With his influence growing, rapper Illy Ali is stating his claim with his recent project Rosebuds Too. An Eastside Buffalo native who moved to Atlanta in 2008, the rising lyricist has been through a handful of sonic reiterations but finds his footing on the 6-track EP serving as an introduction to who he is now; mature, well-traveled, and telling his story.

“My quest is trying to make music that shows my truest self,” Ali shared.

Initially on the scene back in 2006, Illy Ali’s first contributions to Buffalo hip-hop came through his participation in a young hip-hop crew called ‘Da F.A.M,’ and they released their debut mixtape titled Heart of the City that same year. Their sound, an integration of backpack raps and street lyrics was a dichotomy to the raw, boom-bap movement, which kept them on the fringes of the city’s rising rap community, but that didn’t stop Ali. A graduate of Hutch Tech and Canisius College, Alli moved to Atlanta to pursue music and work as a teacher.

“Moving to Atlanta was a whole ‘nother ball game,” Ali explained. “I started to call myself Sandwich Bag Shawty. Named my first solo mixtape Sandwhich Bag Shawty. We still had CDs then…and I went to AC3 with CDs in a sandwich bag. I started getting marketing ideas.”

An ode to Atlanta’s “Shawty era” integrated with his Buffalo pride, Ali’s work on Sandwich Bag Shawty highlights his duality as a rapper and artist. Besides the constant references to weed and smoking (hence the Sandwich Bag) songs like “Three Ogs,” “Ode to Blo,” and “Friend or Foe” display the street tales of the versatile rhymer, with grand instrumentation. But he keeps the project exciting with party-centered tracks like “Go Green,” “Whip Game” and “Shawty Smoke,” which stretched the boundaries of standard hip-hop production - don’t be surprised to hear his background vocals throughout the project.

A constant collaborator on Sandwich Bag Shawty is Buffalo-based beatmaker Anthymonthetrack. Producing most of Ali’s work, including Ali’s follow-up to his solo debut and the 3rd installment called Sandwich Bag Season, Anthym joined forces with Ali to create a hip-hop duo called The Dignitaries. Creating from 2010 to 2017, The Dignitaries released their own project titled Chess Not Checkers towards the end of the year-showing off their lyrical chops. Standout tracks like “The Beckoning,” “Freaked Out,” and “Book Of The Dead” finds the two going tit for tat throughout the project.

“In 2017 we cracked the code. We had a group of 4 people but…we did a couple songs with just Anthymonthetrack and myself and I knew that was the sound that kind’ve the people wanted…for us to finally just come together and do a project with the two of us was an evolution,” Alli shared.

Also starting their record label called Native Alien, Anthym and Ali continued to work closely. With a fresh rebrand, Ali matured his sound. The rapper strayed from his Sandwich Bag Shawty identity to Rosebuds - signifying his move to a storytelling-centered narrative, which gives major homage to Buffalo.

“I did 3 volumes of Sandwich Bag Shawty with weed symbols on everything and I didn’t want to just put myself in that 4/20 category…there’s more to me, there’s more depth,” Ali explained.

Inspired by his childhood experiences of singing in the city’s church choir called Rosebuds and his interest in love songs, Ali’s 2020 effort deepened his intention. The 6-track EP slows the rapper’s pace, with rich production from smooth strings to simmering 808s. With the themes of love, romance, and good bud on the project, Ali ups the ante - he produced most of Rosebuds and features fellow artists like 7xve The Genius, Tommi Cole, and Fee Love.

“I wanted to kind of give listeners a glimpse into my production,” Ali mentioned.

Expanding his sonic journey with Rosebuds set the tone for his follow-up released last year. Rosebuds Too is poignant, and sharp, but still maintains Illy Ali’s clever edge as a lyricist. His single “Don’t Walk Away From Me” is a culmination of his introspective storytelling, lyricism, and smooth production. Also, take a listen to tracks like “Blood With My Brothers,” and “I Love You.” Always repping Buffalo, Alli’s unique collaborations and approach to his music make him one to watch.

Listen to “Don’t Walk Away From Me” here:

Follow IIly Alli HERE

#BUFFACOLD: Get To Know ILLY ALI