Illa Ghee – The Unkut Interview

Illa Ghee was known as a Mobb Deep affiliate in the early days of his career, having appeared on Hell On Earth as General G, but his latest LP, Social Graffiti, has allowed him to free himself of any constraints and push his rhymes beyond well-worn street themes. While he was riding the subway the other night, we chopped it up about his early days and how Super Lover Cee inadvertently ended his cousin’s rap career.

What were you doing before you worked with Mobb Deep and Alchemist?

I was still rhyming, but I was more into the street life at the time. I went to school with Prodigy, they got cool with Alchemist and by the time I came home from jail Alchemist was hanging with them all the time so I started linking up with Alchemist too. My first actual CD I put together was called Body Music and most of the production on that was done by me. That was 2003.

Were you taking rhyming seriously at that stage?

I just wanted to rhyme on the radio! There was a show – Pete Rock and Marley Marl – at the time that was on the radio. That’s where most of the things I wrote were pretty much aimed at, just getting on the radio and lose my mind.

Was there a particular song that made you want to rap when you were a kid?

It was my cousin and my brother, they got me into hip-hop. My cousin used to wanna battle anybody, everybody. He had the turntables and everything, and that’s what made me really wanna get into hip-hop.

What was your cousin calling himself?

Skyski!

What was the first party they ever snuck you into?

It was a block party, and of course my brother had to watch me, cousin had to watch me, so they wanted to go real bad to the block party so they snuck me. I remember dudes would rhyme, my cousin would be like, “What’s up with a battle?” That used to be like a big fight back then! I used to be so nervous, cos I didn’t want my cousin to lose. He won a lot of battles! He used to get busy.

Did he continue making music?

He stayed with music for a long time. They came close to a record deal, but they lost a contest to Super Lover Cee and Cassanova Rudd. It was a talent show and they lost to them, and Super Lover Cee and them got signed because of that show. My cousin was kinda discouraged a little bit, they pretty much chilled. That was about it.

What was your first MC name?

Back then I was like Master G or something like that. I was like eight years old. [laughs] Then I went to Greg G, and then Craig G came out and I had to change that. I didn’t have a name for a while, then when I used to rhyme in my neighborhood people would say, “Yo man, your rhymes are real ill!” So I would just say Illa. Illa Ghee – and there you have it!

Was there a lot of lunchtime battling at school?

You had a lotta people, 4th, 5th and 6th period. I went to the School of Art and Design, used to see Kwame battling people, used to see Prince Po from Organized Konfusion. Pharoahe Monch used to come up here sometimes. The group I hung with – we used to come with a new rhyme every day! We would sit there, maybe cut class two periods – maybe rhyme in 5th period and in 6th period we would just chill and talk – but you had to have a new rhyme every day. Nobody read it off the paper, you had to learn the rhyme and everything. It was a good time.

Was Kwame nice with his?

My first image of Kwame, my first day of school I seen him and he had a colorful propeller hat on. I’m like, “Who in the hell is this?” I never really sat there and watched him, I maybe seen him [rhyme] once or twice. We pretty much stayed in our own little section, doing us.

What was Bed-Stuy like back then?

It was super outta control back then. When crack came out, it seemed like everything was more intense back then. Wild things happened, but still had more control and more sense than what these dudes have now. These young dudes now? I don’t know what they is…

You feel like there was more community or more respect?

Yeah, it was more respect. You had to really earn your stripes back then. You just couldn’t say you was this or that and nobody didn’t test you out and see if you was really capable of doing that.

How did you connect with Large Professor for ’90’?

I seen him when I was talking to Premier, and Premier was like, “You know Illa Ghee, right?” He was like, “Yo! You got a song that is so ill!” I think he meant “Morning Rain”. I started seeing him at different spots and next thing you know he was like, “I’ve got this cool beat I’m gonna bless you with.”

Did any doors open for you after appearing on Alchemist’s “Hold You Down” single?

I didn’t know what to do. I figured Mobb Deep would guide me in a direction of what to do, but it didn’t happen like that. I just had to learn on my own. I got good reviews for Murder and Truth, that made it to MTV’s ‘Mixtape Monday.’

How is the Social Graffiti different from your past work?

I call this my ‘lyrical revenge’ album, because for a long time I didn’t rhyme how I wanted to rhyme. The why I put words together – it was not how I normally do it. I pretty much dumbed myself down, but now I don’t care. I feel so much better, I feel free to rhyme the way I wanna rhyme – match words in different ways, say crazy, off-the-wall things that people are not saying.

Why had you felt boxed into something you weren’t happy with in the past though?

Just because I’ve been to jail, people wanna hear more of the gutter, street-talk things. I really don’t talk with the music about that. Sometimes, of course, you might let it come out, but that’s not the focal point. My focal point in lyricism – just good, solid lyrics.

If you could remake Marley Marl’s “The Symphony,” who would be the three MC’s to join you?

I would say Sean Price, Jay Electroncia and a young Nas.

What is it about Brooklyn that set you guys apart?

Our delivery. Most MC’s have arrogance, but it’s our delivery. You could check the files, from Whodini, Biggie, Big Daddy Kane. You know the whole Nas and Biggie thing, right? Nas was more lyrical, but Biggie had the delivery. Just like people would say Rakim was maybe a little more lyrical than Kane, but Kane delivery and lyrics at the same time.