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. This is never more evident than on "American History X", where Bill spits vitriol over chimes, a jagged bass riff and a chopped soul vocal, detailing his disgust for the United States socio-political construct. Most of his dissension is pointed towards taking down the powers that be, but his choir-preaching here proves one of the most grounded moments on the album. Ill Bill raps like there's a bomb strapped to his chest, so his description of the American government hits hard when paired with his emphatic delivery: "A Roman Empire in the present tense/ Murder for corporations that they represent/ Whether democrat or republicans, it's the same scumbag government/ With scumbag ways of running shit."
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 (Goretex admittedly steals a song with "Elvis is dead, but Tupac is living in Queens"). Additionally (and ironically), it seems Ill Bill's most creative song concepts fare the worst: "Alien Workshop" is a painfully rehashed X-Files rerun and "The Anatomy of a School Shooting" fails not due to its expected tastelessness, but in the way it refuses to expound on its tired subject matter.
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.
