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Who are these
cats?
Since its founding in 2000, ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE has been solidifying
its eminence as Philadelphia’s most prolific, well-respected
DJ crew. An amalgam of partyrockers and turntablists extraordinaire
whose combined experience totals over a half-century, this five-man
family, comprised of Statik, Panek, Phillee Blunt, Lil Dave and Skipmode,
has been making an indelible mark on the Illadelph music scene, both
individually and as a team. Pick your poison: dance floors, mix tapes
or radio airwaves, and its guaranteed that ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE will
rock ’em well -- with their loyal, worldwide following as co-signers.
As master showmen, ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE has collaborated and shared
stages with groundbreaking artists including Gang Starr, King Britt,
Jazzy Jeff, Q-Bert, Cee-Lo, Les Nubians, Public Enemy, Prince Paul,
The New Deal, Zap Mama, Nelly and countless others. Here at home,
their unmistakable ill! turntable logo is as recognizable and omnipresent
on Philadelphia’s nightscape as Batman’s Gotham City skybeam,
exemplified by the roster of successful parties and special events
they’ve either hosted or headlined. The appropriately titled
Bodyrock, ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE’s hugely popular bi-weekly dancefest,
is an undeniable fixture in the city’s club community.
In 1998, Statik (James Peterson III), Panek (Cliff Humphreys) and
Phillee Blunt (Phil Lee) were humble students at Philadelphia University,
brought together by their respective love of hip-hop and, more specifically,
hip-hop turntablism and its show-and-prove mentality. Part of the
thing with every self-respecting DJ is, “You’re not the
man until I say you’re the man,” laughs Statik, expounding
on how the trio connected via WPUR, the campus radio station where
all three served as both internal staff and show hosts/creators. Not
only were he, Panek and Phillee deft turntable craftsmen, Statik says,
but “we were on a mission to really make this station happen.”
And happen it did, certainly for the two years that preceded the official
formation of ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE.
“The one major thing about all of us is that our fundamentals,
as hip-hop DJs, are very strong,” says Phillee. “There are
things that we have to keep in mind at all times. You’re not
only playing for yourself, but you’re playing for your peers.
Plus, you have to remember that you’re representing not only
yourself, but a group of people. We all think along the same lines,
in terms of not simply playing the safe records. But being in a crew
keeps you balanced and on your toes. You can be real experimental
when you’re standing alone, but when you represent for others
too, if people don’t react well to what you just did, it doesn’t
look bad for just you, but for the whole group, whether they’re
present or not.”
While Phil, Statik and Panek were busy strengthening their reps at
WPUR, David “Lil Dave” Adams was carving his own niche a
mile or so away at Drexel University’s WKDU with his “Down
Low Mix Show” before co-creating what would become -- and still
remains -- one of the East Coast’s premier college radiocasts.
“The Cool Like Dat Show,” hosted by poetess Monica Peters,
was the first radio show in the Philadelphia area to feature what’s
widely known as neo-soul, easily serving as the city’s most eclectic
weekly mix of progressive urban music. Lil Dave, a longtime record
collector, kept his crates full of acid jazz, electronica and underground
soul.
“Dave’s great,” Statik says. “He’s got this
vast knowledge of all types of music, and he’s the guy that’ll
play that one song on a full-length LP that no one else thinks to
play. Dave always plays what’s funky. He plays what’s good
versus what’s new.” Bodyrock, in fact, was Dave’s brainchild,
one the West Philly native created on his own before fatefully booking
ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE to spin.
“I ended up becoming a part,” says Lil Dave of his official
entrÈe into ILLVIBE in 2001. “I was already hanging around
them all of the time, and it just sort of worked out like that.”
His brethren consider him the group historian, as he’s always
researching the myriad musical styles he’s so passionate about.
“I enjoy learning about old & new stuff, so I read tons of
magazines and books, find radio shows, listen to stacks of albums
and look at what others are playing.” What records are you guaranteed
to see in his crates on any given night? “Anything by A Tribe
Called Quest, Masters At Work and Bugz In The Attic,” he says.
“Stevie Wonder, of course. And anything by Jay Dee or Madlib.”
“Yeah, I kinda knew about him,“ jokes Panek, recalling his
initial impressions of DJ Skipmode, ILL VIBE COLLECTIVE’s award-winning
final initiate. “I played at this place every Thursday night
when I was in college where all the kids from school would come. One
night, the owners booked this band to play. I thought they were gonna
set up downstairs. Instead, Skip comes upstairs and sets up right
next to me, he was one of two DJs who were a part of the band, but
I didn’t know that. He gets on, and he starts ROCKING the party.
He didn’t even come over and say, ‘What’s up!’”
The son of a classical music teacher and drummer throughout his high
school years, Skipmode (Matthew Skipper) has certainly garnered more
than his fair share of respect among DJ circles for his no-nonsense
mania on the wheels. “Battling was what drew me into DJing initially,”
Skipmode admits. “That’s why I bought turntables. New techniques
were still developing, and I wanted to be involved in it. I put a
lot of work into it too. People always wanted to test me, and I used
that as motivation. I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else
that I could compete with anybody.” When he’s not rolling
with his ILLVIBE brethren, Skipmode’s snapping necks at Hip-Hop
Lives, the monthly party he hosts alongside partner MC Flipside, with
whom he forms the superduo Electric City. For five years strong, a
lifetime by Philadelphia standards, Hip-Hop Lives has been the stomping
ground for the city’s true school heads, fortified by Skipmode’s
frenetic tracks. It’s beatmaking for Electric City that now provides
him with the thrill that competitive turntablism once did.
“It just made sense,” Skip says of his fusion with ILLVIBE
in 2002. “I saw how hard these guys worked, I knew what they
were about, and we were all a part of the same circuit.” Underscoring
his boy Panek’s recollection of their first memorable encounter,
Skipmode says he “just wants to be the DJ who everybody wants
to rock their party.” And he obviously couldn’t be in better
company.
Although they’re fundamentally rooted in hip-hop, ILLVIBE COLLECTIVE
represents everything good music is, regardless of its genre: inventiveness,
diversity, fearlessness, growth. And they do so not only in the records
they play and vibes they create, but, more importantly, in the manner
that they approach their business and expand their creative objectives.
Their extensive discography includes mixtapes, promotional mixes for
progressive record labels, production and scratch compositions for
a diverse range of artists. The Sure Shot and The Difference, the
pair of online mixshows on ILLVIBE Radio, broadcast at www.illvibe.net,
offer up all the boom bap of hip-hop alongside the multi-textured
sonic flavors that round out the impossible-to-categorize ILLVIBE
style.
Theirs is a collective that may be difficult to classify, but it’s
definitely sure to please.
Written by Sheena Lester |
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