Utilizing his mix of clever lyricism and unique style of delivery, emerging artist Bill Breeze is poised to make a sizeable splash into the Nashville hip hop scene. Breeze’s debut album Ill in the Ville: Vol. 2 would be considered an ambitious effort for any artist, and with his first release the rapper has set the bar high for his career. Ill in the Ville: Vol. 2 differs from mixtapes released by most hip hop artists in that it is more than a grouping of random songs. Instead Bill Breeze is trying his hand at the concept album, and with all his chips in the pot Breeze is holding full house.

Ill in the Ville: Vol. 2 was inspired by Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill films. Revolving around the themes of love and revenge the mixtape’s hero is portrayed through the eyes of Bill, who was considered the antagonist in the films. This time around Bill Breeze envelopes himself in the persona of Bill and sets out to take the listener on a journey. The concept is realized through a series of songs and spoken word showing the character Bill in a new light while relaying a message personal to Breeze. As the album develops to the climax, it becomes evident that Bill Breeze has become the character Bill, and the listener understands how love and revenge have played a role in developing one facet of the artist Bill Breeze.

Thematic elements from the films, such as sound clips, are used to further relay the concept of the album and aides in creating one cohesive piece. Although the idea of a concept album is that it is best when listened in its entirety, the individual tracks from Ill in the Ville: Vol. 2 can easily stand alone as great singles. One aspect that sets this album apart from others is Breeze’s successful use of spoken word. Throughout the album are excerpts of Breeze’s slightly unconventional take on the love poem. This not only breaks up the album and serves transitional purposes, but introduces the listener to another side of Bill Breeze’s creative process. The buzz about Ill in the Ville: Vol. 1 has already started, and with the release date set at October 17th, hip hop is soon to be introduced to its newest rising star.

Although Ill in the Ville: Vol. 2 is Bill Breeze’s first release, he has been involved in hip hop for quite some time. Breeze recalls the moment in which he decided to pursue a career as a hip hop artist. In 2004 he attended his first big rap concert. Kanye West was playing a show in Nashville, and as Breeze watched from the audience he thought to himself, “That could be me right there. I’ve got a story to tell, too.” From that moment Bill Breeze set out to have a career in hip hop. He spent most of his early career as a producer and a beat maker under the moniker Tone Def. During this time he was mentored by Nashville producer DJ Dev and contributed on projects by artists such as 3 6 Mafia and Young Buck. Even though he did have some success as a producer, his true passion was to be an artist. Even before being inspired at the Kanye West show, Bill Breeze had been filling countless legal pads with rhymes and perfecting his craft as a rapper, but he knew that Tone Def did not represent him as a person or an artist. With that realization, Bill Breeze was born, and he started working on Ill in the Ville: Vol. 2. He had this concept in his head for some time but had trouble actualizing the idea, but the invention of Bill Breeze was the spark needed to set things in motion.

When asked how he developed his style Breeze responded, “My style is basically me being myself, and the way I developed it was finding out who I was. The best artists are those who can look deep into themselves and, without fear, express how they truly feel.” It has become evident that Bill Breeze has no problem expressing how he truly feels. Breeze has a very introspective approach to songwriting, and in turn his songs are steeped with originality and truth. Bill Breeze has something everyone can appreciate. Hip hop heads love his intellectual lyrics and his unique style, and even the most casual of listeners can enjoy his catchy hooks and melodic delivery.

If there is one thing that can be said about Bill Breeze, it is that he lives music. “I listen to music 24 hours a day,” Breeze says, “…Well I can’t say that, so maybe 22 hours a day. I love learning the history of music, the foundation of hip hop, and how to use it in making new music.” He realizes the importance of music theory and how it escapes most artists, so he constantly studies all forms of music in order to make his music better. When Breeze is not listening to music, you can find him performing. He has played shows at places like The Hard Rock, Jazz and Jokes, F5, The Muse, The Rutledge, Homeplate, Club Jet, and Club Mai to name a few. You can find more information about his shows on his website.

As if he did not have enough on his plate already, Bill Breeze also writes poetry. His love of poetry dates back even further than his love of hip hop, and he recalls as far back as the second grade writing love poems to girls in his class. Since then Breeze has grown as a poet and strives to push the boundaries of poetry to make it his own. Breeze feels with poetry he is able to break things down on a deeper level that he cannot always necessarily do in song, and by expressing himself in another art form he has grown into a better MC. Breeze says, “I feel as if poetry makes me write more articulate raps and forces me to focus on what each line really means. I feel as if I should put that same focus into every song that I write to make timeless music and captivate audiences.” Just as much as he loves to perform his music he loves to perform his poetry, and Breeze is a regular at poetry readings all across Middle Tennessee.

Although he is still a budding artist, you can expect to see major things from Bill Breeze. His talent is matched only by his burning ambition and his drive to be the best. Now with Ill in the Ville: Vol. 2 in its final stages and set to be released in October 2012, Breeze is set to succeed. He is also working on a collection of poems to be released as a book coupled with audio of Breeze performing the poems, and that can be expected to be available winter 2011. The final thing I can say is that everyone should start paying attention to their radars because there is about to be a huge blip on the screen in the form of Bill Breeze.