, responsibility, and everything he has continued to sacrifice in pursuit of the promise he made as a teenager. “Cost Me Alot” is the sound of an artist acknowledging that price while refusing to let it stop him.
Listen below: