Anybody Remember Illa-Dapted?

Illa-Dapted was a cutting edge Bay Area group from the 90s and early 2000s.  It consisted of MCs Elyoptics (who also released a couple solo projects), Tendai, Pic Riley a.k.a. Pic-Vicious, DJ BullShit and producer Froilan Ramos.  A bio on their long-dead website contains a particularly apt description, "While their urban contemporaries comment on the harsh realities  of inner-city life and provide escape through “ghetto fabulous” fantasies, Illa-dapted comments on the emotional vacancy and shallowness of mid-American life and capitalism." And what I've got for us today is a 2-song promo tape of theirs from around late '99, early 2000.

The first cut is "Unfortunately," as in: "unfortunately, the world's full of people like me - frightening!  We live with no apologies!"  And while most of their music was produced "in house" by Froilan, this particular one was produced by Anticon's Matth.  The instrumental is dominated by a metal guitar riff; but the loop is so short, it no longer resembles a rock song and plays more like a gritty bassline.  The drums are being smashed as hard as they can, and it's all off-set by a subtle, repeating ringtone-like sound.  And the lyrics are pretty slick.  "Who could get us in?  I'm with the right crowd right now; I could get us in and no shame, we're perfectly sane.  I could get us some ill shit to smoke for the ride down, and I could get us out the small frame we're stuck in.  Fuck it, I could get us through the flames without burning our brains.  I could get us all paid without workin' all day.  I could get us to get and stop gettin' words in the way; and I could get us livin' when it's all gray.  But I think we're paranoid..."  Finally BullShit gets on at the end for some swift flare scratches.

The B-side is called "Mainy," and it's definitely calmer with Ramos back behind the boards and a decidedly more west coast feel.  Even the accents sound more pronounced.  "It's lookin' lovely; it's lookin' ugly.  Got my mind on somethin' mainy, somethin' mainy on my mind."  It's a bit of a nostalgic trip just to hear the term "mainy" being used on a record again.  This one's got a smoothed out playalistic vibe to it, though lyrically, of course, they're up to something deeper.  "It's good to suffer every now and then, 'cause taken in moderation, pain is a medicine.  And since I know the pain, and Hip-Hop's my Novocaine, see rainbows every day as I walk in that acid rain.  I rap for fame with the mentality of a dick, I'm here to fuck the world since life is just a bitch.  I must admit my clinical depression's in my cynical expression with subliminal suggestions."  I think they were looking to take some mainstream heads by surprise with this one.

Illa-dapted were pretty prolific for a while there, but it's been a good fifteen years since we've heard anything from them.  I think they were pretty well respected in their scene but never really broke out to audiences outside their niche.  Anyway, this is a pretty rare tape, but if you feel you must have this, don't stress.  Both songs wound up being included on their 2002 album, Youthful Indiscretion, with a bunch of other great songs, including one produced by Vrse Murphy.  "Mainy," was even pressed as a vinyl single.  And both of those are much easier to come by, so if you missed out on these guys the first time around, it's not too late.