Illegal was a short lived hip-hop duo between 1993 and 1995, consisting of Jamal Phillips (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and La Morris "Mr. Malik" Edwards (Holly Hill, South Carolina).
Affiliated to Hit Squad, their only project came out in 1993 under Dallas Austin's Rowdy Records, an executive producer who also provides a couple of beats on the album. Lil Jamal and Lil Malik are both literally lil when they realize this effort, barely teenagers. The production is pretty good, many respectable names are called to keyboards, including Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Erick Sermon and Cool V, as well as Biz Markie, Colin Wolfe, Spearhead X, E-Locc and the aforementioned Dallas Austin: these producers create a decent lean sound, East Coast boom bap with a lean and slow drum that is not too intrusive, and a feeling that everything has been done in a quick and simplistic way, for example the mixing is practically ignored or has been done by an amateur.
On these music, young guys spit out elementary lyrics aimed especially at their peers Kris Kross and Da Youngstaz: technically, they're not too weak, but not very good either and they're not helped by fresh lyricism, their bars fall mediocre and they hurt. To themselves. Within two years, the duo disbanded: Jamal stays with the Hit Squad and takes part in various efforts on the East Coast, also releasing his debut album in 1995 for the same label, while Malik approaches the West Coast and remains also in Rowdy, however his debut is shelved by the Atlanta label.
This kid rap record is decent and manages to sell a few copies, finishing in the top 20 among rap records, well promoted by Arista in distribution. The highlights are crisp, arriving with guests: DITC members (Diamond D, AG & Lord Finesse), and Erick Sermon, who want to give a showdown on his own cheerful lo-fi jazzy beat.
Rating: 6.5/10.
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