Australian rapper Illy is a genuine hip-hop superstar, with multiple ARIA awards and number one albums in a career spanning nearly two decades.
But artistically, Illy (aka Al Murray) has never strictly limited himself to hip-hop.
His latest album, Good Life, is the best example of that – a result, Murray said, of the state of the world when he wrote it.
“The writing process started during COVID, so it was very much not knowing what was going on in the world, not really knowing what this career was going to look like,” he said.
“I got quite down about where things were because I was on a trajectory prior to it that never really recovered.
“It forced me to have some level of optimism… really consciously trying to view the glass as half full and taking stock of what you’ve got.
“So even on some of the sad songs or sadder moments, there is like an element of defiance or of getting on with it and pushing through.”
That uncertainty also gave rise to creative freedom.
“I’ve always really wanted to push myself with the songwriting stuff,” he said.
“I love rap, I came up in the underground rap scene. But it doesn’t challenge me as much as trying to write these kinds of songs, so I really wanted to push myself as far as I could.
“There’s a country song, there’s electronica songs, there’s punk-rocky songs, there’s songs that aren’t in any way rap songs.
“When you’re locked inside your house and you can’t go anywhere… I feel like I had a little bit more license to take some risks, so I did that.”
Murray already has an eye to the future, with plans to hit the studio as soon as his current Good-er Life tour finishes up.
And while he will continue pushing the stylistic boundaries of his music, he has no plans to forget his roots.
“I do miss just getting in and rapping, I think there’ll be a return to that on whatever comes next,” Murray said.
“It might be time to brush the dust off the mic in that regard because I’ve still got it and I think people sometimes forget that I do. So yeah, maybe it’s time to remind a few people.”
Illy is at Torquay Hotel on Friday 17 October.
