2011 was a mammoth year for Illy. Following the release of his acclaimed second album The Chase in late 2010, it seemed Australia could not get enough of the young trailblazer. Smash hit single It Can Wait (feat. Owl Eyes) made ARIA Gold status selling more than 35,000 units.
It was also nominated for best independent single 2011 AIR Awards, where The Chase was nominated for best hip hop and best urban album. The Chase Album Tour in March was a great success, with two sold out shows at The Corner Hotel to his home-crowd. Later in the year Illy went on to headline the Illy|Spit Syndicate|Sietta Tour with M-Phazes in October, bringing a full-house to The Palace in Melbourne. It was hard to find a festival line-up without Illy’s name on it this year. He graced the stages of Splendour in the Grass (alongside Kanye West, Coldplay and more), Hot BBQ, Summer Rhythm, Moomba, Pushover, Sounds Loud, Come Together, River Sessions, Sprung, Full Noise, 600 Sounds, Stonefest, Homebake, and will also be playing Pyramid Rock Festival at the end of the year.
As for what’s to come; Illy is busy writing for a new album set for release in early 2012, as well as gearing up for a few appearances on the summer festival circuit.
If you had signed up to Illy’s mailing list by the end of Christmas, on Boxing Day you would have got a link to download his 2008 mixtape Illy Mixtape – Volume 2. It’s 20 tracks long, and although it is a MUCH younger ill dog, there are still some gems on there. To sign up all you have to do is enter your email into the mailing list signup box on the top right side of his homepage. The exclusive link was sent out to the mailing list at 6pm on Monday the 26th of December. Also now available is Illy’s iPhone app. You can get that from the iTunes store here.
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