Ill Bill "What's Wrong With Bill" (May 4, 2004)

The de facto leader of underground luminaries Non-Phixion, Ill Bill has steadily gained notoriety over the span of the last decade, and with this release, is the first of his crew to unleash a solo record. Produced entirely by shock rap magnate Necro, What's Wrong with Bill? is expectedly unflinching in its portrayal of the white ghetto experience with the feel of a dirty, limited run, behind-the-counter comic book. But does it really take to new ground or is it the same routine that the Uncle Howie label seems to be running ragged? Ill Bill seems to have two major precursors: Nas, and early Eminem, the latter of which is evident in his gruesome subject matter and aggressive, multi-syllabic lyrical style -- even his punchlines are macabre ("hotter than a crematorium"). Here, Ill Bill portrays a character that sees in monochrome, struggles in Technicolor, and speaks with blood scarlet letters, rapping about serial killers, drug dealing and illicit sexual encounters. Nas' influence, meanwhile, shows in Ill Bill's housing project observations -- though he goes a step further and commits as many of the crimes as he witnesses. Either way you cut it, Ill Bill raps like a Tarantino film: verbose and violent, with opinionated societal overtones.... Considering the negative stigma that the music community holds for Necro as a sinister whoremonger, few will deny his ability as a producer. Distilling DJ Premier's processed drums, Pete Rock's seamless sample chops and the Automator's clean mixdowns, Necro amalgamates several pivotal elements in production to create a unique backdrop for Ill Bill to play across. Whether he's juxtaposing G-funk synth lasers with 70s bass grooves on "Glenwood Projects", crisscrossing suspended strings and shitkicking snares for "The Final Scene" or incorporating pedal-stomping guitar funk, hockey organ and barbershop choruses on "Unstoppable", Necro seems to have a delicate feel for the production that best suits his artist. Still, Ill Bill's got a few issue to overcome: His heavy dependence on adlibs, for one, tends to turn every verse into its own chorus. His songs also tend to settle for only two verses, which limits the album's length and conceptual development, and his disproportionate number of guest emcees can prove troublesome, depending on your taste.... That said, the production on What's Wrong with Bill? manages a surprising consistently across the span of the album, Bill's performances are always raw and tightly spun, and overall, his combination of intelligent gangster and masochistic serial killer is more effective here than ever before. Ill Bill closes a song, stating, "Fuck who's on top, 'cause I'm a lot hungrier than them." I'm inclined to agree. - Pitchfork, 2004. Revisit the LP below...

Non Phixion "The Future Is Now" (Billboard, 2002)

"Tales of Non Phixion: The Future Is Now is an appropriate title for the long-awaited full-length debut from underground purveyors Non Phixion. After making a name for themselves via independent 12-inch singles like "5 Boros" and "Legacy," the New York-based quartet of Ill Bill, Goretex, Sabac Red, and DJ Eclipse has finally released a 15-track set via Bill's Uncle Howie imprint and distributed by Landspeed. "We've been trying to get an album out there for years," Bill says. "We've been together since '95. We were signed to Geffen in '96, and we were hoping to have an album out by '97 or '98. This is really just long overdue, and it's finally popping off now. We got tired of having too many cooks in the kitchen," he adds of why the group went indie. "It just came to the point where over the years we had learned so much about the business that we didn't really need anyone else to handle a lot of the aspects of the label - we're able to make a lot of the decisions for ourselves. We had a finished label and no distribution, so we sat down with a few distributors, and Landspeed came up with the best deal." Cont'd below after the video for "Rock Stars."

"The Future Is Now features production from heavyweights like Necro, DJ Premier, and Juju of the Beatnuts. "The majority of the album was produced by Necro, Bill's brother, because that's family," Eclipse notes. "We also wanted to work with people that we grew up listening to, so when we got the opportunity, we stepped to cats like Pete Rock and the Large Professor, and then it was just a matter of timing." "We wanted to make a classic," Goretex adds. "That's why we got with the producers that we did." - Billboard, May 18, 2002. The album was released on March 26, 2002.

