CHI-ILL Talks Rap
14 October 2009
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Chicago has never faltered in birthing a string of competent lyricists. From Common to Twista, to Kanye to The Cool Kids, the city has literally always been one step ahead when it comes to Hip-Hop. Hailing from the Windy City is an MC which many are about to be made familiar with.
CHI-ILL who is kicking in doors with his current track Ready to Go, has taken the negatives in his life to create nothing but positives and in doing so has secured a bevy of loyal fans. Hoping to help combat the gang violence in his native city, this Latin MC founded the PUT DOWN THE GUN, PICK UP THE MIC campaign with associate, DJ Nonstop.
Learn how the loss of a close friend really kick started the passion in this mans words in this candid interview and check out where CHI-ILL would take you if you were to make a trip to Chicago on his watch.
What encouraged you to start rapping?
Death. I was always into music even before hip hop found me. As far back as I can remember, the record collection in my house was real diverse. My mother had soul records, salsa records, rock you name it. My influence to perform came from Michael Jackson. I was 5 years old learning the Thriller choreography and then performing the moves at school. I was a very musical kid. I loved music. I sang I did it all from when I was a baby.
When hip hop found me I was in love with all of it from Afrika Bambaataa to N.W.A. to Tribe Called Quest. I was a follower of the hip hop culture. I always knew how to rap and put words together but I never looked at it as a career. It was just something I did something I loved.
Then in 1998, one of my best friends Isaac was murdered and that changed everything. Another close friend came to me and said “you have to get off the corner with this rap shit get in the studio and let everyone know he existed and tell the world what were going through.” Since that day I’ve done just that!
Chicago is a hard city to make it in the music business, possibly harder than New York , what have you gone through to emerge as a force to be reckoned with on the Hip-Hop scene?
I think it is a thousand times harder than New York in the sense that Chicago really has no music industry. No building to actually go to and drop off a demo or lobby to stand in and wait for an executive. All you can do is take it to the streets and to the clubs and fight for your position. This is what I did.
After Isaac died, myself and my homie Erick started working on making original music. He was making ridiculous beats off of an old sp 12. When I wasn’t in the house or the yard or the garage with him making music I was trooping from hood to hood kicking it with different crews rapping and battling cats. If I wasn’t in the street I was in the clubs battling for the pot money.
I was already well known in the street, I had to make my presence felt on the battle circuit. From there I went from struggle to struggle hustling to get by. But I never stopped moving forward as far as my art. I dealt with drama. I dealt with hatred but regardless of what came my way I dealt with it head on and never faltered.
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