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IllCoz. Everything.
First appearing in visible rap scenes in early 2019, IllCoz comes across as a rough blending of sinners and saints. Tracks such as "Six+" vs tracks more along the lines of "King Cobra" further depict a contrasting conflict of interest within the artist himself, which he considers to represent the chaotic tug of war inside all of us.
"This is the "Ill Cause"; understanding each other. I dont wanna hate the addict or the politician or hate the banker, you know? I wanna understand them, but more importantly I want them to understand us, and that goes for everyone too. Once we start to understand each other then we can fix our shit. So I'm out here telling stories to help that"
With a strong catalogue roll out ahead of him, and his dedication to a high energy, flawless performance, IllCoz is a name we could see coming up strong over the next couple of years. With the life and business experience backing his passion for hip hop and performing, tied in with knowing full well what he wants from life and how to get it Coz will be a force to be reckoned with, mark my words.
BIOGRAPHY
When it comes to passion, high energy performances, and technical rapping abilty, few fit the bill like IllCoz. Growing up in Victoria, BC., Coz says he got into music at a very young age, playing the drums for longer than memory can recall, and breaking into songwriting and performing at the age of 7. If you were to ask him, he would say his passion for music started as a kid in his carseat singing along with his mom to the radio. As he went into his early teenage years, Coz persued formal music theory training, playing the trumpet, and clarinet, but it was his love for percussion, rhythm, and timing that really drove his passion and developed into his chosen musical outlet; hip hop.
Spending his preteen years with older kids partying in mosh pits listening to heavy metal gave way to an obsession with gangsta rap and adapting a F@&! the system mindset in his teenage years. Having always been a creative writer it came natural to Coz when one day at 14 he threw on an instrumental and started jotting down rhymes. The next several years were robust with run ins with the law, partying, drugs, and mostly eratic big headed teenage behavior. All lessons along the road that form us into the people we are meant to become, and thats exactly how he uses those experiences in his songwriting.
In his early years, IllCoz music never really left the borders of his local circle, and upon the birth of his first child in 2008, creating took the back burner while he embarked on the pursuit of a career in construction and a proper family styled life. Years of back breaking labor had its ups and downs for Coz, at times providing him with more than he could've ever imagined, and at others, having him live out of his vehicle with nothing but a bag of clothes. In 2016, this lifestyle created a breaking point within Coz where he decided to try to remove himself from the trappings of society, and moved with a tent and propane stove to live homeless in the Okanagan Valley. After a summer and winter in Kelowna, IllCoz second child was conceived, prompting him to return to "reality". He returned to Vancouver Island and opened a drywall business which thrived for several years before it was derailed when his spouses mental health took a decline, and Coz had to put business aside and stay home with the children, eventually leaving him no option but to file bankruptcy and let the business go.
This was a pivitol point in the life, and eventual career of IllCoz, as it was this series of events that led IllCoz back to music, saying "I gave real life an honest go, ya know? like I really tried, I did everything I was supposed to. I took up a trade, I worked hard, I created jobs for my community, and then I hit a hard patch and that was that, it was all taken away. Why do I wanna live my life doing something I dont particularily like, when in the end it amounts to nothing... Less than nothing, crippling debt. Thats not how I'm trying to live. I can be broke and in debt doing what I love, either that or I can turn that into my job. The stakes are the same, but if I lose doing something I love, atleast I got the memories. Drywalling didnt even leave me that... plus, we ain't gonna lose. Feast or famine and its our time to eat."
