Illogic - Year 8076 (unreleased album)

Illogic lets loose this album, produced entirely by Walter Rocktight, which was shelved since 2005-2006. I'll let him explain the back story.

For those of you that have been fans of mine for a few years now, you may recall reports of an Illogic album set to be released on Rhymesayers Entertainment around 2005-2006 called, Year 8076 produced entirely by Columbus, Ohio's own Walter Rocktight. With the success and critical acclaim being received by Celestial Clockwork, it seemed the right time to take a major step with my music and career. There was never anything formally signed with Rhymesayers, but Walter Rocktight and I were in serious talks about the release of the album with the groundbreaking label. Since I was heavily touring with their artists such as Eyedea and Abilities, Soul Position, as well as doing spot dates with Atmosphere for many years, it was a logical move for both them and I.
Year 8076 came about on the heels of releasing Celestial Clockwork. With my career headed in the right direction, three really good albums available to the public, and a spot captured on Urb Magazine’s Next 100 list (Before there was a XXL Freshmen 10), I wanted to do something different. Step away from the darkness and depression of Celestial Clockwork, and make a fun record with a party vibe.


Walter Rocktight, a party Dj and great untapped resource as a producer had been a friend of mine for sometime in the Columbus hip-hop scene. He had already been making noise with his mixtape game, producing for Sa Smash's debut album ''Smashy Trashy'' on Def Jux Records, and recording songs with Copywrite for ''EC all stars 4'' released on Eastern Conference Records in early October, 2004. After a getting wind of his adept production, I asked if he wanted to do a few songs, he was down…and so it began. We became the group 8076. The meaning behind the name was that the 80 was for the year that I was born and 76 for the year that he was born.

I went into the creation and writing of this album to have fun, lighten up my subject matter a bit, but still show off my skills as an emcee. Rocktight’s production was such a departure from Blueprint’s whose sound I had been submerged in for some many years making my first three albums. It includes quite a few radio friendly tracks showcasing Rocktight’s brilliant sampling of live instrumentation, and of course my storytelling ability weaved in with an edge of satire, always witty wordplay, and extensive vocabulary. For those fans of the dense Celestial Clockwork, Year 8076 is a lighter version of my complexity but still in some ways an anti-party party album. A beautiful and well-crafted bridge to bring the listener out of the darkness that was Celestial Clockwork. I think it makes for a balanced and fun record.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen life circumstances, Rocktight and I advised Rhymesayers that we would not be releasing the album and it has since sat on the shelf. This was the beginning of my five-year hiatus leading up to the release of Diabolical Fun in 2009. If I’m being honest, not releasing this record has always been the one thing in my musical career that I regret. At this point, I just want it to see the light of day to show people a time in my development as an Emcee which never reached fans ears.

I think that it is a great album and I hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as I did making it. Before I can show you where I'm going I feel I need to show you all of the places that I have been. Year 8076