Unsigned Hype: Big Ill the Mack

Dedicated readers of The Source in the early-1990s but have already been familiar with Big Ill the Mack by the time he was featured in the July 1993 issue. He previously appeared in the magazine's year-end issue in 1992 in a section titled "I–to tha L–to tha L.", about an infamous freestyle where he dissed Big Daddy Kane at his own party. Apparently Ill earned enough notoriety from the freestyle to have the whole thing played on The Stretch Armstrong Show and then establish a name for himself in the underground scene prior to appearing in Unsigned Hype. His demo was produced entirely by The LG Experience, the younger brother of Easy Mo Bee and who would go on to have an solid yet underappreciated career in production. Ill's demo was recorded at Soundtrack Studios in Manhattan, leading to a very polished sound on the demo. The professionalism might have also been influenced by Ill's prior career: in 1989 he released the album eF yoU eN Kay E with group The W.I.S.E. Guyz, who receive a couple of disses on the demo ("niggas got gassed so I bounced" and "that's why I left the group and I bought my ass a gun"). Matty C concludes with "Ill is well on his way to blowing up the spot on a wide scale with a new flow, fat beats provided by LG and a very real perspective on getting paid in the streets of Brooklyn."

Big Ill never embarked on a solo career, but is best known for being one half of the duo Ill Al Skratch with fellow rapper Al Skratch. They released two albums, Creep wit' Me in 1994 and Keep It Movin' in 1997, as well as two successful singles, "Where My Homiez?" and "I'll Take Her", both of which reached the top 10 of the US Rap Singles chart. They broke up in 1997, but apparently reformed in 2012 under the name Brooklyn/Uptown Connection. The one song I could find by them under their new name was "And U Say NYC", which is a stark departure from their 1990s sound.

Besides his career with Ill Al Skratch, by the far the most interesting thing about Ill's career is his freestyle at Big Daddy Kane's party, which turned him into sort of a legend around the time it came out. Among those who witnessed the freestyle was Masta Ace (who included his part of the freestyle at the end of his song "Rollin' wit Umdadda" from 1993's Slaughtahouse), and recalls the details in an interview with Robbie of unkut. Ill's freestyle occurred when most of the people at the party had already dispersed, including Kane himself, and Masta Ace was one of the few to notice. However, there was tension created due to Ill's subject matter, and it remained by the time Ill signed to Mercury Records with Ill Al Skratch two years later. Mister Cee, who was Big Daddy Kane's DJ, worked as an A&R at the label, and Ill was scared to come to the label "because they thought somebody was gonna do something to them". Fortunately it was worked out and no further drama was created.

Here's the one solo Big Ill song I could find: an untitled demo track that was featured on the 2 September 1993 episode of The Stretch Armstrong show.