Feb. 17, 2008
Ill Insanity in Hallandale/Miami
The show in Guitar Center Hallandale was awesome!!! The room was big and packed with hip hop fans, the Chauvet light display was in full effect (thank you George!), the sound system was massive, AND Exotic E, one of the founding members of the X-Men (before they became the X-ecutioners), came thru with his wife and son to connect with his old friend Rob Swift and to give the fans in the room a history lesson about turntablism. Plus DJ Immortal represented for the Scratch DJ Academy and Miami’s own DJ I-Dee (Jean Grae’s DJ) was the evening’s host. Needless to say, the sense of community and musician camaraderie was intense.

Once again, “5 Fingers of Death” was a huge hit with the crowd and the Rick James “Super Freak” reinterpretation made the crowd go nuts, as Eclipse and Rob rearranged and sliced up the beat pattern of the song into a funky, chunky groove.

Having I-Dee and Precision in the same room inevitably brought everyone back to the heated, cut-throat battle between the two back in ’06 during Guitar Center’s Spin Off Grand Finals in San Francisco. For those of you who missed that battle, the disses between the two friends that night has become almost legendary, I-Dee calling out Precision’s lack of stage presence and Precision taking the title after pulling out a blown up poster of I-Dee’s baby picture in a pink dress off his MySpace page, sending the all-star group of judges to the floor laughing. As the story got shared again, getting more laughs from the crowd, it was a breath of fresh air to see that unity and friendship in the hip-hop community triumphed over beefs for once.

Miami marked the halfway point of the Guitar Center “Ground Xero” tour and the routines have gotten a bit cleaner and tighter and the Rane Serato clinics have been really in-depth and educational. Mike May from Rane has been a huge help thus far and the audience’s eagerness to learn the various features of the software has been impressive. Ill Insanity’s bringing the Education, Conversation, & Inspiration over to the West Coast next so be on the look out!


Feb. 13, 2008
Ill Insanity in Atlanta
The second stop for the Ground Xero tour was in Atlanta and Jaycee (DJ for Ludacris) came through to show support and host the evening’s festivities. The Guitar Center Atlanta store had an impressive selection of intelligent lights and as soon as the show kicked off with Jaycee introducing Ill Insanity, the party vibe was on. The crowd responded especially well to the chopped up versions of Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” and “Kingdom Come” and went nuts for Total Eclipse’s solos routines, which showcased his body tricks and incredible hand speed.

Having been friends for over a decade, Jaycee and Rob Swift talked about their experiences and shared various tour stories for the fans. The audience, the majority of them X-ecutioners fans, jumped on the opportunity to get to know the members individually during the Q&A session, asking Precision to perform the “Drop It Like It’s Hot” routine, which won him the ’06 Guitar Center Spin Off title. Rob discussed in detail the label politics and pressures that eventually broke up the X-ecutioners and birthed the formation of Ill Insanity.

The highlight was when Total Eclipse and Rob got in a personal debate and shared their own versions of how the bidding war between Loud Records and Def America (Rick Rubin’s label) went down during the X-ecutioners’ heyday. It was an interesting glimpse into the long-standing careers of the two vets and the crowd definitely appreciated their candidness and humor as Ill Insanity shared their stories with their fans. For highlights and personal interview clips, check out the video posted from the event.


February 11, 2008
Ill Insanity in Brooklyn
The day before their album hits stores, Ill Insanity kicked off the first date of the tour, of course, in New York. The painfully cold weather continuing from the night before didn’t stop the true hip hop fans from coming out to show their support for Ill Insanity, packing the second floor of the Guitar Center Brooklyn store. There was even a crowd of shoppers watching the event from outside the mall hallway thru the glass walls, hypnotized by Ill Insanity’s blurry hands and the lightshow.

Hosting the evening was BK’s own legend, DJ Evil Dee of Black Moon and Da Beatminerz fame. As soon as they got introduced, Ill Insanity didn’t waste any time and performed non-stop for around an hour, showcasing new songs from their debut album, highlighting the talents of each member thru solo routines, and reinterpreting and chopping up some hip hop classics. People who have browsed their MySpace profile recognized the new single “5 Fingers Of Death” and we’re treated to a new track “Droppin’ It Down”, witnessing just how technical these songs are.

