ILLICIT ART ( I.A )

I.A (Illicit Art) a hip-hop duo based out of Hayward, California a city located in the San Francisco bay area. The duo consists of California born and raised rapper/singer J-Rivera and California born/Austin, Texas raised rapper/producer E The Young Chief. The duo’s name was derived from their unique ability to be artists with their words and formulate mental pictures for their listeners with their lyrical prowess. The duos musical style is a hybrid of West and East coast hip-hop with a “dirty south” influence and vibe. The two originally worked together on individual tracks while J served in Iraq and E lived in Austin but the two officially started up I.A in early 2009 when E moved back to the bay area. With their diverse backgrounds and love for hip-hop I.A has chosen to go against the flow of today’s music industry and bring back the days where hip-hop was an emotion more then just a nice hook and bass line. I.A thrives on their cunning dexterity to be rounded in all aspects of hip-hop with the lyrical technique to tell stories, paint pictures, and bring emotion to every song they create.