Meet ILL AL | Music Producer & Founder of The Beatcast

We had the good fortune of connecting with ILL AL and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi ILL AL, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
A bit of background.

During the pandemic, so many creatives (working DJs, live musicians, etc) were completely out of work. I was lucky to have stayed employed, as I had stepped away from music full time back in 2011 to take a job as an instructional technologist, but a friend of mine had his career as a working DJ cut short.

During that downtime he began doing a sample based beat production challenge, just for himself and posting his beat production to his Instagram account.

Inspired by this, I reached out to him and asked him if he would help me get my beat production equipment set up again, as I had been out of the creative process for close to a decade. During our conversation he had told me about how heavily the pandemic hurt his ability to earn an income. With all the venues closed and no one gathering together to listen to music, a DJ has limited options at that point. I mentioned to him that we should really do a podcast and open up his personal beat making challenge to the world, but with a bit more structure and maybe there could be some income if we garner support.

We organized and launched.

We did 52 weeks of episodes, one a week. We started with around 10 participants, mostly from our local area and quickly jumped to over 80 producers participating weekly from all over the world. London, Canada, Japan, Australia, France, Istanbul, and of course all over the states. Instagram being our main focus for lateral mobility and our podcast segment where we interviewed guests and reviewed the beat submissions taking place on Twitch. YouTube as our archive or previous episodes.

My friend was able to springboard into a career using the work we had done during our first season and needed to move on from the project, so I continued into a second season and formed The Beatcast, LLC.

What I have found as we head into the middle of our third season is what we originally started as a way to keep creative during the pandemic, possibly make the homie some income and reconnect with our peers, was actually going to be a powerful global community of likeminded musicians who continue to participate long past the world having reopened.

Hundreds of producers within The Beatcast are connecting and developing meaningful relationships that are rich and supportive. I’ve received messages from incredibly talented individuals who were contemplating giving up on music (and worse), but found family and a renewed sense of purpose within the community. We loving refer to ourselves as The Beat Hawks and I have to say The Beat Hawks made me fall back in love with making music.

I’ve learned that the motivation for starting this business, was the catalyst for a greater purpose. The “business” aspect has just become a necessary byproduct.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started out rhyming back in the early 90s with a couple of friends from grade school and that quickly progressed into something a bit more serious with a friend I met in high school who had some rudimentary equipment for us to begin recording songs with.

Both of my older brothers were in bands in Arizona during the 80s and 90s, my eldest brother would open for the Gin Blossoms, etc and the other would go on to tour a bit with a pretty successful band called Second Skin. I had some hand me down equipment from my eldest brother, a Roland TR 707 and this old Zenith microphone. Together with this equipment, I started recording cassette tapes with the high school friend I mentioned earlier, DJ Soups. He would use his Tascam 4 track recorder and his two belt driven turntables to create beats for me to freestyle to. Later, I would use the cassette tape duplicator from the local Guitar Center that was on display to mass produce my tapes and sell them out of a briefcase around Phoenix.

The feeling of someone actually purchasing music that I created in some dark, dusty bedroom was equal parts exhilarating and humbling. The Arizona hip-hop community back in the 90s was so small and tight knit, so to start having my music taken seriously was an incredible feeling. It was that transition from total obscurity to acceptance, to be considered legitimate as an artist among my peers and have thoughtful feedback that got me hooked on staying creative musically.

Fast forward a few years. out of my teens and into my early 20s I met an MC that goes by the moniker OHM while working a retail job in inner city Phoenix. We would freestyle with each other while stocking the shelves with shoes in the back of this hip hop staple in Metro Center Mall called Underground Station. He offered a lot of critique in a constructive manner that helped me break out of some of the simpler patterns I was using sonically and move into much more creative cadences.

He would take popular hip hop records, find the instrumentals, and redo all the lyrics in his own words, but keep the vocal patterning the same. This exercise would help him break out of any mundane vocal fluctuation habits he may have been forming. He suggested I try this and so I did, leading me to one of the first creative ceilings that I broke through before I began my journey into live performance and touring as a working musician.

