About Ilajide.
Ilajide is ¼ of the Detroit based hip-hop group Clear Soul Forces. However if you take a look under the hood the impact Ilajide is having lyrically and from a production standpoint is unmatched. Starting at an early age Ilajide was deejaying parties, just a few years after that at the age of 14 he started rapping and once he graduated high school, he was knee deep in making music and the rest is history. Over the course of his tenure Ilajide has released over 10 projects consisting of instrumental albums, his own solo efforts and his work with Clear Soul Forces. This constant grind and prolific approach to his art, has Ilajide being covered by a plethora of publications, touring the entire universe and creating genre-bending music.
Ilajide came up in the golden era and from the jump he was analyzing music with the mind of the producer and artist we would become in the future. Outside of the music, Ilajide would spend time taking apart and tinkering with stereos and other equipment, quite like the mad scientist we listen to now. All of this etched Ilajide’s destiny in stone, he would begin deejaying dances, graduation parties, school parties all the while picking up rapping during that span as well. It was his mother’s passing when Ilajide was 16 that caused him to take his artistry and craft more seriously. From there, Ilajide hasn’t looked back.
A prolific emcee in his own right, when you look at the bigger picture Ilajide is just as prolific as a producer. While he defines his sound as a combination of “Funk, Futuristic Soul, Boom Bap and Trap” there is no proper lane for Ilajide. Ilajide is not only able to create a myriad of sounds fit for any generation, he can rap over that same production as well. With influences covering Rick James all the way to Kaytranada it’s no wonder that pinning down his sound is difficult, no matter where you stand on the sound spectrum Ilajide has something for you. Ilajide dropped his debut instrumental album “Latex” in 2015. Created on the Machine “Latex” were instrumentals inspired from samples Ilajide found and putting them over beats. However, the project also gave us the first glimpse of Ilajide on the mic without his group Clear Soul Forces and would open the door for more solo endeavors.
“The Heet Tape” is Ilajide’s proper solo album debut released on Rappers I Know in 2016, his first full venture outside of CSF and further cements the versatility Ilajide has brought to the game since the age of 14. Like his production, Ilajide weaves in and out of lanes showcasing his marquee sound. There is genuinely a bit of everything, trap, boom bap, funk, jazz and more showing Ilajide can write, produce and engineer a record to fruition, on his own. Garnering coverage from RhymeBeat, Dead End Hip Hop and other platforms Ilajide’s ascension continues.
Last year Ilajide took on the entirety of the production, engineering and naturally his quarter of rhyming on Clear Soul Force’s latest album “Still”. Here we are decades later and Ilajide is Still doing deejay sets as he did for Noveliss and CSF, this year. Years later, Ilajide is Still getting Press, as he’s been covered by Soulection, 2DopeBoyz along with Beats 1 Radio. Further, the Detroit hero has toured over 20 states and close to 10 different countries headlining and selling out shows. Put on top of this the fact that Ilajide has crossed over a Million streams combined on all platforms, Ilajide is a prolific artist with a clear trajectory of mass appeal.
2022 brings another album fully produced by Ilajide set to release March 13th, 2022. It will also have him dropping two compilation albums. All produced by him the first is a funk/rap album called “Pocket Jams” that he’s been working on since 2014.