TRACK LIST : 01. What Does It All Mean? 02. Paul Baloff 03. I Don’t Know How Long It’s Gonna Last 04. Acceptance Speech ft A-Trak 05. Truth 06. Exploding Octopus 07. Forty Deuce Hebrew ft HR of Bad Brains 08. How To Survive The Apocalypse 09. Vio-Lence ft Shabazz The Disciple & Lil Fame of M.O.P. 10. Acid Reflux 11. L’Amour East ft Meyhem Lauren & Q-Unique 12. Power ft OC & Cormega 13. When I Die ft Tia Thomas 14. Severed Heads Of State ft El-P 15. 120% Darkside Justice ft Jedi Mind Tricks 16. Canarsie High 17. World Premier Brooklyn native Ill Bill is a keystone of critically-lauded luminaries Non Phixion, original member of La Coka Nostra, one-half of Heavy Metal Kings with Vinnie Paz, and prolific solo artist in his own right. His most personal and realized album to date, ‘The Grimy Awards’ is tangential and biographic, seeing Bill address the formative touchstones of his life, offering “what-ifs” and describing historical events (many gruesome) that shaped the suspicious, futurist, political and analytical persona he’s been putting on wax for three decades. Here he effortlessly enlists a squad of super-notable collaborators, who not only sign their approval but round out a grand boom bap vision sonically and thematically. It’s largely impossible to discuss Brooklyn rap in the last decade without acknowledging Ill Bill who carved out a distinct niche near the turn of the century. Non Phixion’s ‘The Future Is Now’ is a certifiable classic of the genre, championed by major labels like Warner Brothers and Geffen early on before being released independently on Bill’s own Uncle Howie Records. Rife with political critique and paranoia, the album sits among classics from Company Flow, The Goodie Mob and Immortal Technique. There’s a comparably dark through-line to his solo and collaborative work since, much of which is heavily informed by years as an avid fan of punk rock and heavy metal (diehards will spot an esoteric Exodus reference in ‘Paul Baloff’, a standout on this record). Ill Bill is a cult-rap fixture, an idol to fans across the globe and a direct progenitor of the whatever-wave of New York rap that’s currently en vogue, though there’s a stark difference in his approach. Bill lyrically postulates, provokes, praises and reminisces alternately. ‘The Grimy Awards’ is as much about what happened in Bill’s tenure on earth thus far as what might have actually happened It’s extremist in an attempt to overshoot reality and find a spurring medium between what we’re led to believe is the truth, the actual facts, and terrifying potentiality. Includes appearances from H.R. of Bad Brains, A-Trak, El-P, Jedi Mind Tricks, O.C., Cormega, Meyhem Lauren, Q-Unique, Shabazz the Disciple & Lil Fame of M.O.P. and production by DJ Premier, DJ Muggs, Pete Rock, Large Professor, The Beatnuts, El-P, Ayatollah, MoSS & Ill Bill himself. Pressed on Blue vinyl, includes DVD and download card.