Respecta.is - The Ultimate Hip Hop Portal

St. Louis prodigal sons - the hip hop fusion band iLLPHONiCS - are celebrating their 10th anniversary as a collective. Recently the quintet signed with Kansas City-based record label The Record Machine to release their first studio album since their self-titled 2013 album. Altogether, "Gone With The Trends" will be iLLPHONiCS' fifth album. With an intense vision and message in mind, the band hit the studio to produce the 13 track album.

"Gone With The Trends" is an ode to how wrapped up we've become in social media and internet trends. As a testament to this theory, iLLPHONiCS have devised the Seven Deadly Trends as a means of ramping up excitement leading up to the album release. These trends include, among others, Egocentrism, Materialism, and Idolization. Altogether, the album boasts songs about love, having a good time, and even politics. In the soulful track "Sweet Missouri", the band collaborated with St. Louis vocal artist Kristeen Young and legendary David Bowie producer Tony Visconti.

The five-piece experimental outfit is comprised of not only each individual member, but an embodiment of their musical taste, upbringing, and outlook on life. What you get when you combine Larry Morris, Keith Moore, Kevin Koehler, Simon Chervitz, and Chaz Brew is a soulful concoction of hard-hitting and real lyrics wrapped around a symphony of jazzy bass lines, sharp drums, clean guitars, and ever-evolving keys. Each iLLPHONiCS performance screams a good time. Music that makes you both dance and think is a rare find.