The Scratch DJ Academy also came down to add to the communal vibe, providing hands-on tutorials for audience members who stuck around to learn some new scratches and try to mimic the performance they saw on stage. During the Q&A portion of the night, most of the questions were directed towards specific Rane Serato functions and features, the software program the group uses and endorses. Rob, Total Eclipse, and Precision really went in depth and explained how they incorporate this technology into their sets. It was great to see the DJ masters and legends not only throw down a dizzying set of turntable theatrics, but also educate and inspire their fans thru intimate conversations and by providing informative tips. Regardless of what you may have heard, real hip hop is still alive and well loved in NYC!


January 18, 2008
Guitar Center announces the Ill Insanity “Ground Xero” album release tour.
Turntable masters Rob Swift, Total Eclipse, and Precision of X-ecutioners fame, recently formed Ill Insanity to battle the speculation in the hip hop community that the art of turntablism is on the verge of dying out. The group insists, “We refuse to let that happen!” adding that “There’s a whole new generation of music fans we need to introduce turntablism to and once again, we’re taking it upon ourselves to lead the way!” As Ill Insanity prepares for their Feb. 12 album release and the Guitar Center Sessions tour, Rob came thru for us to illustrate how the whole tour came about and provides some clues to what fans can expect in February...

Rob Swift:
When we finished our new album, I remember asking myself, "What can we do to celebrate the release of GROUND XERO?" Having our booking agent coordinate a US tour was a no-brainer but I wanted Ill Insanity to do something more interactive, something that not only made it possible for us to have direct contact with our audience, but would also allow us to educate the new fans about our art form.

People who buy GROUND XERO are gonna have a unique listening experience because the songs which appear on the album were created with the turntable as the nucleus. You may not realize this when youpop our album into your player at home. But when you see Total Eclipse, Precision and myself perform tracks like "5 Fingers of Death" featuring Q-Bert and "Insane Style" live, fans (old and new) will gain an appreciation for how difficult, creative and innovative the album is. Realizing this, I was inspired to approach James Yeo, known for organizing Guitar Center's Sessions events across the country, about a special Ill insanity/Guitar Center Sessions tour.

After brainstorming the idea for several weeks, James Yeo set the ball in motion for this tour to happen and now, it's gonna be a reality. With the help of sponsorship from Fatbeats, Rane, and the Scratch DJ Academy, this February's Guitar Center Sessions tour will be a historical one in the world of DJing and turntablism. Fans are gonna get to see Ill Insanity perform live in an intimate setting. It's gonna be an up close and personal experience for everyone in the attendance. The event will be ALL AGES and FREE. So you don't have to worry about not being able to see us at the nightclub cause you’re under age, or not having enough money to pay the admission fee. Everyone is welcomed! There will be a question & answer session for people who may have specific questions about our routines, careers, influences, and our use of technology in our sets and studio. The integration of Serato Scratch Live and the Rane TTM57 mixer will also be demonstrated by us! After this tour the art of Turntablism won't be such a mystery to those who have seen it but never tried it out themselves.

Which reminds me, the GC Sessions tour dates in Brooklyn, Hallandale and LA will offer scratch and burn booths provided by Scratch DJ Academy. These booths will bring us, Ill Insanity, together with the fans for a special scratch jam session. So whether you want us to teach you how to perform your first scratch, or if you're already experienced and want to match your skills with ours, you'll have the opportunity to cut it up with the crew and have your little practice session recorded and burned on to a CD for you to take home and listen to.

As if that ain't enough, each Guitar Center date will be hosted by some of the most respected and accomplished pioneers in the world of DJing (NY-Evil Dee from Blackmoon and the Beatminerz, Hallandale-DJ IDEE, former Gong Battle Champion, Atlanta-Jaycee, DJ for Ludacris, San Franciso-Apollo from Triple Threat and Los Angeles-Hapa).

Guitar Center has even established an online contest to promote the tour. The lucky winner will get a free TTM-57 from Rane, and a bunch of Ill insanity products, such as CDs, vinyl, t-shirts, and more.

Like I said, this is history in the making so don't miss it!