'Pop is not a dirty word': Illy's living the Good-er Life on tour
The genre-defying, ARIA Award-winning hip-hop artist otherwise known as Alasdair Murray has met his, and not only are they now his best mates, they've influenced every step of his career to date.
"The people in Australian hip-hop that I look up to, like Drapht and Hilltop Hoods, they are examples of how to conduct yourself in this business," he says.
"I started rapping in an Australian accent because of the Hoods and they're some of my best mates now, you know? I've been at their weddings, they're coming to my birthday overseas later this year, we're really good friends and they deserve their success.
"I still look up to them, same with Drapht."
Illy is about to hit the road for the 27-date Good-er Life Tour, having toured Australia's capital cities for the Good Life Tour in March.
The regional run follows the recent release of Good Life Deluxe Edition, a follow-up to his seventh studio album, Good Life, released in November 2024. The deluxe edition includes a 2023 standalone single Hopeless (featuring Indiana Massara), new track Free Hand and acoustic versions of singles Kids and Good Life.
"Finally getting to do the Good Life tour was, no shit, life-affirming. I loved every second of it, whether it was playing the new album, the big bangers, or meeting people after," Illy says.
"I even loved the hungover flights the next morning (maybe not as much).
"So now that we've got a taste for it, I am ready and counting down the days 'til the Good-er Life tour starts.
"We're the most locked in we've been in years on stage, and when we're in this mode, no one does it better."
Illy has seamlessly straddled the line between hip-hop and pop throughout his career, embracing new sonic inspirations on each of his albums.
On Good Life, it's clear he now has it down to a fine art.
He even sings on the album, drawing on a few years of singing lessons and ever-growing confidence in his abilities.
"I've done a few interviews about this album now, because it is the one that goes in the most different directions," he says.
"I have known, from the very start, that I couldn't make the same album over and over again and still be doing it on a seventh album. I just couldn't.
"If I was just doing this as a gig, and not for love, and rehashing the same shit over and over again, I would have been doing something else years ago."
He's copped some criticism from diehard hip-hop fans, but he takes it in his stride.
"When people say some of my songs are pop songs, they say it as a dismissive thing because it's not what I'm known for," he says.
"The thing is, I'm not embarrassed about that, I don't think it's a dirty word.
"You know, the title track alone is somewhere between Oasis and an Aussie pop song. Doing that shit is hard, and it takes balls.
"Staying in your lane and doing the same thing, nothing impresses me about doing that.
"When people are like 'I don't really rock with this new stuff' or whatever, I pretty much say 'I appreciate you supporting me, I appreciate your honesty, I want you to like this stuff but if you don't, I get it, but I'm not going to not challenge myself for the sake of appealing to as many people as possible'.
"I'd rather do what I'm doing and stay inspired and enthusiastic about it."
Not being afraid to follow his creativity where it takes him is a sign of maturity for Illy.
He recognises it himself.
He's never been more passionate about his craft and his career.
"I have, in the past, not kept healthy, and not taken care of myself, but then I realised that to keep doing what I do, I needed to put more effort into eating right, getting sleep and exercising," he says.
"I quit smoking a couple of years ago, which has helped my voice, and we don't drink before the shows.
"I still have fun, of course I do, but this is my favourite thing to do in the world. It's all I've ever wanted to do, I have to give it the respect it deserves.
"And you're not going to be around very long as an artist if you're not taking it seriously and not giving the audience their money's worth, either."
The old saying, never meet your heroes, doesn't wash with Illy.
The genre-defying, ARIA Award-winning hip-hop artist otherwise known as Alasdair Murray has met his, and not only are they now his best mates, they've influenced every step of his career to date.
"The people in Australian hip-hop that I look up to, like Drapht and Hilltop Hoods, they are examples of how to conduct yourself in this business," he says.
"I started rapping in an Australian accent because of the Hoods and they're some of my best mates now, you know? I've been at their weddings, they're coming to my birthday overseas later this year, we're really good friends and they deserve their success.
"I still look up to them, same with Drapht."
Illy is about to hit the road for the 27-date Good-er Life Tour, having toured Australia's capital cities for the Good Life Tour in March.
The regional run follows the recent release of Good Life Deluxe Edition, a follow-up to his seventh studio album, Good Life, released in November 2024. The deluxe edition includes a 2023 standalone single Hopeless (featuring Indiana Massara), new track Free Hand and acoustic versions of singles Kids and Good Life.
"Finally getting to do the Good Life tour was, no shit, life-affirming. I loved every second of it, whether it was playing the new album, the big bangers, or meeting people after," Illy says.
