MUSIC REVIEW: Billy® by ILL BILL

It’s been nearly two weeks since The Cult Leader, Ill Bill, dropped his sixth record , Billy®, and the keys of “Chubb Rock” have been in my head non-stop since then.

Given the title, Billy®, surprisingly cuts down on the doses of introspection to make a hodge podge of semi-autobiographical tales with added mob-style narratives, cautionary stories, metaphysical science, and braggadociousness statements. The LP is heavy on guests as Bill’s previous 2020 release “La Bella Medusa” was, but Hip-Hop’s Billy® never gets overshadowed, even when sharing time on the mic with fellow “HMK (Heavy Metal Kings)” member Vinnie Paz and Juice Crew’s finest , Kool G. Rap, over one of the eeriest offerings from The Black Goat on the single “Root For The Villain”. “Willis” is a surprising drill based cut that Bill holds his own on since he’s been experimenting with his double time flow as far back as DJ Muggs’ Winter 2 tape. This leaves the biggest shock on “Willis” to OMB Jaydee, who has the most rewindable verse on the track, while sharing the spotlight with The Gorilla Twins and CNT boss, Rittz The Rapper.

OMB comfortably rocks the mic with honest, self reflective, and inspirational bars all in the cadence of the typical flavor-of-the-month rapper that has the potential to shoot up the pop charts with maximum ignorance. Ben Affleck should have tapped Ill Bill to put Jordan 3’s on the Air soundtrack, hearing OT Genesis talk about smacking up cho-mo’s in prison (sorry not sorry Sicx) is infinitely entertaining on what should be Guatemala’s new national anthem : “Yallah Yallah”; and the reunions of Gorilla Twins and Heavy Metal Kings (“Smarten Up” and “Supreme Magnetic” for starter’s) could do nothing less than light the spark for a real Howie-head that still prays to the shrine of Necro’s Uncle for a sign that a Blood Brothers album will finally come to fruition.

Goretex and Sick Jacken (“Prophets of Doom”) continue to be the best Mexican-American emcees not from Sacramento, with Reverend Gore Elohim notably saving “Once Upon A Time In Canarsie” (from that uninspired hook with his rough pronounciation of deli delicacies) while Tragedy Khadafi on “Leviathan” continues to let heads know why there was at least one emcee missing on the cover of C-N-N’s The War Report, while the Statik Selektah produced “Sunday Night At The Tunnel” serves as Bill’s best solo cut on an album chock-full of guests, as Bill carries the spirits of the legendary artists’ he shouts out on the record in the same vein of “Game’s Pain” or C.O.S.’ “Fly Away”.

The content on album-closer “Omega Therion” admittedly does lag, since Bill decides to end the album talking about the new age studio gangster – internet trolls – and the real life consequences that come from acting as if what goes on the world wide web is all fun and games and could not translate into physical pain. Bill peppers alot of his bars with this talk throughout the album as he did with the concept of COVID in “La Bella Medusa”. The problem with this is that all those COVID-bars on Medusa three years later now sound dated, and these bars on the dangers of trolling are destined for the same fate. If Bill would have spent more time on autobiographical lines like on Jordan 3’s and Once Upon A Time In Canarsie (especially on album with his name on it) there would be more timeless work on Billy®; and even though I love screaming “Fuck Your Life” and hearing NEMS play Flava Flav to Bill’s Chuck D on the ad-libs, Billy® desperately needed a Secret Society reunion. Goretex may be my favorite member of the camp, but that dynamic with Sabac and (Top 5 D.O.A. MC/DJ) Necro is sorely missed when every one of Bill’s records since Hour of Reprisal have been so La Coka Nostra, HMK, and (now) Gorilla Twins heavy. As a Hip-Hop Head, I don’t care what happened between the crew during the time Secret Society fell apart. Twenty plus years later, The Future Is Now should have had more than a couple loose compilations to follow it. Non-Phixion’s legacy should not be that of a flash in a pan or a one hit wonder. But sadly, Billy® is not where the much needed (public) reunion is.

In spite of these drawbacks, Billy® is another superb effort from one half of the Cannibal Hulk : filled with science, bangers, and unforgettable stories, Billy® stands solid as a statue as an uncompromising Hip-Hop shrine. Standing to reason why there is a registered trademark sign on the title of this record, because the only thing Uncle Howie Records can put out is brands that audiophile’s can trust.

Score:
3/5

Bandcamp:
https://illbill.bandcamp.com/album/billy

Released April 28, 2023