Illijam was raised in Allentown, PA, and discovered his love for music early on in life. A member of various concert bands, an indoor drum line, and two marching bands throughout his high school and college tenures, Illijam developed a diverse musical taste. A percussionist by craft however, he always had an affinity for the drum-driven genres of rap and hip-hop.

The product of a fairly well-off middle class American family, Illijam enjoyed a quality upbringing. But as is often the case with those who grow up so fortunate, Illijam found that not being in need did not necessarily mean contentment in life. Doesn’t it seem that those who suffer want believe that having what they desire will satisfy? And those who have it all know that it never does.

Seeking to find what the substance of life was, he perceived that many of the endeavors those around him sought were dead-end streets. Drinking, sleeping around, partying, doing drugs, pining for thrills, craving recognition, and living for self-gratification appeared eventually-unfulfilling.
Illijam’s eyes were opened to what life was truly about when he was 15 in the summer of 2008. Having groped around blindly in the dimly-lit realm of passionless religion for years, he finally began to perceive what life is about. Life is about knowing God. Life is about enjoying God in daily, personal intimacy. Life is about considering all else as rubbish when compared to Jesus Christ; it is about showing that God is glorious. Illijam finally began to understand that he existed to walk with and reflect God to a world in desperate need of Him.