CHI-ILL
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.
I get a lot of love for handling a lot of the bad hands I was dealt. People relate to me because they actually witness my struggle. I put out mix tapes and street albums that dealt with the people in my communities and pain which were very well received. I spoke on everything from domestic violence to addiction to molestation to poverty to family and so forth. To this day, I get thank you’s and words of encouragement from people my music touched. The hood got my back!
Give us a bit of info on your name, obviously something to do with Chicago being the windy city right?
I remember having a few names. In the beginning, I think I was Furious Stylez for like a week. I always thought that was a great name that Lawrence (Larry at the time. LOL.) Fishburne's character had in the movie Boyz In The Hood. One day CHI-ILL just popped in my head. All I talk about in my music is my city Chicago and I already knew I was ill. 2 and 2 made 4 and the rest is history.
There has always been a stigmatism attached to Latin MC’s that they are trying to fill the void that Big Pun left, do you think that void will ever be filled?
I don’t look at it as a void to be filled, because what pun did cannot be done again. He was the first Latino rapper to go platinum. The first, no one else can do that. More than a void, I look at it like what Pun started was unfinished business. If he was the first then that means there's room for the second and third and so on. We know there's no shortage of quality Latino mc's Joell Ortiz , Tru Life, myself and 100 mc's just from my section in my city. We look at pun as the general the battering ram that brought down the million album door. We can’t redo that but we definitely can bring the dream of more Latinos going platinum to fruition. I believe that!
How important is your heritage to you when it comes to your music?
Very important! My responsibility is to my heritage and to my culture. My mother and grandmother are my ultimate influence. They came to this country and worked towards the American dream. It's my responsibility to build on that dream. I can and that is evident in my music. I am also a member of the hip hop culture which also fought for that dream so once again it is my responsibility to build on that.
You linked up with DJ Nonstop, how important is it for an up and coming artist to align themselves with a DJ these days?
It's more like getting a DJ to align themselves with you. See the DJ has always been the backbone of hip hop music. So a DJ that takes his position seriously just is not going to align himself with you if your not hot. Period! But if your hot and you get it on and popping with an inflectional DJ like the heavy hitter DJ nonstop, it's priceless. When you have someone with that status cosigning you people listen and tend to take more time to give your music a chance. Much love to all real dj's who take their position seriously.
I heard you are really something else when it comes to performing, what has been your most memorable performance to date and why?
Without a doubt 2006 DMX Year of The Dog Again tour in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. Let me tell you why, my big brother DJ nonstop is Dmx's DJ. He takes me in 04 or 05 to meet X in Greenbay, Wisconsin. From that point on I would pop up in certain cities he was in and hang out with him. In a year and a half maybe two years i never told X I was rapper. I was the dude that comes up from Chicago and plays his position. I was not there to play the "I am a rapper roll.” In 06 during the Year of The Dog Again tour X came to Chicago.
It was a big deal for me when nonstop called me and said "you ready to open for dog at the House Of Blues," I was like hell yeah. X still did not know I was performing management knew. We went from Chicago to DC and did Club Love. Then we went to Myrtle beach South Carolina House of Blues. The trip from DC to SC was horrible. We had a bad day and got to SC late so I was sure I was not performing. We get there and they are like you guys go on in ten minutes. It was time to put the last 24 hours behind us and make it happen. I got on stage and South Carolina gave me nothing but love.
The show was flawless. As I am getting off stage my hype-man tells me "X was watching the performance.” I was like X never watches the opening act he's probably still on his bus. I get to my dressing room and X's dressing room was right across from mine. He calls me in there to do the prayer before he gets on stage and starts jumping up and down telling me how I killed the show and how he had to look out the window to see why the audience was cheering. That's how he found out I was a rapper. So I’d have to say that performance stands out.
What messages do you want people to get from your music?
I want to bring the passion back to hip hop that thing that Pac, Pun and Big had. I want to bring back that connection to the people. I want my message to be freedom any kind of freedom. I want to teach these kids that making music is not just going following the formula but reinventing the formula over and over. I want my music to be about the people not about fantasy but about real life.
Besides yourself who would be your top 5 Chicago artists?
In no specific order, Dirty MF, Ace Mac, Lupe Fiasco, Twista and Common.
If we were to visit your city where would be the first place you would take us if you were given the job of tour guide?
I'd take you to my mom's and get you fed first. :) Then we'd get on a boat so you can take in my skyline. It's a sight to see!
Melanie Cornish
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.
I get a lot of love for handling a lot of the bad hands I was dealt. People relate to me because they actually witness my struggle. I put out mix tapes and street albums that dealt with the people in my communities and pain which were very well received. I spoke on everything from domestic violence to addiction to molestation to poverty to family and so forth. To this day, I get thank you’s and words of encouragement from people my music touched. The hood got my back!
Give us a bit of info on your name, obviously something to do with Chicago being the windy city right?