ILLCROOK was born from the association of the emcee Black Caesar from ILLtown, NJ and DJ 3D from CROOKlyn, NYC. In 1994, they released this 12" on After Dark Records, a record label managed by Carlos "After Dark" Berrios.
DJ 3D : " We decided on the name "Illcrook" around 93-94. So we formed the group around that time. Black Caesar was my brother in law. He married my sister. I found out that he made beats and rapped... You can hear that Jersey flavor !
We were signed by After Dark Records by the legendary Carlos Berrios. He asked me to add some samples to his freestyle music. And I also released some house music on his label as well. So in discussion, Carlos wanted to give it a shot. Carlos is a long time friend."
Only one track titled "Illcrook" is pressed on this 12". The joint is available in its Vocal, Stripped Down and Instrumental versions with all the Scratches done by DJ A.vee.
DJ 3D : " I remember "Illcrook" was released in a bunch of stores. I don't remember the number of copies, but I know it made it over seas. So there must have been decent amount."
If you're looking for more info about Black Caesar (RIP) and DJ 3D, you need to know that they had already dropped a debut 12" in 1993 on Rap Baby Records entitled "Black Caesar / I Can't Believe How Dope I Am ". It was produced by DJ 3D & Dean Landew (owner of Rap Baby Records) who formed Kings of Beats at the time, and Black Caesar. Another wax to grab without hesitation if you haven't had it in your collection yet...
For the VHS tapes collectors, you need to know that an official video of "Black Caesar" exists... I've never seen it online and even DJ 3D doesn't have a copy... the video seems to be totally lost but the hunt is opened !
There will be no more release from ILLCROOK after that... and their album never came out unfortunately...
DJ 3D : "It was very difficult for studio time back in the day... and Black Caesar's work ethic wasn't great. On top of that, Carlos was releasing tons of music back then. So, as I mentioned earlier, Studio time was hard to get... it was expensive. There are a bunch of unreleased material. The styles have changed, so they are sitting on my hard drive..."
Mad Props to DJ 3D, thanks for your time.
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