With released demo tapes back to 1991, Ill Bill has put a lot of stock into his future. It's been a long time coming, but the appointed leader of Non-Phixion has constantly topped himself with each work. At a time where Metal, Punk and Hip Hop culture have melded together in fashion, dance and nightlife, the Brooklyn emcee and producer delivered a critically-acclaimed companion album, The Hour Of Reprisal [click to read].

Ill Bill jokes that he can make 20 songs about "robbing your mother" in two hours. But at this point in his career, the husband and father has taken his defiantly street messages and twisted them a bit differently than he was a decade - or two ago. Bill explains the hope he has for his uncle overcoming his addiction, or the jewels he acquired from Bad Brains first as a fan, then serenading his daughter. Society may be brainwashed, but albums like this are offering some rap fans the truth serum.

On tour with longtime partner DJ Eclipse, Ill Bill spoke to HipHopDX from a Motel 6 parking lot, with a busted van and could-be classic album he's hand-delivering to fans. One of the greatest Hip Hop stories of 2008 opens the book and shares knowledge.

HipHopDX: Of all the lines I’ve heard in rap records this year – and there’s been some really great ones, your line “Bombing for peace is like fucking for virginity” really sticks out as memorable. Where or how did you come up with that?
Ill Bill: I’m kind of embarrassed to say it, but I don’t know where I heard that, but I didn’t create that line. I heard it somewhere. I acclimated it – I don’t even know if that’s the right word [laughing] – I augmented it into my own world. Yeah, it just fits. It’s fitting. I think we should probably Google that and find out who really said it originally.

Editor’s note: the quote first appeared on a famous photograph from a war protestor sign.

It hits the nail on the head of what’s going on right now. It’s not something new. It’s always been a thing where people [believe] the only way to achieve true peace is through war. That’s the ultimate bullshit. Unfortunately, it perpetuates what’s going on with the world. It’s the war machine. Politicians and dictators and oppressive leaders the world over rely on war to keep people in the dark, to keep control over shit. That’s what it’s about. That’s what I’m talking about: the contradiction. Unfortunately, I know better, you know better, but there’s a lot of people who are just sheep who move with the herd. I put that out there, or ideas like that, whether it’s something I created myself or something I heard somewhere else, and absorbed it spit it right back at you – I do those things to wake up people and keep the people that are listening that much more informed.

DX: This appears to be your dream project. Tell me about the effort and the painstaking strides you took to make this one of the more complete albums we’ve heard in Hip Hop in some time…
Ill Bill: It’s really my first time executive producing my own album, overseeing the album from A to Z. I think it comes through in that, in the sense of a lot of people comparing it to [Non-Phixion’s] The Future is Now. I did the same thing with that record. This record is even more personal, and hits that much more home ‘cause it’s a solo record. [What’s Wrong With Ill Bill?] [click to read] was more of a collaborative effort between me and Necro [click to read]. Beats-wise, he did all the beats; conceptually, we worked together a lot on stuff. With this record, this is 100% me. I have that much more pride in it, being that I did it myself. As far as it being my best work, shit, I hope it is. That’s what any artist strives for when they create something new. I’m always trying to challenge myself and top myself, and I feel like I did. At the same time, I’m already thinking about the next record and how I’m gonna top this one. For better or worse, if you hate it or if you love it, it’s me, 100%.

DX: In one of your YouTube promo spots, you talked about Rick Rubin. Besides Rick, the one person I’ve been intrigued with as far as juggling Hip Hop and Rock production is T-Ray. As you’re putting this album together, it’s been a long time since T-Ray produced a Hip Hop record. What was it like for you to go to the dude who did Lord Finesse’s “Yes You May” remix and Santana’s Supernatural and say, “I want to do another rap record…”
Ill Bill: It definitely didn’t go down like that. He’s definitely the go-to guy for what I do. People might not even realize his history and where he comes from, as far as working on Cypress Hill’s Black Sunday, Artifacts, Double XX Posse, Kool G Rap [click to read] – but yeah, he hasn’t done Hip Hop in a long time, but that’s my boy. I been trying to get him to do Hip Hop for a minute. He was trying to bring Non-Phixion over to Warner Brothers. He had a label situation, like in 2000, with Warner Brothers. He was gonna bring [us] to Warner and executive produce the album. He was gonna do what we did on “Babylon,” on a an entire Non-Phixion album. It just didn’t happen, and I think we both got disheartened with the industry at that time, I think him more-so than me. He went hard into Rock production, and ended up doing stuff with a lot of groups. I think he ended up winning a Latin Grammy with Ozomatli. He’s really submerged himself in Rock production. He kinda was unhappy with the direction Hip Hop was going at that point, and I think he still feels that way. Continued on page 2 »