Ill Bill – “La Bella Medusa” (Album Review)

Ill Bill is a 48 year old MC & occasional producer from Brooklyn, New York who rose to prominence as a member of the seminal quartet Non Phixion. He would become one of the most hard working dudes in the underground, whether it be his solo discography or his output as part of groups like La Coka Nostra & Heavy Metal Kings. Earlier this year, Bill formed the Gorilla Twins with NEMS & put out their self-titled debut. However as Halloween approaches, he’s continuing to grind by dropping his 5th full-length album.

The album kicks off with “What’s My Drug?!”, where Bill tells the story of a corrupt cop over an eerie beat from Stu Bangas. The next song “Be Afraid!” with Conway the Machine & Pharoahe Monch finds the trio coming with the battle bars over a ghostly instrumental while the track “Illest Killers” with Tech N9ne sees the 2 talking about how no one can stop either of them over a rap rock beat from Bill himself with co-production from Scott Stallone. The song “Meдy3a” gets over a boom bap beat with some keyboards along & with occasionally dramatic vocals popping in & out but after the “Justice to the People” skit, the track “Dinner Plate” finds Bill teaming up with his Non Phixion bandmate Lord Goat along with Jay Royale & Recognize Ali to talk about some gangsta shit over a demented instrumental.

The song “Chrissy Snow” with Kool G Rap finds the 2 talking about drug dealing over a beat with a predominantly melancholic guitar passage while the track “Call the Coroner” of course sees La Coka Nostra getting bloodthirsty over a Finn instrumental with some gorgeous keyboards. The song “Only Built 4 Gucci Drip” with Crimeapple & Lord Goat finds the trio getting mafioso over an intimidating beat from MoSS while the track “Bora Bora Aura” with NEMS, Vinnie Paz & Tony Yayo of all people sees the 4 talking about death over an ominous boom bap instrumental. The song “Watch the City Burn” is a flawless Non Phixion reunion down to the symphonic DJ Skizz beat & then the closer “Superb Clientele” talks about his legacy over a grimy instrumental.

I personally prefer the Gorilla Twins album in comparison, but this is still a worthy addition to Bill’s ever-growing catalogue in my personal opinion. His lyricism has remained unmatched throughout time, the features are all well incorporated although it may seem like too much & it’s well produced also.

Score: 7/10