Ill Bill

ALARM's 51 Favorite Albums of 2013

ALARM’s 51 Favorite Albums of 2013

Saving the best for last, we’ve chosen our 51 favorite albums of 2013, pulled from the acclaimed and the unsung — some of the best as well as most boundary-pushing releases from rock and beyond.

Q&A: Ill Bill on getting personal, Henry Rollins and Chuck D, and a changing Brooklyn

Ill Bill: The Grimy AwardsIll Bill: The Grimy Awards (Uncle Howie / Fat Beats, 2/26/13)

“Paul Baloff”

Ill Bill: “Paul Baloff”

It’s one thing to say a lot on an album; it’s quite another to actually have something to say. Drawing from artists who are equal parts entertainer and activist, Ill Bill uses his new solo album, The Grimy Awards, as a platform to both tell his story of growing up around drugs and violence in Brooklyn and sound the alarm against blind acquiescence to authority.

The former Non Phixion MC, coming off recent collaborations with La Coka Nostra and Vinnie Paz, teams with a host of collaborators and producers — including Large Professor, Pete Rock, El-P, HR of Bad Brains, and more — to showcase both the scars and the life lessons that come from being a hip-hop heavyweight with nearly three decades in the ring.

Resurrecting a MHz Legacy: RJD2 and Tage Future chase inspiration in “Out of Room”

MHz Legacy: s/tMHz Legacy: MHz Legacy (Man Bites Dog, 10/30/12)

MHz was a Columbus, Ohio, hip-hop collective made up of RJD2, Jakki da Motamouth, the late Camu Tao, Tage Future (née Proto), and Copywrite. After the release of Table Scraps in 2001, another record was long rumored but never seemed to come. The 2008 death of Tao seemed to put an end to the idea.

However, last year the group reunited and rebranded as MHz Legacy to release an eponymous debut album to much acclaim. Featuring all the other original members, and guest spots from Slug, Danny Brown, Ill Bill, and more, it proved that the group had more to say.