This dude Adriel made a dope video for this poem I wrote. For all you iLL-Lit fans who were somewhat confused by iB4the1.1, this one’s for you.

About the Process
by Adriel Luis

I love working in a group because of the unexpected inspiration that comes from it.

Last year was sooooo difficult! We were West Coasters starting our first winter in the East Coast, our apartment was falling apart (literally), there were rats and roaches clawing through the walls, and we all had to pick up day jobs to deal with living in New York.

Then one day Dahlak brought me this new poem he wrote. And it was over this new beat he produced. And it was SICK! Immediately, visions starting coming to me…images that corresponded with his words. What made this different from the past pieces he shared with me was that I didn’t see this on stage as much as I saw it through the digital world.

I was just learning my way around Final Cut at the time, so I decided to make this my playground. I started manically searching YouTube and, in the same way that Dahlak sampled bits of an Isaac Hayes song for the backdrop music, I wanted to sample everyday clips that were uploaded by the people. I spent three days caged in my room browsing, rendering, editing…browsing some more, rendering some more, editing some more. I might have brushed my teeth once during that time.

The result is “The Process,” which I hope serves as an inspirational introduction (or re-introduction) to iLL-Literacy’s first recorded project iB4the1. This is one of our first attempts to demonstrate how and why we see everything connected, and why we do what we do. I hope you enjoy. Happy 2011. -DRZZL

Lyrics by Dahlak (me)

The process of decomposition has begun
This is not the first time we have doubted ourselves

The making of iB4the1 requires individuals to undergo a complete breakdown
Estranging body from mind
Once the Kool-Aid is consumed,
The body acts as a coup to overthrow the insecure tyrant that is castled within the skull
What appears as dysfunction is only the body exploring alternative methods of survival
Heartbeats override quantized pumping faster
Forcing a more rapid flow
Organs combine or split into subsystems
Vocal chords grow dissonant
Causing tones and pitches to shift
It is purely through spirit that the body is able to withstand such chaotic harmony
The soul releases every drop of life force it holds
And for a moment
The individual feels an overwhelming sense of presence
A capsulated capsule of time and space
Where all of human drama unfolds like a farcical play
And the choice is remade to assume the role of protagonist
Exactly where you are
Doing exactly what you’re doing
HereNow
But I guess every rebellion begins well
Which leads us to our current unpresent state
The mind is a trickster
A dictator
A master of propaganda spreading rumors like tumors
The question of “can” becomes a cancer
Transformation translates as death
The pain of the body parting from all it knows
Depresses the hope of joining all it believes
“I just can’t lose myself” is our answer
Our response, running from our fear
There’s comfort in finding ego
As the fight reaches its heights
The final stage of self-dismantle is entered
Prone to producing dillusions and hallucinations
Common reports consist of haunting laughter
One-eyed monsters, temptresses, flashing lights, distorted mirrors and other optical illusions
Described as a dark and eery carnival
Go forth in strength, for the 1
Circus Nights awaits.