ILL The Intelligent Lethal Lyricist

I.L.L. The Intelligent Lethal Lyricist. A skilled hip-hop artist with a nack for lyrical composition and metaphorical prowess. Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, he currently resides in Greensboro, NC. Ambitious in all endeavours, he is intent on bringin a sick flavor to the hip-hop scene and gettin North Carolina a little more much needed recognition.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, the birthplace of modern day hip hop, on August 20, 1981 Shermaine G. Terry, now known as I.L.L., got his career in rhyming started on the schoolgrounds at the young age of 8 years old. Not the most spectacular freestylist, Maine T was able to recite, word for word, rhymes from the reknowned MCs of the late 80s and early 90s. By age 11, ILL was able to construct rather decent examples of wordplay and display metaphorical mastery based on a rather potent vocabulary for his age. Soon after, his family moved to NC and by age 13, he was performing live at local talent shows and began working with a few other artists on demo projects. Every attempt seemed to fall through at the last minute over the next several years until the winter/spring of 2000. As a high school graduate and a college freshman, ILL encountered a bevy of skilled artists and hip hop afficionados. His college roomate, H. David Lee, aka STEEL being one of the many. Together, they constructed a few key compilations of east and west coast style performances and put together quite a flavorful mix of lyrics, beats, and topics within their music. Later, joining the likes of some of the country's best lyricists on the Lyrical Labyrinth, better known as THE LAB, ILL was able to hone his talents and really find a style and a basis to actually showcase his skill. After a 2 year stint on active duty with the army fighting terrorism in Baghdad, Iraq, ILL has returned stateside, more focused than ever, to regain his prominence as an MC and finally get his album off of the pages of his notebook and into the ears of the general public. As an Askew Artist, who knows how far he will go or just how large of a platform this will be for him to showcase his talent to the world.

Yeah. Freestyle, battles, and cypher sessions are the truest forms of this art.

Influenced by all genres and styles of music, the biggest comparrison to his style would have to be hip-hop cats, the likes of Canibus, Eminem, Fabolous, Obie Trice, and Royce da 5'9, and most recently been compared to the LOX.

Affiliated with True2Life Entertainment

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Askew Artistry :http://www.soundclick.com/bands/askewartistry_music.htm