iLL BLU

Whether releasing material under their own name or collaborating with artists like Sam Smith or Hot Chip, UK producers iLL BLU are known for merging different strains of electronic dance music into thrilling new mutations. Members James Grant and Darius Ellington Forde grew up friends in North London before forming iLL BLU in 2008. Their earliest breakthroughs, like Princess Nyah’s 2009 single “Frontline” and their same-year remix of Shystie’s “Pull It” helped propel UK funky house—a quintessentially British blend of Afrobeat, soca, tribal house, broken beat and garage—into the mainstream. The pair continued to tinker with their sound as they branched out with rap tracks that featured vocals from rising British drill stars, such as 2018’s energetic “Chop My Money”, with Krept & Konan, Loski and ZieZie. Inspired by multi-genre artists like Diplo and David Guetta, iLL BLU have continued to push their music in new directions without losing any of the funky essence that helped the duo make a name for themselves in the first place.