Ill Communication

[January 16th, 2008]

Somehow, despite winning the holy trifecta of high-profile rap battle competitions, Portland MC Illmaculate has largely evaded local celebrity. The 21-year-old St. Johns native, known as Greg Pope to his friends and family, just won his second consecutive victory at the World Rap Championships in New York City. As such, he and his partner in rhyme, California-based MC the Saurus, walked away with $40,000. His 2004 victory at the highly respected Scribble Jam (the Cincinnati-based hip-hop festival that launched MCs such as Sage Francis and Eyedea) pushed him into the battle circuit limelight at just 17, and his 2006 victory at NYC’s Spin the Mic completes the triple-play. But while battle fanatics break down his every turn of phrase on hip-hop websites and message boards, back in Portland Illmac is still trying to break into the music industry both as a solo artist and with his crew Sandpeople. WW spoke to Pope via telephone, where he was “handling business” in California with Sandpeople’s Only One.

WW : Do you battle with the other Sandpeople guys when you’re in Portland?
Illmaculate: A little bit. We talk shit. We don’t even do it in rhyme form, we just shit-talk. I think the shit-talk is important for staying on point. And it’s easy to stay on point when you’re hanging around with nine other cats who shit-talk each other all the time. Me and [Only One] will battle. We’re down here just rapping at people that don’t rap. Clowning ’em, making ’em feel stupid. That’s just what we do.

How do you think you guys performed at the second World Rap Championships? I mean you won, but—
Well, we did what we had to do. With the circumstances [judging disputes and stolen video footage tainted WRC’s second-year finals], I wasn’t really in the zone and didn’t really want to be there. The whole situation sucked the life out the room in the finals. But for the Detroit battle and the Canada battle I thought me and the Saurus fed well off each other. But by the end we had already been there for 11 hours. It was like dreaming. We thought all the tapes were gone, and the whole day was all for nothing.

What are you doing with your half of the money?
[Laughs] Just real-life shit...investing a lot in the music. And rent.

Are you going back to Scribble Jam this year?
I’m going just to judge and perform. At this point I don’t feel like I have anything to prove. That audience knows that I can [battle], but they don’t know I can make music. Battling has never been a priority over music, it’s just been a really helpful stepping stone to where I want to go musically. And you don’t want to see somebody going back over and over and falling off and being like one of those players where it’s like, “Hey, that dude used to be raw.” I’d rather go out on a high note.

Do you ever get your feelings hurt in a battle?
Nah. I mean I can be like, “Ha ha, he got me there, that was a good one.” But I don’t lose my composure. The only thing that gets me emotional is when wack shit and corny shit gets an applause it doesn’t deserve. I get angry at that. And there was that Kid Twist line where, we were in the second round, and he said, “You’re gonna lose in the second round like every Scribble since ’04.” I was like, “Ouch.” My heart sank for a second. It was true and it got me.

There are a lot of homophobic lines in rap battling. How do you justify that?
Well, you’re trying to attack their manhood. Not saying you’re not a man if you’re gay, but it’s more how it’s looked at, like, “You think he pulls hos? No he’s soft and cuddly.” It’s trying to make them look like a sissy. It’s not an attack on—well, not a direct attack anyway. I can see why it would be offensive. So, my apologies. But that’s just battling.

How do your folks look at your battling?
They’re really supportive. They try to keep up with everything and make it to shows. And actually, I attribute a lot of the battle shit to my dad and my uncles. My dad has been shit-talking me since I was walking. Clowning on my clothes that he bought me. My dad was the worst, clowning me. It’s worse than anything I’ve ever said in a battle. So they don’t get offended, they’ve heard it all.