ILLA J MUSIC

How do you fill large footsteps? You learn by example, take the gifts that you’ve been given and you develop your own style. That’s the way to earn respect and carry on a legacy. This is the path MC, songwriter, and producer Illa J takes on the horizon of his upcoming debut full-length album. In the spirit of an icon, Illa J, born John Yancey, cultivates his voice on the world’s stage and in the solitude of the recording booth. The Detroit native is the younger brother of the late, great James Yancey, the producer and MC best known to the public as J Dilla aka Jay Dee, founder of Slum Village and pioneer of the complex hip-hop beat. “When you’re born into a musical family, you’ve got it right there in your genes," Illa J explains. “That’s where your heart is and you follow that because you just love doing it.”Illa J grew up surrounded by music. His musician parents, aunt and uncles created an atmosphere alive with jazz and gospel that influenced the Yancey children. Illa J was a natural vocalist who sang in church and won talent shows. As an awestruck younger sibling, Dilla was his idol. In fact, when Illa J won the school talent show with a Michael Jackson number, he was recreating his older brother’s act from previous years. “I’m the typical little brother. If James had purple shoes, I would wear purple shoes, too.”February 10, 2006 was the day he lost his brother to a struggle with lupus, and the day Illa J chose a new path. “That’s when I realized this life is short. The day my brother died...that’s when my life changed drastically and flipped around.” He left Central Michigan University and dedicated his life to creating music. “I always knew music would play a large part of my life, I just didn’t know when.”Illa J relocated to Los Angeles, another move inspired by Dilla, who relocated there in 2004 from Detroit. “The first time I came here it opened me up to so much more. Why would I want to stay in one box?” The move opened him up to a fresh musical perspective that plays out in his album selections, and the result is nothing short of fierce. Beats come from Dilla, Focus, Karriem Riggins, Michael Angelo, and Battlecat. MCs Frank of Frank-n-Dank and Guilty Simpson chime with several lyrical collaborations.As a producer, Illa J’s arsenal is enviable. He’s working with Dilla’s boards, mini MOOG voyager and C12, channeling his brother’s intimate approach, with careful study. “He took advantage of every note in a song. He would take a sample and use every instrument and orchestrate it into a whole new piece of artwork.” Illa J has collaborated with Busta Rhymes, Aftermath artist Bishop Lamont, Black Milk, Pooh of Little Brother, and a host of Detroit MCs. Intimate knowledge of the bass guitar molds Illa J’s funky and soulful sound inspired by jazz bassist Stanley Clarke. “I listen to every instrument, how clean it is, if the bass line is in the same rhythm as the drums, or if the drums are moving the beat more than the bass line. You can tell if somebody’s a bassist and a string is not tuned.”Outside of the studio, Illa J cut his chops in 2007 touring internationally on the J Dilla Changed My Life tour with DJ House Shoes, Exile and Aloe Blacc. He has also performed with his brother’s close associates Phat Kat & Slum Village. He is actively working to raise awareness about his brother’s legacy and the illness that took his life through his mother’s J Dilla/Ma Dukes Foundation, while taking steps to shape his own musical path. It’s all in the music.