IlldotLogic, Dreams in Stereo (Interview with IlldotLogic)

We’ve been rocking with and supporting singer/songwriter/producer, IlldotLogic for a while over here at The Lavilla Project, so a sit-down with him had been long overdue.  We caught up with IlldotLogic recently for a very insightful interview where we spoke on his decision to choose singing over rapping, his latest project Dreams in Stereo, life in Atlanta and the origin of his unique moniker.  Check it out.

Nakia:  Introduce yourself to The LaVilla Project readers.

IlldotLogic: Hey guys, I’m Illdot, producer/singer/songwriter from Jacksonville originally, now in Atlanta and it’s good to be here today.  You might have seen some of my videos up on the site before, and I hope to have more music for you soon.

Nakia:  Word up, we really enjoy your visuals.  Now first, you must tell me why you chose IlldotLogic as your stage name.

IlldotLogic: Ok, when I was a kid, I really liked Spock on Star Trek and he was always talking about logic and things being illogical.  My kinda thinking was that I’m “Ill”. Period.  So that became IlldotLogic.

Nakia:  Ok, dope!  Now what inspires you?

IlldotLogic: Now, you know; I get this a lot.  Many people say they’re inspired by other music, other artists, but I’ve never really felt that way.  I mean yeah, I’ve heard something and been like, ‘I want to make a song like that’ but for the most part I get a lot of my inspiration elsewhere.  We live in such a beautiful world.  I mean nature, wow, there’s some really impressive and epic stuff out there to see visually.  Just think that there are no two places in nature that are exactly the same.  No two trees are exactly the same.  Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, I find that concept very inspiring for me musically because it’s really a testament to what you can do musically and how you don’t have to do the same thing over and over.

Nakia:  I like that.  And what have you released so far?

IlldotLogic: Back in 2009, I released a couple of projects.  The first was The QWERTY Mixtape and then later that year I release a re-imagination of Kanye’s 808′s & Heartbreak called 808′s & Reconciliation.  More recently I’ve released my first solo album Dreams in Stereo last year, and I’m releasing a deluxe edition on July 31st.  The Deluxe Edition has four unreleased songs and a DVD with all the music videos I’ve released thus far.

Nakia:  Word, we’ll definitely be looking out for that.  You mentioned having relocated to Atlanta, did you move to further pursue your music?  How has it been for you?

IlldotLogic: Yes, I did.  It’s been very interesting.  I actually ended up meeting my future wife here, so that’s definitely a huge plus.

Nakia:  Wow!  Congratulations!

IlldotLogic:  Thanks!  But it’s a lot different from Jacksonville.  I mean the outlets are definitely there and I’ve seen people I personally know really go places.  It is very, very saturated however, and you really get to the point where when you hear that someone is an artists, you just you really consider walking the other way (Laughter).  But really though, there are a lot of opportunities and it’s really easy to get caught up in the music lifestyle.

Nakia:  I see.  Now recently, you’ve changed directions with your music, what was the motivation behind it?

IlldotLogic:  It really started when I began focusing more heavily on production instead of rapping.  I was making a lot of different sounds that I just didn’t feel like rapping to and began to make reference songs for other artists.  I liked my voice.  So I decided to start making more singing songs and just eventually kind of starting phasing out the rap.  I do feel like my music is very hip hop influenced however.  I feel like the listener can hear the rap background.  You know, some outlets that have reviewed my music still review it as hip hop even though I’ve just about completely stopped rapping.  I really just came to the conclusion that only rapping is very limiting to the creative process.  I might come back one day.

Nakia:  I understand that.  Although you are singing now, I still feel the Hip-Hop undertones and I dig it.  Now how has the response to the latest project, Dreams in Stereo been?  And why did you name it that?

IlldotLogic: I named it Dreams in Stereo because essentially each song is like a separate dream and from the people that I’ve let hear it that I know personally, friends, other artists, producers, etc, they really like it.  They’re very encouraged by the diversity of the project.  Some of the reviews in blogs have been a little mixed.  They’ve said they see the raw talent, but the project itself they felt was really kind of scatterbrained, which looking back I can definitely see that (Laughter).  I really make music the way I like music.  I listen to a lot of different styles of music, so I’d like to hear something that I made in the same styles.

Nakia:  And your videos always have such amazing visuals; who comes up with the concepts?

IlldotLogic: I come up with most all of them, but in many cases, the director, Ryan Lightbourn, who has directed all of my videos so far, we kind of just bounce ideas off each other until we have a final idea.  “Gum Balls” was really like that.  We knew what kind of video we wanted to shoot before I even finished recording the song.  In that case, the visuals ended up influencing the lyrics.  But I love visuals, I love being able to show the listener what it looks like in my head when I make this music.

Nakia:  Nice.  The visuals are very dope.  What’s up next for you?

IlldotLogic: I recently have acquired a new manager and he is working hard on getting a lot of my music placed with other artists.  I love making music, and this really puts me in a position where I can just constantly create.  As much as I love performing and being an artist, nothing compares to composing music and writing songs.  I do it in my sleep.

Nakia:  Between producing and performing; which do you prefer?

IlldotLogic: Producing preferably, but I love performing a lot too.  Producing holds my attention a little longer.  (Laughter)

Nakia:  Do you have any words you live by?

IlldotLogic: Not so much in a word, but I am a big believer in not making plans.  It’s that whole idea of like, how can you make God laugh?  Make plans.  It’s like that verse in the Bible where these two dudes were talking about how much money they were gonna make in the next couple years and then they were heavily rebuked and I think one of them died.  I mean, you just never know what could happen next, so don’t try to predict your future before it happens.

Nakia:  I can dig it.  And what advice would you give someone who wants to pursue music as a career?

IlldotLogic: I joke with my friends and I say whenever I get asked this question that I’ll tell whoever is asking “Just don’t” (Laughter).  But really though, I’d say don’t let music stop you from doing something important in your life.  Don’t let it stop you from going to school, getting a new job, stuff like that.  I’ve met a lot of people who have ruined their life, in their own words, with music.  It’s like a drug.  You spend all your money on it knowing that you may never get your investment back.  With that being said, if you have something you want to express to the world, by all means don’t let anything stop you.  Just don’t overestimate what the rest of the world will think of it. (Laughter) It really comes down to loving music.  I love making music; I love making the music that I make.   There is nothing else that I’m as good as doing as music.  I don’t make music for other people.  I make music that I like and if other people like it too, that’s a real good feeling.  But I’d be making it regardless.

Nakia:  And where can we find more information about you?

IlldotLogic: You can check out www.illdotlogic.com it has a lot of information about me, it has all my music videos, music, and a lot of stuff up there.  And you can also hear my music on my Pandora channel.  Also, check me out at twitter.com/illdotlogic and facebook.com/illdotlogic.  I always like talking to people who like music and especially people who like my music!  As a last note, thank you for having me, I’ve enjoyed the site since day one and I appreciated the continued support!

Nakia:  No doubt!