Video/Gen F: Illa J f. Guilty Simpson, “R U Listenin’”
- story THE FADER
Illa J’s “R U Listenin’” is the perfect song to warm us up in freezing weather. The beat is vintage Dilla backyard bbq music. Although the songs on Illa’s Yancey Boys mostly work better as a group, this one is a perfect solo offering of sunny mid-’90s good vibes rap. We’re not ones to throw out the idea that older is better very often, but can you imagine The Pharcyde on this beat? Jam City. It should be noted that Illa J and Guilty Simpson are no slouches, but can we dream for a minute? After the jump read Sam Hockley-Smith’s Gen F on Illa J from FADER 58, on stands as we speak.
Freeload: Illa J, “Strugglin’”
- story THE FADER
Illa J’s Yancey Boys is a low key affair featuring previously unreleased beats from his older brother, the late J Dilla. Most of the beats come from ‘95-’98, when The Pharcyde released the Dilla-produced Labcabincalifornia, which also happens to be our favorite Dilla era. Illa J is not going to blow anyone away with lyrically lyrical tongue twisters, but he has put together a fond memory of his brother while imbuing it with his own sense of individuality. FADER Number 58—aka the issue with Kanye West and No Age on the covers—will be on stands next week, and Illa J is part of its stellar Gen F lineup. Until that issue hits newsstands and the internet, listen to “Strugglin’” from Yancey Boys, which is available right now.
Download:Illa J, “Strugglin’”
Exclusive Freeload: Illa J f. Guilty Simpson, “R U Listenin”
- story THE FADER
We’ve been spending quite a bit of time with Illa J’s upcoming album Yancey Boys, an album that establishes Illa J as an artist in his own right while paying tribute to his late brother Jay Dee with an entire album’s worth of vintage unreleased Dilla beats. “R U Listenin” is the immediate standout, sounding like an outtake from the Pharcyde’s Labcabincalifornia, which by default makes it pretty much the best thing to hear in one of the last few remaining summer evenings. Also, not that it’s our thing (it might be our thing), but if you wanted to put on some headphones and smoke a “jazz cigarette” and talk about how blown your mind is, we would think that it would be pretty appropriate to do it to this song.
Download: Illa J f. Guilty Simpson, “R U Listenin”
