Who would have thought Illy would turn out to be such a survivalist? He is currently bunkered down trying to wait out the apocalypse (or “working on an album” as he styles it) after years of taking his lyrics from coast to coast.
He has earned a respected place in the echelons of Aussie hip hop, often hailed as our ‘intelligent rapper’ for songs that aren’t afraid to carry a political message or speak to some of the more troubling issues facing society today. In the lead-up to his first national tour in over a year, we try to lure the Melbourne muso out from his cave to hear what’s coming up next.
“Man, I couldn’t even tell you what kind of day it is, because I haven’t been able to see outside,” he laughs. “I’m in the studio in a windowless room, in the belly of the beast here in terms of getting this album done, just trying to punch my way out. The last couple of weeks belong to the studio; we’re putting the finishing touches on the album now. I had a little bit of time off over New Year’s, but the whole of January has been dedicated to getting this done. I think the next single will probably drop sometime mid-February, and I want to say the album will be out in April, but I’ve already said it would be out earlier and it still isn’t finished.”
It has indeed been quite a gap since 2013’s Cinematic, and the longest wait between Illy records to date. Not that Illy has been sitting idle all that time; there have been international tours, the running of his label OneTwo, and festivals galore. He is also sitting on an ARIA Award and has a gold-selling album under his belt, yet despite these successes, there are still voices in the industry keen to take cheap shots.
“It’s always going to be that way, but that’s rap. Rappers always want to be the best. When you start rapping you need that; it gives you the confidence to get onstage with no real ability to sing and just say words over a beat. You need to have that delusion a bit, that what you’re saying is worth it. As far as I know, the criticisms I’ve got have never been from people I consider peers. It’s been from people who are maybe jealous of seeing other people be successful when they haven’t been. But that’s not exclusive to Australian hip hop. I think in the EDM scene you have competitive DJs hating on other DJs. There are only so many pieces of the pie you can have, and it’s still a small scene here.
“I’ve always tried to be genuine,” Illy continues after frequent collaborator M-Phazes ducks by from the room next door to ask a question. “Rather than it being that competitive thing, a real issue is that a lot of dudes in the hip hop scene try and say that they’re not into writing catchy songs, they all hate pop stuff. But then you hear their songs, and they’re all pop. They’re saying one thing but the song says another. I mean, that’s cool I guess, but I think it’s disingenuous.
“I’ve never danced around the fact I like melody, I like writing hooks. I like songwriting beyond just writing raps. More recently I’ve moved away from being too preachy in songs. ‘Swear Jar’ is a silly song, but with a serious message behind it about online abuse and about artists getting on their high horse and thinking they’re top shit. But I didn’t want it to be a preachy song. I find they can be cool to a degree, but they can also date really quickly. It’s a hard balancing act.”
‘Swear Jar’ arrived last November, and in addition to promoting it through his upcoming tour, Illy has banded together with mental health organisation beyondblue to launch a campaign aimed at addressing the repercussions of cyber bullying. So far, the concept has even made its way onto the ARIA Awards red carpet, with artists at the ceremony last November donating dollars every time they dropped their favourite curse word.
“‘Swear Jar’ came about after I’d been getting messages from a lot of people over the years, especially kids, saying one of my songs helped them through this or that,” Illy says. “More than a few have said they’ve been having trouble with people at school or their workplace, and the songs really help. So I wanted to address that without giving these fuckheads who do this shit the satisfaction of a [serious song]. I wanted to do it in a stupid way so people can hear it and think, ‘Yeah, fuck these guys. They’re the losers.’ From that, reaching out to beyondblue was a bit of a no-brainer, they do such good work with mental health. And with the song called ‘Swear Jar’, it’s not a far leap to fundraising.”
Just as there are many young people out there hearing his music and finding ways of getting through times of struggle, there are just as many who have been inspired by Illy and his peers – those like 360 and Hilltop Hoods – to start experimenting with their own hip hop careers. As Illy sees it, the genre is facing a unique evolution in Australia, with the next generation taking lyrics and beats in whole new directions.
“Even amongst myself, ’60 and the Hoods, we’re all very different in our approach, but between us and the generation that’s coming up it’s totally different again. You can hear the influences are very different, and that’s reflected in the music. The Hoods were already around when I started, and it was a real community then because things hadn’t really gone mainstream at that point. Everyone was supporting each other, that love was there.
“I think the kids nowadays – ha, as old as that makes me sound – I think they need to have that same thing. And social media means that you don’t need to go to open mics four or five nights a week to get your chops up. You can put up videos from your bedroom having never played a live show. The whole dynamic has changed, and so it’s kind of natural that that sense of community has been lost to a degree.”
With the Swear Jar Tour kicking off in Darwin on Friday, it’s time for Illy to dust off the microphone, leave the bunker and step into the stage lights. As his next album sits within snatching distance and thousands of fans count the days until their local gig, all in all Illy is feeling pretty happy about being Illy right now.
“Man, to be here, to be 30 on my fifth album, to feel the trajectory is still on an upward incline… When you’re starting out and you just want to be heard, you can’t realistically think it’s going to work. I’ve got to be grateful for this shit. If you’d asked me even five years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to call this now. That’s probably a real corny answer, but it’s true man, it’s true. I try not to ever get too complacent or comfortable.”
[Illy photo by Cybele Malinowski]
Illy appears at the Metro Theatre onSaturday February 20, withDylan Joel and Citizen Kay.
