Emerging from the underground MC battle-scene, Illy was first courted by Crooked Eye which saw the 23-year-old mentored by the likes of Daniel Merriweather and Phrase. It wasn’t long before the Melbourne based MC garnered the attention of hip hop heavyweights Obese, who signed the rapper in time to unveil his first offering ‘Long Story Short’ to the public.
Fresh from releasing his debut album and performing on stage with Phrase at MTV Snow Jam 2009, Melbourne-based Illy catches up with MTV to talk snow, expectations and kick ass hotel rooms.
MTV: So how was Snow Jam for you?
Illy: My Snow Jam experience was crazy! I was there to perform as part of Phrase’s set; it was nuts, I’d never done anything like it before, it was out of control. The crowd was crazy even though they were in the snow, yeah it was awesome.
MTV: The weather was a hundred kinds of crazy that night! Did it affect your performance at all?
Illy: The weather on the night was pretty crazy, but once you’re on stage, and I don’t get to go on stage with Phrase very often any more, so once we’re on stage together it didn’t matter what the weather was doing.
MTV: Is that the first time the three of you have performed together?
Illy: Nah I’ve performed with them both many times in the past, and hopefully many times to come!
MTV: So what was your favourite part of Snow Jam?
Illy: The best part, other than being on stage, was the rooms they put us up in; I’ve never stayed in a room like that before so hopefully we can get more times with MTV so I can stay in a room like that again [laughs]!
MTV: What’s your take on the state of the local urban industry?
Illy: The state of the urban industry; well I wouldn’t call it the urban industry but the hip hop scene, it’s really blown up. Now it’s at the point where there’s as many kids in high school listening to Aussie hip hop as there are listening to Aussie rock which is great and its great for artists like myself; it’s really helped the scene to expand. It’s exciting.
MTV: You’ve got a great working relationship with established artists like Phrase and Daniel Merriweather, are there any other artists on the scene you look to for guidance?
Illy: Yeah, there are a few artists that I look to for guidance, obviously my crew the Crooked Eyes boys and also the boys on Obese, there the ones that I mainly look to; they’ve been around a lot longer than I have so any advice I can get off them, great!
MTV: There was a lot of expectation after you signed with Obese; was this a help or a hindrance when it came time to drop your debut?
Illy: There was a lot of expectations, but when you’re surrounded by the talent that I’m surrounded by, it’s a good expectation to have, because if you pull your finger out and give it a crack, there’s the people there to help you push it over the line. So it wasn’t a bad thing for me.
MTV: So what’s coming up?
Illy: I’ve got a tour coming up with Phrase and Snobscrilla in September and October, which will be really cool, and also the Obsese records Block Party which should be madness!
It’s going to be a big couple of months. Going oversees for a couple of months at the end of the year to South America, and hopefully get started on the new album.
Illy’s debut album ‘Long Story Short’ is out now on Obese Records
Want to catch Illy in action? 'Snow Jam 2009 - On The 'Piste' With MTV" premieres on MTV, August 15 @ 5pm so lock it in!
Copyright : MTV Australia
