iLL-Literacy Move Into the Future With “iB4the1 Chapter 1” (Listen & Download)

What do I keep telling you people? Oakland is on some other ish, and if you didn't believe me before I've got even more proof of the region's creative energies in the form of iLL-Literacy's dope "IB4the1" project, a three-part series that will comprise the group's debut "album" when all is said and done. Today I've got Chapter 1 of their upcoming musical novel and I won't front, it's has the potential to be a game changer.

In all honesty I couldn't do a better (and stranger) job of describing Chapter 1 than group member Dahlak: "Despite its brevity, .1 is grand in its effort to bridge sampled voice and original instrumentation, experimental music, and hip-hop narrative. The sound of iLL-Literacy draws character from an unusual blend of influences, spanning funk, afro beat, alternative, soul, and of course hip-hop. This is iLL-Literacy before the start. The prequel to the saga. iLL-Lit before the One. Take that how you want."

To download ""iB4the1 Chapter 1" click here.

And if you've never heard iLL-Literacy, check out two tracks from the project below, the hilarious "Gentlemen's Kool Aid" and darkly stomping "Finding Emo".