Written by Megan Kamanga

‘What does it mean to be ‘ill’? ‘Who does he think he is?’ ‘Why does he call himself Jsap?’ All questions you’ve been seeking the answers to.

Jsap, founder of ILLWORLD, and myself have sat down and answered all these questions and more.

Prior to the interview with Jsap, like many of you reading, I wasn’t too fond of ‘ILLWORLD’ nor did I understand it and to be honest the whole thing appeared demonic to me but now I sit and write this with a whole new outlook and perspective of who Jsap is and what ILLWORLD stands for.

“ILLWORLD doesn’t have a definition. It’s more like a place in my head, the whole thing around it is trauma and the bad things that happen in the world. The way I see it is I could look at a wall and see the artistic side of it, I know it sounds crazy but that’s really what it is.”

What does it mean to be ‘ill’?

Jsap: Being ‘ill’ is having a certain level of creativity or swag, you can look around and tell when someone’s got a certain swag to them or if they’re just a regular person…it’s the way you move, walk, talk and carry yourself.”

There is no doubt that Jsap is guaranteed to flourish within the creative industry and his willingness to do things others would not think twice to do. A lot of his inspiration comes from Travis Scott but more particularly his old stuff dating back to 2013/14 – admiring its authenticity and rawness. He doesn’t aim to placed in a mainstream category. And whilst his willingness to do what others wouldn’t can be considered almost impressive, you have to ask ‘is this the way he really is or is all just and act?’

Jsap: I would say that’s a hard question because the people who know me personally know exactly what I’m like, if you look in from the outside and see what I post and do, you would probably think I don’t want to f*ck with this guy, and that’s a lot of people. Of course some of the stuff I do is part of a character. As long as my name is in peoples mouths I don’t mind. All publicity is good publicity.

I spoke to Jsap about his mixtape, brand, the story behind it and everything next...

Megan: When did you become ‘Jsap’? What makes you Jsap? What makes you different from everyone else?

Jsap: Well, first I got the name ‘Jsap’ from my boy Jacob when I was around 15 and even since then I began to go by that name. I feel like the thing that makes me different is that I’m not really afraid to try new stuff, you see a lot of people in this city when it comes to music or fashion they’re just doing the same thing, they’re just doing drill or dressing the same, wearing the same tracksuits but I’m doing different stuff. Even with the music it’s some shit you wouldn’t hear in this city and its more like the people I surround myself with, we all contribute to something and we all work as a team and i dont know it’s crazy because a lot of the things I do I get judged for, the stuff I post, the way I dress but its like when you don’t really give a f*ck then yeah.

Megan: You’ve got fashion villain in your Instagram bio, what makes you a fashion villain?

Jsap: I got that phrase from a destroy lonely lyric where he says ‘I’m a fashion demon’ but I didn’t want to put demon but for me a fashion villain is like some of the outfits I wear, they fit into a dark fashion category, the darker side of fashion. A lot of people, they might wear colourful stuff but I really like the darker or even evil side, I’m a Christian man but I do like the darker aesthetic of fashion and music, I feel like its cooler and more experimental.

Megan: What do your family and friends think about ‘ILLWORLD’?

Jsap: Well, my brother Joe doesn’t f*ck with it at all, he says it’s a bit too crazy. My brother Jeph, he understands the vision I’m going for. And my friends… the thing is you can never tell with some of your friends, I could show someone a whack song or cover and they’d say its hard but like my actual close circle they’ll keep it 100. Some of them have said ‘yeah it’s a bit wild’ but some of them think it’s cool.

Megan: Do you ever feel like people f*ck with you just so they can clout chase?

Jsap: F*ck with me in terms of what?

Megan: Posting you or like to be in your TikTok videos…

Jsap: Yeah, I’ve been around people and they’re just snapping me and recording the whole time but to me its d*ckriding and its crazy but that’s why I always say I don’t want any new friends or anything like that because I know my close circle and I know I’m with these man for life, there’s nothing changing that and especially the stuff were doing, were not really going to add anyone new to the circle. I don’t like to keep any groupie or fanboy types around me.

Megan: I’ve looked in your TikTok comments and how do you deal with all the hate?

Jsap: The hate on TikTok to me is good, the way I see it all publicity is good publicity. Everyone knows the most viral thing I’ve done on TikTok is the Crip Walkin’, everyone knows there’s no Crips in the UK, lets not be stupid but stuff like that, when it’s controversial it catches peoples eye, more people comment and that’s just more views and it brings more traffic to me so the hate I don’t really think about it. Even in and outside of College, I know people say things about me but I don’t pay attention to it and I really couldn’t care less. I don’t know why I don’t, but I just don’t care.

Megan: You’re aware of how people are saying ‘ILLWORLD’ is demonic, what do you say to those people?

Jsap: Obviously I’m not famous yet so a lot of the people that have that opinion are from Leeds but a lot of the people in Leeds are the same people that would glorify the drill genre which talks about stabbing and killing and to me that’s way more demonic than what I’m doing because like everyone knows I’m harmless, if you know me personally would say I’m chill and I’m not on violence or anything like that, a lot of the stuff I’m doing is just because I know that if I post certain things it will catch people attention so that’s what I’m doing and no I wouldn’t call it demonic but can understand why people would call it that.

Megan: after the mixtape what is next for ‘Illworld’?

“After the mixtape, hopefully well get a Festival or another project dropping. You know me, Jeff, Riz, Sol, Gazemo. Were working on a lot of shit right now and by the end of this year, before n*ggas leave Leeds people are really going to understand and remember our names. And I’m not even just saying that to gas, I know this for a fact.”

-Jsap