Up until he recorded Ayé Po Gan with Terry G,Illbliss lived off a reputation as a member of the defunct rap group,Thoroughbreds.Unlike in the US; the very home of hip hop,the early days weren't really our best and even at that,the thoroughbreds had nothing on doper wordsmiths like SWAT Root and Trybesmen.Illbliss over time realized his strength lied more in being a pop rapper and never looked back.At least till now.
Probably inspired by MI's attempt to breathe more life into the Nigerian hip hop culture as excerpts of the 'You Rappers Should Fix Up Your Life' interview on the opening track,Lead or Follow suggests,Illygatti ditches commercial rap for a second to hook up with Producer and DJ, Teckzilla for a pure content EP titled Illyzilla.
Well,much hasn't changed since thoroughbreds.Illbliss still isn't an extraordinary rapper.Having being blessed with a ModeNine of the mid 2000s,a solo eldee tha don and MI,its really going to take more than stringing together rhyming words to please a much spoilt listener than back in the day.
Some scatches here and there,maybe a soul sample or two but pure content is almost entirely lyric-based and on Illyzilla,Illbliss doesn't come hard with witty punchlines,brilliant metaphors and sublime word play...'Eko to Michigan/Illyzilla stay so Ichiban/Create vibes like a leftist/Dying breed of lyricists/Stay hopeful never pessimists/We must be catalysts/God bless the works of our hands and our thought process/Zilla beats no nonsense'.Those are lines off Lead and Follow.
A rapper with about 2 decades experience beasting and self-aggrandizing through an entire work is more or less one who hasn't grown.Or to put it another way,stuck in the very first stage; the freestyle/battle rap stage.
Saying Illyzilla lacks depth is an under-statement.Its an excruciatingly one-dimensional work.The only one song he really tries to veer 'off course' is Queens and though the Zilla beat and Uzezi chorus combine to confer on it a legit golden era ambience,Illbliss does nothing spectacular lyrically.
Saying Illyzilla lacks depth is an under-statement.Its an excruciatingly one-dimensional work.The only one song he really tries to veer 'off course' is Queens and though the Zilla beat and Uzezi chorus combine to confer on it a legit golden era ambience,Illbliss does nothing spectacular lyrically.
He titles a song Be Great,tells you to be that on the chorus and keeps it all about himself on the verses.You wonder if a rapper spitting lines like 'Back like i never left/Charge you for grand theft/Plagiarism/Such lyricism' has any right to scold the new acts with lines like 'Stop mumblin/F**kin the art up/And callin it diversity/Illy from University'.
The one shining light on Illyzilla however is Teckzilla's touch.No hardcore lyricist would wish for better production,all Ilbliss had to do was smash home his alley oop.The absorbing instrumental for Be Great,the head-nodder for Lead or Follow and the Biggie Lets Get It On sample sitting pretty on We No Be Mates.
Elaborate lyricism doesn't necessarily translate to brilliant story-telling,it literally just means excellent penmanship.We have seen countless one dimensional hip hop albums that have turned out great but when a hardcore lyricist goes pure,he makes it almost entirely about his lyrics and rap has simply transcended making words rhyme and telling your listeners how dope you are.Illyzilla doesn't live up to expectations.
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