DA CLOTH: ILLA NOISE
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK | ILLA NOISE OF DA CLOTH
INTERVIEW REALIFE
“be ready when opportunity presents itself. If you stay ready you don’t have to get ready.” - ILLA NOISE
VALIDATED: Raised in Rochester, New York, what’s your earliest memory of hip-hop culture?
ILLA NOISE: My earliest memory would be the 80’s, probably ‘88 to be exact. I was 5, I just remember my mom having a record player and vinyl of Rakim’s “Paid In Full”.
VALIDATED: What role did your mother play in your introduction to hip-hop music?
ILLA NOISE: A major role, she introduced me with the music she was playing. She had vhs tapes with public enemy’s live shows and heavy d.
VALIDATED: At what age did you discovered your ability to put words together and paint vivid pictures of the poverty stricken environment you came from?
ILLA NOISE: I discovered my ability to write at 17. It kind of just happened out the blue. I was curious about it for awhile and one day just went for it.
VALIDATED: Growing up which hip-hop artist did you listen to and what if anything did you “borrow” from them?
ILLA NOISE: I listened to everything but I was definitely heavily influenced by queens artists, I loved the dark sound coming out queensbridge. I borrowed kool g rap’s rhyme schemes, nas’s picture painting, concept style and storytelling, and LL COOL J’s versatility.
VALIDATED: How would you describe your rhyme style?
ILLA NOISE: My style is like a pot of gumbo. It’s raw, street, conscious, soulful, smooth, unorthodox... I do it all. I’m a Gemini, I think most of the best artist are Gemini’s.
VALIDATED: What role did DJ P. Cutta play early on in you gaining more exposure as an artist?
ILLA NOISE: A huge role, he took me from the hood in Rochester and introduced me worldwide as far as the underground scene. His tapes was also big in prison.
VALIDATED: You were the only unsigned artist to appear on Lil Wayne’s mixtape, “The Color of Money” hosted by Mick Boogie, how did that opportunity come about?
ILLA NOISE: I did a song with currensy which was the first artist signed to young money. Wayne liked it and decided to use it for the tape.
VALIDATED: You’ve worked with a number of industry artists including Raheem Devaughn, Red Café, Smif N Wesson, Lord Jamar, Jr Writer and Currensy. What did you learn most about yourself as an artist from those experiences?
ILLA NOISE: Just to be ready when opportunity presents itself. If you stay ready you don’t have to get ready.
VALIDATED: In 2007, you released “Cinematic”, a mixtape breaking down the storylines of classic movies hosted by DJ Drama. How did the collaboration come about?
ILLA NOISE: Pcutta got a song of mines played in the club DJ Drama was in. They heard it and wanted to buy the beat for their artist at the time which was Willie the kid. We swapped it out in exchange for him hosting “cinematic”.
VALIDATED: You are a member of the Rochester hip-hop collective “Da Cloth”, what can you tell us about it?
ILLA NOISE: Da Cloth is a supergroup of various emcees, every member has a unique style. We’re a hiphop Voltron.
VALIDATED: Da Cloths music is reality driven with stories of real life growing up in Upstate, New York. What was it like growing up in Rochester?
ILLA NOISE: It was like any other hood. A small city, a lot of crime, a lot of poverty but it had its beauty as well. We moved around a lot as I was growing up.
VALIDATED: Who’s next from Da Cloth to drop a project?
ILLA NOISE: Rigz and Symph’s joint project, Gates dropping a project, Mav dropping a project, and I’m dropping a project, all in February.
VALIDATED: What can we expect from Illa Noise and Da Cloth in 2020?
ILLA NOISE: You can expect good quality music from all of em.
VALIDATED: What are your social media contacts?
ILLA NOISE: Illanoise585 on instagram and Twitter.