About Ill Phil

If you find the term “Christian rapper” somewhat paradoxical, you’re not alone, says the genuine article, Houston Christian rapper Ill Phil. “I did not know that there was such a thing as a devout Christian and a good rap artist,” he confesses. “The two could not be the same.”

Ill Phil had been a “secular” rapper, but quit when he discovered Christ. Then, in one of those life-changing moments, he came to a higher revelation while listening to a Christian rap artist by the name of Da Truth.

“When I heard his music, it really opened my eyes to the fact that you can be a hot rap artist and glorify God at the same time,” Ill Phil explains to ChristianMusic. “At that moment, I allowed my creative juices to start flowing again. I blew the dust off my rap folder and opened it back up for Christ.”

Born and raised in New Orleans – “when Hurricane Katrina struck, the particular part of town I lived in was completely underwater” – Ill Phil became interested in music at an early age. “I began rapping in elementary school,” he says. Then, a childhood friend told him that his father had a home recording studio.

“Charles Brimmer, Mr. B, as we called him. I started going over to his house, and at age twelve I produced my first track,” Ill Phil says. “I produced and recorded there for many years. Mr. B invested time and money into helping develop me as a person and as an artist.”

Then, just a couple years later, Ill Phil performed at the Bayou Classic at the New Orleans Superdome. “The response that I received from that performance literally sent me and my crew on cloud nine,” Ill Phil says. “People were actually coming up to us, hugging us, after we got off the stage, they were so impressed.”

Still, though, Ill Phil couldn’t reconcile rap with his newfound spiritual life. “For years, I thought I was doing the world a favor by ‘keeping it real’ on my secular projects,” he says. “I was wrong, and I even gave up music altogether at one time because I thought that was what the Lord required of me. I was misguided then, but it did demonstrate my zeal to please God.”

“I truly feel that God has blessed me with the ability to communicate messages vividly. People really seem to understand what I am trying to show them,” Ill Phil says. “God has blessed me with talent, and through the talent he gave me, I will glorify him.”

Ill Phil’s debut Christian rap album, “Soul Food,” does just that. “I really wanted to make an album that people liked, but most importantly an album that feeds the spirit.” On the way to the album, Ill Phil had to feed himself some of that soul food. “When I first decided to start rapping again, I didn’t have anything to write about,” he says. “I had not learned or been through enough as a Christian to create good music. I think that waiting until I matured in the faith definitely benefited my lyrical content.”

Ill Phil describes his music as “simply put, real.” He explains, “I open up my heart in my music. I am going to share my accomplishments with you as well as my shortcomings. The majority of the hip hop songs we hear today are self-centered, only focusing on what they are able to get. Do you really want to hear someone brag about how much money and jewelry they have?”

“Soul Food,” Ill Phil explains, is the opposite of all that. It feeds you, benefits you, nourishes you.

“I am honored when people like my music. You’ll never hear my boasting about how great I am or telling someone I know ‘you are going to like my music because I’m that hot.’ That’s not me!” says Ill Phil. “I am confident in what I do, but I feel swag really doesn’t help me communicate what Jesus stands for.”

-- Julie Carr and Nate Lee