"I even loved the hungover flights the next morning (maybe not as much).
"So now that we've got a taste for it, I am ready and counting down the days 'til the Good-er Life tour starts.
"We're the most locked in we've been in years on stage, and when we're in this mode, no one does it better."
Illy has seamlessly straddled the line between hip-hop and pop throughout his career, embracing new sonic inspirations on each of his albums.
On Good Life, it's clear he now has it down to a fine art.
He even sings on the album, drawing on a few years of singing lessons and ever-growing confidence in his abilities.
"I've done a few interviews about this album now, because it is the one that goes in the most different directions," he says.
"I have known, from the very start, that I couldn't make the same album over and over again and still be doing it on a seventh album. I just couldn't.
"If I was just doing this as a gig, and not for love, and rehashing the same shit over and over again, I would have been doing something else years ago."
He's copped some criticism from diehard hip-hop fans, but he takes it in his stride.
"When people say some of my songs are pop songs, they say it as a dismissive thing because it's not what I'm known for," he says.
"The thing is, I'm not embarrassed about that, I don't think it's a dirty word.
"You know, the title track alone is somewhere between Oasis and an Aussie pop song. Doing that shit is hard, and it takes balls.
"Staying in your lane and doing the same thing, nothing impresses me about doing that.
"When people are like 'I don't really rock with this new stuff' or whatever, I pretty much say 'I appreciate you supporting me, I appreciate your honesty, I want you to like this stuff but if you don't, I get it, but I'm not going to not challenge myself for the sake of appealing to as many people as possible'.
"I'd rather do what I'm doing and stay inspired and enthusiastic about it."
Not being afraid to follow his creativity where it takes him is a sign of maturity for Illy.
He recognises it himself.
He's never been more passionate about his craft and his career.
"I have, in the past, not kept healthy, and not taken care of myself, but then I realised that to keep doing what I do, I needed to put more effort into eating right, getting sleep and exercising," he says.
"I quit smoking a couple of years ago, which has helped my voice, and we don't drink before the shows.
"I still have fun, of course I do, but this is my favourite thing to do in the world. It's all I've ever wanted to do, I have to give it the respect it deserves.
"And you're not going to be around very long as an artist if you're not taking it seriously and not giving the audience their money's worth, either."
The old saying, never meet your heroes, doesn't wash with Illy.
The genre-defying, ARIA Award-winning hip-hop artist otherwise known as Alasdair Murray has met his, and not only are they now his best mates, they've influenced every step of his career to date.
"The people in Australian hip-hop that I look up to, like Drapht and Hilltop Hoods, they are examples of how to conduct yourself in this business," he says.
"I started rapping in an Australian accent because of the Hoods and they're some of my best mates now, you know? I've been at their weddings, they're coming to my birthday overseas later this year, we're really good friends and they deserve their success.
"I still look up to them, same with Drapht."
Illy is about to hit the road for the 27-date Good-er Life Tour, having toured Australia's capital cities for the Good Life Tour in March.
The regional run follows the recent release of Good Life Deluxe Edition, a follow-up to his seventh studio album, Good Life, released in November 2024. The deluxe edition includes a 2023 standalone single Hopeless (featuring Indiana Massara), new track Free Hand and acoustic versions of singles Kids and Good Life.
"Finally getting to do the Good Life tour was, no shit, life-affirming. I loved every second of it, whether it was playing the new album, the big bangers, or meeting people after," Illy says.
"I even loved the hungover flights the next morning (maybe not as much).
"So now that we've got a taste for it, I am ready and counting down the days 'til the Good-er Life tour starts.
"We're the most locked in we've been in years on stage, and when we're in this mode, no one does it better."
Illy has seamlessly straddled the line between hip-hop and pop throughout his career, embracing new sonic inspirations on each of his albums.
On Good Life, it's clear he now has it down to a fine art.
He even sings on the album, drawing on a few years of singing lessons and ever-growing confidence in his abilities.
"I've done a few interviews about this album now, because it is the one that goes in the most different directions," he says.
"I have known, from the very start, that I couldn't make the same album over and over again and still be doing it on a seventh album. I just couldn't.
"If I was just doing this as a gig, and not for love, and rehashing the same shit over and over again, I would have been doing something else years ago."
He's copped some criticism from diehard hip-hop fans, but he takes it in his stride.
"When people say some of my songs are pop songs, they say it as a dismissive thing because it's not what I'm known for," he says.
"The thing is, I'm not embarrassed about that, I don't think it's a dirty word.
