So on this funky Friday, I figured it would only be appropriate to share the sounds that have funked our eardrums and birthed the first chapter of iB4the1.

Fela Kuti “Water No Get Enemy” + The Price Is Right = “Gentleman’s Kool-Aid”

De La Soul “Trying People”+ Tilt = “The HereNow”

OutKast “Da Art of Storytelling pt.2” + Drizzletron’s sanity (or lack thereof) = “Finding Emo”

Black Eyed Peas “Alive” x Micheal Jackson’s passing = “Circus Nights”

therefore, =

And that’s just the production. What say YA’LL, Drizz? N.I.C.? Ada?

IT’S HEEEEEEERE!!

FROM OUR PRESS RELEASE:

Visionary, Hyper-Creative iLL-Literacy Crew Prepared to Change The Way You Listen to Music

iLL-Literacy Releases First Chapter Of Three-Part iB4the1

Short on attention span but long in ultra-creative, psychedelic rhymes, Oakland trio iLL-Literacy has some ambitious plans for the next few months. iLL-Lit is aiming to reshape not only the way that music is made but the way it’s distributed. Emcees Drizzleton, Dahlak, and N.I.C. are gearing up for the first of three release dates for their new album iB4the1.1 (pronounced I Before The 1, Chapter 1). Confused? Don’t be. It’s just the future.

iLL-Literacy will be releasing iB4the1 in three chapters. The first, Chapter 1, will be released on November 17. Because iLL-Literacy believes that traditional means of marketing and distribution have become obsolete, they are releasing all three chapters for free on their website (www.ill-literacy.com). In an effort to further obliterate the mold, iLL-Lit has partnered with street fashion legend C+ Jewelry to create USBiLL (pronounced “Us Be iLL”), a line of custom limited edition flash drives. A convenient and reusable alternative to CDs, USBiLL will be the primary physical form of the complete iB4the1 trilogy of releases.

iB4the1 may be their debut “album,” but the members of iLL-Literacy have known each other since birth and it shines through on their tracks. They boast a fully formed vision and aesthetic that few groups, especially young groups, can match. When asked about iB4the1, Drizzleton described it as an epic. He postulates that the ideal listening context for Chapter 1 would be on “either a short car drive…or upon the back of a spiny-toothed wombat in Africa, while watching Planet Earth on mute.”

In case you were somehow still worried that the iLL-Literate trio was lacking in ambition, allow Dahlak to describe Chapter 1: “Despite its brevity, .1 is grand in its effort to bridge sampled voice and original instrumentation, experimental music and hip-hop narrative. The sound of iLL-Literacy draws character from an unusual blend of influences, spanning funk, afro beat, alternative, soul and of course hip-hop. This is iLL-Lit before the start. The prequel to the saga. iLL-Lit before the One. Take that how you want.”

DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD DOWNLOAD DAMMIT!!

iLL-Literacy Experience: The Live Show from ill-literacy on Vimeo.

download Gentleman’s Kool-Aid

The time has come. It is with the excitement of a teenaged jackrabbit that, after 4 years of touring as a performance arts collective, we, iLL-Literacy, make our anxiously-awaited recorded debut. And our anxiousness has been supple and thick enough for the whole galaxy to share in the anticipation batter, canyadigit? Synopsis: Insofar as the irony of “retro-futurist 80s rebel pop” was too overwhelming to recreate in sound or iconography, the band known as iLL-Literacy has either speciously or insightfully (maybe both) opted for sample-inspired, base-driven electric gospel funk in the form of their new single, “Gentleman’s Kool-Aid.” The soymilkbuttasmooth lead track from their debut project iB4the1.1 is both a reflection on the warped and often glennbeckianized historical narratives of what it means to be a “gentleman”, and perhaps a confession of the fragile ecology of male ego. Let’s call it pollution of the Egology, otherwise known as “drinking thine own Kool-Aid.” So find yourself a glass of the good red stuff, and engage in some communion with us. Gentleman’s Kool-Aid. You might see heaven’s gate. Your free download awaits you at http://www.illshare.net/koolaid The composition in conversation features the soulful repository of Hi-Life drummer Rufus Redbone’s southern drawling voice, Billy Hi-Life’s bangtastic bass, and guestspots from former iLL-Literette Ruby and Hella U’s Glenda Mac. The track is a refreshing patchwork of vocal talent and live instrumentation organized by precocious new comers Dahlak and Ada Clock. – Drizzletron, Dahlak & N.I.C = iLL-Literacy

download Gentleman’s Kool-Aid

via MVMT and Brave New Voices

Quote of The Day: ” No…Fuck you.”

Self-Hatred iLL piece from Dahlak Brathwaite on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day: “Come on in.”