Featured: PILL

Pill & DJ Burn One – 4180: The Prescription

It was a hot summer day in Atlanta and I pulled up on Luckie and Cone with hopes to get inside the New Era Flagship store to see Pusha T and Malice as they were having an in-store signing before the event later on that night. We parked the car and randomly across the parking lot was Killer Mike Bigga in a large all black SUV just getting out to go into the event. Without any hesitation I walk up to the looming figure that is Mike and introduce myself as a young journalist from a website called “illRoots.com”. After a short introduction I ask him a few questions on camera and then ask him to introduce his partners. The first person, directly to his right is a shorter in stature but lively individual who he politely introduces as “Gangsta Pill”. We venture on our way and enjoy the rest of A3C as we try to Tom Clancy our way into the event itself. That was the first time I ever went to Atlanta and by chance one of the first people I ever met down there, in person, was the man I recently sat down with. Pill will be featured at our A3C event this year and is a testament to hard work and determination. Enter Pill…..

illRoots.com: So why the name “PILL”? When I met you the first time it was “Gangsta PILL”

PILL: My name has always just been PILL. Other folks may have attached things to it but its always been P-I double L because I’ve credited my music as the cure for rap cancer. I started taking rap serious back in high school and the name originally came from football because we used to call the football the “pill”. One Big Ten game I showed off and they said “that nigga is the pill!”, so I just put that into my rap music and kept the name and its worked for me ever since.

iR: I downloaded 4180: The Prescription and recently you talked about releasing 4075: The Refill. Why these names, and are their any significance to the numbers?

PILL: When I lived in Kimberly Court my address was 4180. Kimberly Court is one of the oldest projects in Atlanta and I stayed on 4180 Cant Street. That was significant to me because I stayed on “CAN’T” Street.

iR: Oh wow, thats a crazy name for a street.

PILL: Not to mention its in the projects.

iR: Wow…

PILL: Imagine how fucked up it is for a kid growing up on “Can’t” Street.

iR: Yea that had to be crazy.

PILL: My momma always told me there’s no such thing as can’t, may she rest in peace. When I first got into music it was at 4180 Cant Street because my momma would have the card parties and she would always have me perform for all the people. You know when you were little your momma always use to make you do like Michael Jackson and stuff like that. Whatever little rap I wrote I would stand up and rap it because I was writing raps back then. I was in Kindegarten the first time I wrote my first rap. I was just taking people back to then because it was always a love for music in my home and I want to let people into my past and get to know me since that was my first solo project ever. I just ran with that because if I’m starting in rap music I should just put where it all started at. Eventualy I just want to take people to the different addresses I lived in because there is so many.

iR: Thats dope. Obviously the Atlanta scene has always been around but who do you feel should get more recognition on a national level that you see doing their thing locally?

PILL: I’m know Hollyweerd comes to mind, they are a phenomenal group. Yet I don’t know if they are all from Atlanta but Hollyweerd is a phenomenal group. I’m trying to think of another group that would actually get national appeal because I don’t want to just throw someone in the pot because I know them.

PILL – GLASS from zachwolfe.com/live on Vimeo.

iR: Yea true.

PILL: I’m trying to think who else that is actually from the “A” because you know tons of people come to the “A” to get recognition or amplify their situation. Alot of artists try to rep the “A” but aren’t from Atlanta, I’m probably one of the last ones who is a native born and raised from Atlanta.

iR: We often see people moving into an area and spending 5 or 6 years there and then representing that area even though they aren’t originally from that part of the world.

PILL: I mean its cool because you make your home where your at. Some people say “Its not where your from, its where your at” or where you pay rent, word to Big Boi on that. Alot of people move to the “A” because of the music scene and the national recognition that we have when it comes to the music. Alot of the artist’s come down here and feel like they can hop on because they are in the “A”. Our city is such a city of love that we will embrace you regardless of your origins. At some point we have to think are we going to continue to embrace these peopleor should we embrace our native sons?

iR: I think there is two central problems stemming from this statement. First, we continue to box our artists into creative prisons depending on what part of the map they are from. Second, local artists have trouble getting love from their own radio stations. Basically if you can’t support us why should we support you?

PILL: Yea, thats some really fucked up shit. Radio has been generalized in a sense where its like they only touch who is poppin’. In the “A” we got Gucci, Jeezy, Luda, and Tip….

iR: These are all folks who have been around for at least 5 years though.