"You know, the title track alone is somewhere between Oasis and an Aussie pop song. Doing that shit is hard, and it takes balls.
"Staying in your lane and doing the same thing, nothing impresses me about doing that.
"When people are like 'I don't really rock with this new stuff' or whatever, I pretty much say 'I appreciate you supporting me, I appreciate your honesty, I want you to like this stuff but if you don't, I get it, but I'm not going to not challenge myself for the sake of appealing to as many people as possible'.
"I'd rather do what I'm doing and stay inspired and enthusiastic about it."
Not being afraid to follow his creativity where it takes him is a sign of maturity for Illy.
He recognises it himself.
He's never been more passionate about his craft and his career.
"I have, in the past, not kept healthy, and not taken care of myself, but then I realised that to keep doing what I do, I needed to put more effort into eating right, getting sleep and exercising," he says.
"I quit smoking a couple of years ago, which has helped my voice, and we don't drink before the shows.
"I still have fun, of course I do, but this is my favourite thing to do in the world. It's all I've ever wanted to do, I have to give it the respect it deserves.
"And you're not going to be around very long as an artist if you're not taking it seriously and not giving the audience their money's worth, either."
The old saying, never meet your heroes, doesn't wash with Illy.
The genre-defying, ARIA Award-winning hip-hop artist otherwise known as Alasdair Murray has met his, and not only are they now his best mates, they've influenced every step of his career to date.
"The people in Australian hip-hop that I look up to, like Drapht and Hilltop Hoods, they are examples of how to conduct yourself in this business," he says.
"I started rapping in an Australian accent because of the Hoods and they're some of my best mates now, you know? I've been at their weddings, they're coming to my birthday overseas later this year, we're really good friends and they deserve their success.
"I still look up to them, same with Drapht."
Illy is about to hit the road for the 27-date Good-er Life Tour, having toured Australia's capital cities for the Good Life Tour in March.
The regional run follows the recent release of Good Life Deluxe Edition, a follow-up to his seventh studio album, Good Life, released in November 2024. The deluxe edition includes a 2023 standalone single Hopeless (featuring Indiana Massara), new track Free Hand and acoustic versions of singles Kids and Good Life.
"Finally getting to do the Good Life tour was, no shit, life-affirming. I loved every second of it, whether it was playing the new album, the big bangers, or meeting people after," Illy says.
"I even loved the hungover flights the next morning (maybe not as much).
"So now that we've got a taste for it, I am ready and counting down the days 'til the Good-er Life tour starts.
"We're the most locked in we've been in years on stage, and when we're in this mode, no one does it better."
Illy has seamlessly straddled the line between hip-hop and pop throughout his career, embracing new sonic inspirations on each of his albums.
On Good Life, it's clear he now has it down to a fine art.
He even sings on the album, drawing on a few years of singing lessons and ever-growing confidence in his abilities.
"I've done a few interviews about this album now, because it is the one that goes in the most different directions," he says.
"I have known, from the very start, that I couldn't make the same album over and over again and still be doing it on a seventh album. I just couldn't.
"If I was just doing this as a gig, and not for love, and rehashing the same shit over and over again, I would have been doing something else years ago."
He's copped some criticism from diehard hip-hop fans, but he takes it in his stride.
"When people say some of my songs are pop songs, they say it as a dismissive thing because it's not what I'm known for," he says.
"The thing is, I'm not embarrassed about that, I don't think it's a dirty word.
"You know, the title track alone is somewhere between Oasis and an Aussie pop song. Doing that shit is hard, and it takes balls.
"Staying in your lane and doing the same thing, nothing impresses me about doing that.
"When people are like 'I don't really rock with this new stuff' or whatever, I pretty much say 'I appreciate you supporting me, I appreciate your honesty, I want you to like this stuff but if you don't, I get it, but I'm not going to not challenge myself for the sake of appealing to as many people as possible'.
"I'd rather do what I'm doing and stay inspired and enthusiastic about it."
Not being afraid to follow his creativity where it takes him is a sign of maturity for Illy.
He recognises it himself.
He's never been more passionate about his craft and his career.
"I have, in the past, not kept healthy, and not taken care of myself, but then I realised that to keep doing what I do, I needed to put more effort into eating right, getting sleep and exercising," he says.
"I quit smoking a couple of years ago, which has helped my voice, and we don't drink before the shows.
"I still have fun, of course I do, but this is my favourite thing to do in the world. It's all I've ever wanted to do, I have to give it the respect it deserves.
"And you're not going to be around very long as an artist if you're not taking it seriously and not giving the audience their money's worth, either."
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