A couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail with nothing more than a link to an album from an unsigned rapper out of Gary, Indiana calling himself Ill Eagle. With no other details to go on, I downloaded the album, The Wilhelm Scream, not knowing what to expect. That turned out to be a good thing, as the album contradicted much of what I've come to expect from a hip hop album in 2007. Living up to his self-proclaimed title of "The Anti-Rapper," Ill Eagle headed in a very different direction from the current trend of rap music with this release.
On the surface, Eagle would seem to be far removed from most definitions of what constitutes "hip hop." He dresses more hipster than hip hop, a style he describes as "emo/punk/gangsta." Among his musical influences, he lists Bjork, Nirvana and Mitch Hedberg. And Eagle's music itself ventures deep into other genres, with several songs built around beats that would sound more at home at a rave or as the background music to a mosh pit.
Yet having said that, at its core The Wilhelm Scream is most definitely a hip hop album, and a very good one at that. Eagle handles himself quite well on the mic, flipping spaced-out, often comical, metaphors into lyrics that touch on some fairly deep issues - the current state of hip hop, mental illness and racial identity are just a few of the topics covered in his rhymes. It takes a lot of risks and though its not without its flaws, there is a whole lot done right on the album.
Ill Eagle's album is available on his MySpace page (along with a free preview of all the songs). If you're only checking for boom-bap beats, this may not be the album for you. Give it a chance, though, because there's some pretty innovative stuff on here.
And for those of you wondering, the name of the album is a reference to a widely-used recording of a man screaming. Now you know.
5/22/2007 9:28:29 PM posted by Fresh
Comments:
I went to his myspace page and listened to some of his stuff. I wasn't feeling the songs with the techno beats but once I got past that, I found that he's actually a nice mc. Good looks on this.
5/23/2007 6:59:03 AM posted by Will I Am
I gotta give you props, your one of the only sites repping for the unsigned cats. Afropunk was an interesting song, not the usual subject matter for hip hop. I'll def. be checking for Ill Eagle.
5/23/2007 8:06:32 PM posted by Anonymous
I'm glad you guys were feeling his stuff. I put music up from artists that I like but I'm not always sure how the rest of you will react to it. Always cool when it gets a positive response.
5/23/2007 10:33:26 PM posted by fresh
Ill Eagle kinda reminds me of Eminem back when he put out his first album with Dre. They both rap about their personal issues, put some humor in their lyrics and are playing the role of the outsider (obviously this no longer describes Em, but back in '99...). Good looks on the tracks. I went to his myspace page and found some good stuff. "I am Jacks Destroyed Liver" is an amazing song.
5/26/2007 5:51:14 PM posted by tony
Actually I was thinking the same thing. Ill Eagle sounds a lot like a pre G-Unit Eminem (without the psyopathic references). I'm very interested to see where he goes from here.
5/26/2007 9:23:19 PM posted by fresh
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