The Halftime Show "Non Phixion, Arsonists, Big L" (Aug 19, 1998)

"This show had mad guests this night. After a short interview (53:58), Non Phixion, Arsonists and Necro hit the mic for an ill freestyle session (62:45). Then a little later A.G. and Ghetto Dwellas get busy (101:49) leaving it to Big L to close it all out (112:16). Even hearing Q-Unique talk about his MC battle at Club Vinyl (51:45) is dope when he runs down the list of emcees that made it past the prelims (i.e. Pumpkinhead, Poison Pen, etc). These shows captured the essence of what was going on in NYC in the 90s. #RIP Big L #RIP Party Arty" - via DJ Eclipse. Listen to this classic show below!

The Stretch & Bobbito Show (April 18, 1996)

"From the OG, DJ Eclipse, who uploaded this incredible episode to Mixcloud: "It was a ritual to have to listen to 89.9 every Thursday night from 1am-5am. The show started in '90 and continued with Stretch & Bob together until '98. This particular episode I spun on was such an incredible show. It was the beginning of the NYC indie scene so you hear music from groups like Non Phixion, Arsonists, Natural Elements, Jigmastas and Juggaknots to name a few. Then you had the X-Men (Roc Raida, Rob Swift & Mista Sinista) up there doing routines (10:45). It was also the last broadcast from KCR's infamous Ferris Booth Hall studios. Stretch called to check in (90:15) which turned into a quick snap session with Lord Sear. Callers weren't safe from Sear either on the show (168:00). Bob played a demo set (151:30) and my set (45:16) was interrupted (68:21) so that Big L, Murder Mase, Killer Cam, Bloodshed and Beef The Thief (of Children of the Corn and BBO Enterprises) could get on the mic and totally destroy it. I mean what more could you ask for in a radio show?" Thanks, Eclipse!

Open Transport Documentary (1998, VHS)

The "Open Transport" documentary was originally released in 1998 on VHS. It unearths footage from live shows and interviews with various artists that were coming up in the underground scene in the mid-late 90s. Specifically, the hour-long doc features Pharoahe Monch, Mr. Lif, Apani B, DJ Babu & Rhettmatic, The Last Emperor, Cali Agents (Planet Asia & Rasco), Mass Influence, Non Phixion, Reflection Eternal, Unspoken Heard, J-Live and so much more. Someone was kind enough to rip a copy already to YouTube, so with that, definitely clear an hour in your schedule and hit play below.

Non Phixion "The Future Is Now" (Deluxe Edition)

Featuring MCs Ill Bill, Goretex and Sabac with DJ Eclipse, Brooklyns Non Phixion made their first waves as a group in the mid-1990s with the indie singles Legacy (1996) and 5 Boros (1997), released on MC Serchs Serchlite Music. They fit perfectly into an era in New York City that had produced not only the Wu-Tang Clan, M.O.P. and Mobb Deep, but also underground firebrands and peers like Company Flow and the Arsonists. Aggressive, brazen, intelligent, and never predictable, they were impossible to ignore. Not-to-be-missed live shows helped to build their legend and fanbase throughout the end of the 90s. As Chris Faraone explains in the sets ridiculously comprehensive liner notes book (featuring interviews with all four group members): Non Phixion inspired fans to simultaneously deploy their smarts, bang their heads, and throw a fist. With their small but lauded body of collective work, Ill Bill, Sabac Red, Goretex, and DJ Eclipse introduced hip-hop to a unique brand of intelligent thuggery that looked past convenient enemies, and brought heat to the terrorists in government and beyond. From the groups formation in the mid-90s, to their breakup more than a decade later, Non Phixion kicked conspiratorial science that rings even truer now than it did before the aughts … After the initial buzz in the wake of their early singles, they were signed to, and subsequently parted ways with, both the Geffen and Matador labels in the late 90s and early 2000s. After those experiences, Non Phixion decided – in true and appropriate indie fashion – to go for self. The Future Is Now finally hit in 2002 on the groups Uncle Howie Records. In addition to new songs like the singles Rock Stars and Drug Music, the album also included previously-heard tracks from the groups journey: Black Helicopters and If You Got Love. Production on the album matched the MC talent perfectly, with tracks by Bills brother and Uncle Howie label-mate Necro, with additional work by an array of legends, including DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, and JuJu from the Beatnuts. With more of a decade in the rear-view mirror, The Future Is Now Premium Edition is the perfect way for fans to finally hear the stories about the forces that made – and eventually tore apart – Non Phixion, and how The Future Is Now came about.