The voices of street-storytelling of the UK are seldom heard in the North-West. This changes with Illerstate, a 4-piece rock influenced hip-hop collective originating from Langley. Their music is an eclectic mixture of aggressive melodies, heavy bass and metal guitar mixed into a primordial sound that remains distinctive to Illerstate.
Embracing the mutual love of dark and heavy, the collaboration of different styles in their music sees no boundaries in diversifying their sound. While using fearsome rhymes and distinctive flows, to tell the personal stories of unconventional subject matter and identity, Illerstate carve out their own. Using guitar riffs and bassline, the vocal vibrancy that layers the complex instrumentation speaks to their cerebral rhyming styles. Illerstate clearly have something unique.
As North-West’s best kept secret, Baddy, Wz, Sadizzy & Matt take their influences from metal, punk, trap and hip-hop. This explosive amalgamation of sonic fluidity enhances their status of intense energy within the hip hop scene. Going beyond the borders of Greater Manchester Illerstate has gained a solid fan base throughout the UK, gaining support from industry taste-makers such as Capital Xtra’s DJ Semtex.
With regular play on MTV and Channel U, the group became a cultural cornerstone of what collaborative hip hop mean to the UK urban scene particularly what it means to the North-West. With all production handled in house and an exciting live show that includes DJ Jammie, lead guitarist Matt Booth & Drummer Shane.
Being disruptors to the stereotype, Illerstate capture the sounds of all genres and infuse it to the percussive beats of hip hop. With the roots of what brought them together in the first place, breaking down those boundaries helped them find their voice, but most importantly, it helped help cement their Illerstate sound.
Brace yourself, they’ve got shit to say.