On his 2004 album What's Wrong With Ill Bill, the Brooklyn emcee/producer had a song "Porno Director." While the actual credits might go to his brother Necro who produced and directed 2003's Sexy Sluts: Been There Done That, Ill Bill has openly rhymed about pornography in his music before the Internet supplied the libido and long before Mary Carey ran for governor of California.

With starlets appearing in Ill Bill and Non-Phixion inserts and website photo galleries for the last decade, there haven't been as many porn-friendly folks in Hip Hop. He's endorsed actresses like Ashley Blue and Avena Lee while maintaining close friendships with legendary directors like Joey Silvera and Jules Jordan. Now a happily-married father, Ill Bill has little problem keeping it 100 with HipHopDX about his views on the correlation between Hip Hop and porn industries, with educated opinions - and quite a few laughs.

With March's long-awaited Hour of Reprisal sporting production from Bill, DJ Muggs, T-Ray and now DJ Premier, the veteran emcee's rep grows bigger as one of the most powerful political voices in the culture, with goon squads in every city, and amidst book-smarts, sneaker trivia and sports, Ill Bill doesn't mind sharing wisdom on porn too.

HipHopDX: Do you think that Hip Hop and pornography are both forms of escapism?
Ill Bill: Oh, definitely. It’s first and foremost entertainment. So when you say escapism, I relate that to entertainment. Yeah man. It’s definitely entertainment. As far as the way it crosses over into Hip Hop, aside from the fact that if you bumped into any porn star, director or industry person, they’re all Hip Hop heads; that’s a given. I’d say about 90% of the people…it’s a young industry. Even my man Joey Silvera, who’s been making movies since the ‘70s, he listens to my music, G-Unit, Mobb Deep, Snoop. That’s a dude in his fifties. Porn is keeping him young, and he’s tapped into the Hip Hop culture at the same time. It’s all intertwined.

DX: In escapism, I also mean listening to M.O.P. or Non-Phixion in the middle of a stressed out day, or simply watching an adult movie to relieve stress. Admit to it or not, a lot of people let off steam the same way…
IB: Sure. We can really get deep and philosophical about it and say that porn is a drug. [Laughs] It’s a tranquilizer. Same as music or a good movie. It can totally suck you in. Yo! Pause. [Hysterical laughter] I agree.

DX: Do you think that both industries present opportunities for predators and prey?
IB: I think capitalism is an opportunity for people to be predators and prey. Capitalism is built on pimps and hoes. The porn industry is just an easier business to point the finger at. But I think just because it’s easier is why people will bring that up. To answer the question point blank, yes. But I don’t think that it’s any different from any other business in that sense. In that sense.

DX: You’ve been in Hip Hop since ’95 and before as an emcee and producer, which is hard to do. If you look at Jenna Jameson or Brianna Banks or directors like Joey Silvera, these are veterans. That’s not an easier thing to do either. Do you think that the smart ones last in either industry?
IB: Absolutely. But, at the same time, I don’t really think it’s that deep. I think it boils down to the fact that sex sells. It’s a money thing. If you don’t know how to handle your money, or handle your business whether you’re in porn or the music business or any other business, you’re gonna get fucked. No pun intended. If you really pay attention to the connection of Hip Hop and porn where you have Snoop and Lil Jon and Necro and G-Unit making their own porns, even Yella, who is an established porn director and company owner…then you go into the mainstream. Peep the correlation. The biggest way to make noise in the mainstream these days is to “accidentally” leak your sex tape. So when somebody gets their sex tape leaked, are they a victim of circumstance? I don’t know. I don’t think 20 million dollars from the E! Channel looks like no victim to mean. I think people play it up. They play that victimization card up.

On the other hand, I’m not gonna say that there aren’t people who get into entertainment – porn, music, movies that get hooked on drugs, fuck their lives up and get taken advantage of. But at the end of the day, you think the casting couch doesn’t exist? You think people aren’ fucking off-camera? If anything, I feel like the porn industry has a little bit more integrity than some of these other industries. They don’t brush it under the rug. They wear it hard on their sleeve.

DX: Sex has been in rap records since “super sperm” in Rapper’s Delight. Porn really hasn’t. At what point in your music, was it at play?
IB: That’s just me being true to who I am. When I say that, I have a problem with emcees that are one-dimensional. What I like to do is illustrate the balance of the kind of person I am. Whether you perceive porn to be good or bad, it’s part of life. Sex is a part of life – it’s past just porn. Sex is part of life. Martin Luther King, great man, he enjoyed getting his dick sucked. It’s documented. He was an adulterer. Are you gonna think any less of him because of that? I don’t. That shit is part of life. People love sex. That’s why it sells so well. I’m not gonna cheat myself by making music that doesn’t reflect the truth of my life and otherwise. So yeah, that’s always been a part of my music and it always will be. At the same time, I’ll criticize the United States government and foreign policy and at the same time, I’ll talk about getting my dick sucked. Is that fucked up? Not to me, and not to my fans. Continued on page 2 »