iB4the1 is the debut album from iLL-Literacy. It's described as an epic work in three parts, "suited best for a short car drive... or upon the spiny-toothed wombat in Africa, while watching Planet Earth on mute." Well, it's just been too long since I've done that, and never with a soundtrack. The first part, .1, is available today.
It's ambitious, to say the least, bridging "sampled voice and original instrumentation, experimental music and hip-hop narrative" and drawing from a blend of "funk, afro beat, alternative, soul and of course hip-hop." Courtesy of emcees Drizzleton, Dahlak, and N.I.C. The saga has begun.
It's a trip. Hell, just look at that cover. You know you're getting into something strange and delightful. They've also got a tracklisting, with cover art and synopses, here. Check out the description for the first single, "Gentleman's Kool-Aid":
Insofar as the irony of "retro-futurist 80s rebel pop" was too overwhelming to recreate in sound or iconography, the band known as iLL-Literacy has either speciously or insightfully (maybe both) opted for sample-inspired, bass-driven electric gospel funk in the form of their new single, "Gentleman's Kool-Aid." The soymilkbuttasmooth lead track is both a reflection on the warped and often glennbeckianized historical narratives of what it means to be a "gentleman," and perhaps a confession of the fragile ecology of male ego. Let's call it pollution of the Egology, otherwise known as "drinking thine own Kool-Aid."Try to wrap your head around that. Soymilkbuttasmooth, indeed. I've been listening to some sample tracks, and it sounds like taking a frantic ride through crazytown... and I like it. And best of all, the whole damn thing is free. For more information, and to download iB4th1.1, head over to the iLL-Literacy website here.