Illy

Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 August 2009 09:31 Written by Courtney Wotherspoon Wednesday, 06 May 2009 10:29

ILLY AT WILL

He's the newest talent to be signed to the Obese label and with his debut album 'Long Story Short' generating much talk, this new kid on the block proves he's here to stay.

“I would say that I have depth but that my flow is quite simple, I try to save the complexity for the point that I'm trying to make rather than the way that I say it,” says the Melbourne local who appears wiser than his 23 years.
“I guess I'm lucky too because I have some of the best producers in the country as my good mates.”
How he managed that feat is a story in itself. 
Illy, who at the time was known as Illal, began rapping at parties in high school after hearing the American rap music being played by his mate's older brothers.
“I suppose I have Snoop Dogg to thank, listening to him rap about all that old school gangsta shit gave me a taste for hip hop - that and my inability to play guitar or sing to save my life,” he says with a laugh.
“I was always good with words so I began writing my own songs, I've been taking it pretty serious for the last six years and recorded my first track when I was in year 11.”
Pegz, the director of Obese had his eye on Illy from the start, keeping tabs on his work even when he signed up with the Crooked Eye Crew.
“I was working with the Crooked Eye boys, Phrase, Daniel Merriweather and those guys. They took me in and have brought me up for the last three or four years so I wanted to stay loyal to them and see our project through. Unfortunately it got to the stage where we all came to the consensus that for me to take it to the next step I would have to sign with a label that had more financial backing and Obese was a natural fit because it's the biggest and most respected label in Oz hip hop.”
Illy says that even though he has now signed with Obese he is still mates with the Crooked Eye boys and went to them for advice while writing the tracks for 'Long Story Short'.
“When I start writing I began with a beat then I came up with the hooks, once I was happy with that I think the verses came a lot easier,” he says. “I base my songs on events or situations in my life. That's how I wrote the tracks for this album, the whole idea behind the name is that it tells the story of the last 23 years of my life in a condensed 60 minute CD.”
Illy says that of the 14 tracks on his debut album, he has eight favourites.
“I know it's more than half the album but if I had to pick an absolute favourite it would be the title track as it's the most personal one and I just like everything about it, then again, it varies from day to day depending on what mood I'm in.”
Being the new kid on the block has also taught this young gun some valuable lessons when it comes to his work ethic.
“The biggest thing I learnt was to keep working! For every day you take off in the creative process it takes two to get back into it. It's taken two years, from writing the first song to recording the last! In the end getting signed to Obese was the best thing that could have happened to me because they set a deadline to have it ready by which was essentially a fire under my ass and a message to get this album done,” he says. “It was crazy, about half the album was done in the first two months of this year.”
Illy says that people can expect really strong themes and good songs from 'Long Story Short'.
“There's not much shit talking or trying to be clever for the sake of it. It focuses on the lyrical aspects, which I think are missing in some hip hop releases around at the moment.”  

Illy’s debut album ‘Long Story Short’ is out on Obese records on May 16.