Listening to ILLFIGHTYOUTOO is like hitting a boardslide too quick on a bent rail and you eat shit. The grip tape on your skateboard scrapes the skin off of your shin before your face slams into the concrete spraying blood on your fresh white tee. It feels like cleaning your dirty wounds with a used rag and bottle of cheap tequila. Have you ever been truck slapped in the face? It’s like that; it’s aggressive, it’s raw, and I fucking love it.
The last time ILLFIGHTYOU tried to make our ears bleed was five long years ago. Their last release as a trio being their CASHINTHEBATHROOM EP, which dropped in 2015.
In between fights, they’ve been releasing individual projects like UGLYFRANK’s Jimmy Kimmel EP, GLENN’s GLENNGLENNGLENN album, and KHRIS P’s Soul On Fire EP. Now the trio has come back swinging, releasing two singles, “YTGURL,” and “BOMBINTHEMAIL,” as well as their new album, ILLFIGHTYOUTOO.
Watch ILLFIGHTYOU “BOMBINTHEMAIL” Music Video
Even if you’re prepared to listen to it, this new album from ILLFIGHTYOU hits you like a jab to the floating ribs. Right from the jump, they establish the tone on the first track, “GRAMSWITHGRAMS,” saying, “I’m moving hella swift with a blunt in my fist. I’m counting up my money, I’m [flaunting] my wrist. I woke up early in the morning and fuck on your bitch.”
At times they hit a smooth bouncy type flow that will have you smoking so much that your lungs will be exhausted. Then the next moment they hit you with an uppercut, switching up the flow to shadowbox with the beat.
As aggressive as the overall tone is, the KHRIS P produced beats have some lighter moments that balance out the chaos. Like in the track, “YOYO,” there are these delicate keys being played that blend into the record scratches and heavy drums. The brilliance of the album would have been lost had the mix not been just right. That’s where I truly applaud ILLFIGHTYOU because I’ve never heard one song from them that had a bad mix, and this album is no exception.