PILL: When it comes to the local guys we are starting to get more love though I can’t go completely against that. We had the Shop Boyz at one point but they kind of fizzled out yet they are still working on the underground circuit. J-Money is also doing well and he’s from the Atlanta and of course Young Dro has already done so much. Yet I can rattle off numerous names about little people here and there but I know people who have been down here for years. I used to perform at Pastor Troy’s spots down here right when I got out of High School. I used to do shows in all his clubs when I was in a group called Low Deep.

iR: One of the reasons why I started working with Fadia Kader and SMKA is because of their overwhelming support of that entire local movement in Atlanta. Whats your thoughts on Perfect Attendance this year at A3C and overall as an event?

PILL: I think its good because they give local acts a chance to be recognized even though they have people who come from all over to not only attend but to perform it still is centered around local artists out here. Its good because nothing can ever be wrong with presenting people opportunities, you feel me? Its almost like they jumble of the best acts from Atlanta with all different styles and see probably the best showcase of talent in the city at one show. I don’t like to be put in one single category because I feel as if just like the show I can rock with every genre and perform for any type of crowd. With Perfect Attendance they are bringing together the hipster crowds with the hood crowds and vice versa. At the end of the day the event is beautiful because its centralized around just the music.

iR: At some point we started to get away from the music I believe. You could almost see the foreshadowing within the 90’s when the image started to really become influenced by money more so than art. Yet there was still brotherhood and love for each others art.

PILL: Exactly it was the love and it wasn’t completely about the money.

iR: If you think about we are a relatively young genre so around the 90s was an era where we just started to see overwhelming monetary success.

PILL: Yes, but at the point it wasn’t mainly about the money, it was basically stating “Look here’s where I’m from, and now I’m going to rap about it”. At the end of the day I feel what they possess I possess and not to big myself all the way up but that’s just how I feel. Music is an expression of self so if I want to sing on a track or rap on a track that is how I ultimately feel and thats what I will ultimately do. People now they just follow and figure that is the best path to success.

iR: I think you have to look inward at all of this. If your a person who has faith in what you do then ultimately deviating from that for whatever reasons shouldn’t become an option ever.

PILL: Right.

iR: Trends often come about when you see something and try to fit yourself into that trend. So when everyone is talking about video games and sneakers you want to fit into the crowd.

PILL: People are like sheep.

iR: Trends come and go but if your not truthful to yourself, all the time, then you will eventually fail.

PILL: Right, and what your saying is the most important part of music. If you can’t be yourself and set trends then why should I follow you? This is just like with our cultures and our foods. Everyone has a different culture and essentially different cuisine. Alot of people feel like they have to go all these cultures to eat when you can just prepare the meal yourself and eat at the table with all these folks. Invite people to your culture, cook up your food, and see if they like it. I feel like music is food for the soul, relating back to Goodie Mob. I admire those guys so much for what they did and continue to do because they brought people to their table. I’m so mad that I missed that god damn reunion because I’m such a huge fan of their music.

iR: Yea, they said it was shoulder to shoulder in the rain. Shout out to Jabari for the tickets and the love.

PILL: Yea I know, thats how you know you did something. Even if people said “You ain’t did shit”, you can at least say “I had people standing in the rain!”. That’s how you know these people love you because they were shoulder-to-shoulder in the rain and mud. I commend those guys for getting back together because they are all brothers from the same struggle. No matter who has had the most success within Goodie Mob they still found a way to get together as brothers. I love to see that type of shit because it is a sense of family and brotherhood.

iR: There is such a large class divide between people who have money and people who don’t have money. So as a resolution you can either argue about why you have it and why I don’t or we can come together and all eat.

PILL: At the end of the day it is all about the music, but still it is about us as people. It doesn’t matter where you come from because as long as you work hard you can be successful. I come from the gutter and I know success is right around the corner because I’m working hard. Its almost like a cast system because people classify you by what you have and your possessions. So what? You get what you can get but at the very least remain who you are.

iR: I think the reason people change is because they mistake progression with money.

PILL: Personally, I’m more satisfied with progression because with that I am actually able to see where everything is going and that is the most rewarding thing to me. Of course we all need money to eat and live but progression is a form of success that is unparalleled.

iR: Well thank you for sitting down with me today I definitely appreciate your music and your time.

PILL: No problem and I’ll see you at A3C soon enough.

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