The history of Ill Boogie Records: a small yet important label from Cali.
Few years ago, a bunch of fanatics started a radio show, uncompromising as fuck. That (wild) bunch was called Concrete Jungle Crew. After I started my by now decade-long collabo and friendship with the head-honcho here at StrettoBlaster, I asked one of my Concrete Jungle’s brothers, Matteo a.k.a. Jr.Mastro, to help me put together a series of mixtapes about some interesting labels.
One of the earliest was the renowned Groove Attack, an imprint we all dearly remember (I’m assuming here, help me have faith). Another one was a label I’m fond of… Let me welcome you to another Cali’s contribution to Hip Hop history, the great Ill Boogie Records.
From Blackberry to Ill Boogie: the amazing years of underground Hip Hop
The story of Ill Boogie Records begins under the name Blackberry Records in 1997 and ends in 2004 after the name change occurred around 1999. As I previously mentioned, although the label was small, we are faced here with a good chunk of underground Hip Hop’s history.
Just a glance at the label’s discography and it will be immediately clear that we struck gold here. Not only for the sound expressed, but for a precise idea of music, both in terms of aesthetic compactness (net of some experimentation) and intransigence. In fact, the greatest (and best) result of Ill Boogie Records was to embody that part of the West Coast scene that played in the aesthetics and style of the far East Coast.
M-Boogie, founder and leader of the label, made his name known not only for his undoubtedly deep crates and his signature style, but also because he was behind some of the most incredibly re-playable projects of those years. Indeed, mixtapes like the first “Laid in Full” placed his name on the map and further gave prominence to a certain kind of West Coast’s sound.
However, it’s with the second installment of the series, “Laid In Full Chapter 2”, that he deservedly entered the collections of many b-boys all over the world. Dope beats adorned with chopped horns and bouncy pianos pave the way not only for a collection of bangers but also give substance to one of the highlights of the decade: Jean Grae’s “How To Break Up With Your Girlfriend”, which remains after all these years a masterclass in how to write a ridiculously funny and brilliantly dope track.
For years labelled an “imitator” of the great Dj Premier, M-Boogie might have kept his beats in a, let’s say, too close proximity to that specific NY’s sound. Not necessarily a bad thing, but those were the years in which originality was still THE thing (how the times have changed, eh?). So, can we conclude that what we have here is a skilled but derivative epigone?
On the long-distance, the gist of the discourse is that listening today to an underground classic like “New York, New York”, one cannot but think that, after all, this was probably one of the most felt tribute to the epicentre and cradle of this music, made by someone who lived on the other side of the United States.
Something that many others like M-Boogie, from any part of the planet, have done and are still doing. Well, if so, then M-Boogie did it better than most.
Talent at every corner: a vast array of great rappers
Many underground mcees from around L.A. went rocking the mic on M-Boogs productions and released albums through Ill Boogie Records. Probably the first we should mention is Mykill Miers, with his signature braggadocios-infused battle rhymes. His first two albums were published by the label and, while not really diversifying his mono-dimensional lyrical content, Mykill Miers did make some great, ultra-violent tracks here.
Another name worth remembering is that of Akbar. Not many actually do that, and he is seldom cited when talking about those years of L.A. hip hop scene. It’s a damn shame tho, because his album is one of the best examples of what we could call pure rhyming, seamlessly embracing the art of flowing through words.
Often associated with the label were also Born Allah, Dr.Oop and E-Rule, while other minor figures were able to put out some singles through it, singles of which the label was super generous. Other artists like Rasco, Planet Asia or Black Moon’s Buckshot came from the outside of the label circle and left some great performances on record.
Earplug: crystallize a stroke of genius into a series of EPs
Another central point that marked the production of the Californian label, as well as an idea that I consider excellent in itself, was the “Earplug” Ep series. Between March and June 2002, the label published four extremely underground, sonically advanced, highly recognizable (mostly due to a quite distinctive graphic design) series of eps. This small series incarnates the very concept of quality over quantity.
A succession of high-level artists -from Mars Ill to Emanon (the group composed of Aloe Blacc and Exile, just to let you know, in case the name doesn’t ring a bell) and Demigodz (Apathy and Celph Titled), up to one of the very rare releases of Yeshua Dapoed (still hard to find, and in-demand, for all your beat-heads out there, NDA)- found home and visibility through Ill Boogie Records. And they did not disappoint, gifting us with some of their greatest tracks.
And yet another went down: the end of Ill Boogie Records
I’d like, for once, to be able to close these articles with a veritable coup de théâtre and say to you that the label in question is alive and kickin’. Nope, sorry, not today. The early 2000s struggle to death with bankruptcy seems once again the ineluctable truth of this one too.
In a peak moment for the label artistical output, i.e., circa August 2002, the fading away started to be visible. With the website vastly being abandoned, plummeting sales volumes and overall fatigue in the scene, the situation soon became clear. Nonetheless, Ill Boogie Records did not go down without a fight.
Precisely in the Summer of 2002, Ill Boogie Rec. announced that it would be joining forces with another Cali-based underground label called Spy Tech, the brainchild of DJ Cheapshot (of Styles Of Beyond fame). The agreement was to release all future projects in conjunction with each other. The idea was quite pragmatic and sober-minded: two indie labels together would have resisted better a rather weavy music market.
But then again, too late, too few and not enough capital base. The problem was that Spy Tech was even smaller than Ill Boogie Rec. itself. With a music market ravaged by dwindling sales and changing tastes, these two small fishing vessels weren’t big enough to survive the collision with the iceberg floating on the horizon.
This was even more true in an historical moment at which the backpacker’s mentality (always sympathetic with the sound of which Ill Boogie Rec was a standard-bearer) was cracking up and disappearing too.
Together, the two labels were able to publish Lexicon’s third album, a couple of singles from that same album –the last one went out in the early 2004- and then Ill Boogie Records disappeared forever.
And here the entire affair takes a bizarre turn towards a capitalist pantomime. Dj M-Boogie closed down the lab, shelved his collection of combat samples, forgot his crates in the attic, quit his Dj career to go become… a self-proclaimed real-estate guru. To be specific, the kind of guy full of motivational mottoes, publishing videos on YouTube revolving underground-imbued questions like “why your first million is the hardest to obtain”.
I kinda feel that this conclusion paradoxically sublimates much of the parable of this music and “culture” at large.
Notwithstanding the grim tone, Ill Boogie Records gave us immense chances for relentless head-nodding and a couple of memorable verses to boot. This is a piece of the (merciless) history of this genre, which, like another Cali-based feature such as Good Vibes, is worth listening to again and hopefully rediscover.
Enjoy the tracklist and best regards y’all!
Ill Boogie Records – A Tribute Mixtape
Tracklist:
01 Killing Spree The Sequel – Mykill Miers
02 Someone to Hate – Born Allah
03 New York, New York – Dj M-Boogie feat. Triple Seis
04 Irish Cream – Doujah Raze
05 Everyday Ritual – Mykill Miers feat. Planet Asia
06 Reign – Dr. Oop De Blacklove
07 Outta Control – Styles Of Beyond
08 On Deadly Ground – Iriscience & Babu
09 The Real (Remix) – M-Boogie feat. Buckshot
10 On2DBeat – Yesh feat. Ken Boogaloo
11 Science Of The Bumrush Vol.2 – The Demigodz
12 Patience – Grand Agent & DJ Revolution
13 Forever – Dj Revolution feat. Chief Kamachi, Rasheed
14 Detour – Emanon feat. Dr.Oop