Together with OHM and a large grouping of other local Arizona hip-hop artists I founded a hip-hop collective called Avenue of the Arts in 2001 and began touring and releasing studio records for the next 10 years. Avenue of the Arts is still going to this day, though I left the collective to focus on family and my career in 2014.

One of the things that made my music unique at the time was the politically driven and conscious element of my lyrics and beat choices. We were trying to show the juxtaposition between mainstream corporate hip hop and what was bubbling up in the cracks, just beneath the surface of what you could find on the radio. Of course, this was long before Lupe Fiasco, J. Cole and the Kendrick Lamars of the world today. Together with DJ Les, I released a full-length album and 12 inch vinyl record called Unplug. On this album I was afforded the opportunity to tour all over the country and learn a lot about myself as well as the world around me. One of the things I learned is that to write a record you have to do some living, at least for me, so it would be another three years before I released my second album. I began falling into the trap of comparing myself to other artists and became disenchanted with the business of music as I became more aware of some of the less “fun” aspects involved with putting out records and touring on them.

Since 2019 I’ve focused primarily on my instrumental beat production and moved away from writing lyrics for the most part, minus one record I did with Mega Ran. When Mega Ran gives you an opportunity to get on a record, you say yes.

The only way I got to where I am with music today is understanding that I’m not special, you have to let life kick your ass in order to kill your ego, and there’s nothing easy about the death of one’s ego. The only way out of something like that is through, so you have to accept it as part of the process Whether that’s creatively or just life in general. Embrace “the suck” knowing that growth is on the other side and growing pains are only temporary.

I suppose what I would want the world to know about my music today is when you put on one of my instrumental records, you’re listening to someone who understands that I know nothing and have everything to learn. My music is honest, it’s vulnerable, it’s out there to be judged, enjoyed, ignored, and hated. If something I’ve made gives you goosebumps, makes you emotional, or just adds to the vibe of your day and has you nodding your head it’s the biggest compliment for me. Its mission accomplished at that point.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If you’re coming to Arizona for a week the first place we’re heading to is Jerome. Doing a bit of wine tasting at Caduceus and maybe a bit of beer tasting at THAT brewery in Cottonwood. Not to mention you have to see the scenery up there.

Back in Phoenix we’re stopping at Grand Avenue records to pick up some vinyl, maybe catch a small intimate performance at Lost Leaf before grabbing coffee at Jobot and moving on to The Pemberton for some conversation and music at the Hop Box.

Later that evening maybe check out Central Records, dinner at Sottise and then just chill at one of the random rooftops or parking garages and stare at the city.

The next day it’s hip hop immersion at Trill, maybe grab something to eat at Cornish Pasty and then walk over to Valley Bar and check out some live music.

At some point we have to check out the Phoenix Art Museum and eat at Valentine. Then you got to get the hell away from me because you’re making me spend up all my money and burning up all my gas while I’m driving you all over the city. Beat it!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are truly too many people to name everyone who has inspired or directly supported me over the years.

Firstly, my family!

Directly related to my music: (In no particular order)
The mighty AZ Hip-Hop community, Avenue of the Arts, DJ Soups, OHM, Mustafa, Michael Horowitz & Pickster One of Universatile Music, Donn Felker, The Janitor, Neila, DJ Organic, DJ LES, Johnny Chu, Doug Quick, Brad B, Foundation, T.A.P.E., Rick Shotgun, Oddio, Sent Rock, Abe Zucca, Ali & Chuck Huus at Trill, Mesi Goods, Aubrey Modium, Mega Ran, LMNO, Dario & Greg, Zen & Dannu, 2 Mex, Konradio, Myka 9, Mamastrosity, Paris Sax, Hue Nubia, DJ Rotis, Annex, Rasco, Meaty Ogre, DJ Bad DJ, and so many more.

Huge shout to my brother Fugee, been there supporting since the 90s and one of the smartest people I know.

Website: TheBeatcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ill_al_/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/TheBeatcast

Image Credits
1st image: Photo by Fugee