A Conversation Behind Bars: Interview With greenSLLIME & ICEFACE
Words by Alejandro Hernandez
Cover Art for Wolves Eat Goats, the collab LP from greenSLLIME & ICEFACE
I first heard of Westside Chicago artist ICEFACE back in 2021 when he released the project Alhamdulillah, but he’s been a fixture in the city’s underground scene for more than a decade. His most recent release, Wolves Eat Goats, is his first collab project produced entirely by greenSLLIME, one of the illest rapper/producer/DJ extraordinaires around, but their relationship goes way back. The project itself is a grimy masterpiece, as ICEFACE recites street tales over SLLIME’s signature sample-based production. Rapping alongside ICEFACE include familiar Chicago names like MFnMelo, Qari, Monster Mike, plus a standout feature verse from the 227 Concreature himself, Boldy James.
The project was released last year shortly after ICEFACE— who had previously been under house arrest— was arrested once again and incarcerated after a nearby ShotSpotter went off near his home and police searching the area allegedly found a firearm (that did not belong to him). SLLIME hit me up about the situation and asked if I’ve want to add a jail interview to my resume. I decided that there’s a first time for everything. The day of the scheduled interview, I pulled up to SLLIME’s place, and we took a down a trip down memory lane, throwing on a collection of ICEFACE’s music videos from the last 10-15 years. It was incredible to see the evolution of his discography, with older songs carrying the aggressive energy that initially embodied the early Drill era, eventually turning into more laid-back raps over sample loops present today. I also learned about Zack Wicks, ICEFACE’s cousin, who was considered the next great young rapper in Chicago before his tragic and unexpected passing in the early 2010s.
Once on the phone with ICEFACE, he not only let me in on his creative process, but provided me with additional insight on real Chicago hip-hop history, raw and unfiltered. Our only interruption came from the automatic phone operator letting us know that the time for our scheduled call would be ending soon, a reminder of how our country’s carceral state monitors and restricts the liberty of millions of people living in the so-called “land of the free.”
That conversation can be read below, with slight edits for length and clarity. Be sure to support ICEFACE and greenSLLIME by buying Wolves Eat Goats directly from Bandcamp.
AH: Let me introduce myself. My name is Alejandro. I'm a journalist. Been on fan of yours for a minute and I've been following your music since you dropped Alhamdulilah. SLLIME gave me the rundown already. So yeah, man, I just want to talk about this project with you. First thing’s first, who is ICEFACE?
ICEFACE: ICEFACE is me, man. Intelligent Child Evolving From A Corrupt Environment. ICEFACE is highly fashionable. ICEFACE is a scholar, a businessman. I’m Out West, I’m All-Chicago. ICEFACE is a provider and a protector for the people, you feel me. That’s me in a nutshell.
I’m curious: how did you and SLLIME even meet, and how long have you been working on the project?
IF: Me and SLLIME go back a nice lil minute. Man, how long, SLLIME? Been some years at least.
greenSLLIME: I’m tynna think, it’s been a long time. I been knew about him because of Zack Wicks and shit—
IF: Rest in Peace, my brother.
GS: Facts, and I was already a fan. I don’t know when I met you but you must’ve came to the studio or some shit, at Music Garage. Before we got kicked out! It might’ve been before that, though, I don’t even know.
IF: That’s what I’m saying, it's been a minute. It most definitely [was] before I had to go through, you know, do my little trip last time back in 2019. It was before that fasho, man. Yeah man, just floating through these little events, floating through these rooms, these studios, me and bro been acquainted.
GS: It probably had been a concert.
IF: On everything, it had to have been the muhfuckin’ Broke Ass Xmas Show. No wait, but I knew you before that! But that’s when we got up on some '“let’s cook,” ya feel me. I heard some stuff you did, and you heard some stuff I did, and we was like, damn, let's cook, bro. Like we should have been got jammed up and cooked some heat. You should hear me. That was what, 2018, 2017? I must’ve known this man about 10 years, man, to be honest with you… I heard he did that “Sell Coke to White Folks” song (everyone laughs).
GS: Hey, lowkey, you know they banned my channel for that shit, banned the video, but the other day they let it back up! That shit back on YouTube now.
IF: That’s crazy bro ‘cause when I seen it, I was like “that was a classic.” Ain’t nobody gonna do it like that, that was one of the craziest videos, I ain’t lying bro.
GS: I'm happy it’s back out because that was a big piece missing from my shit. Like, when I showed people my [music], they can't even get it all because they done censored my ass and shit.
IF: Nah, that was funny bro, a cult classic!
GS: We gotta make another one.
IF: Yeah, we gotta do a part 2 fasho, that would be hilarious. I got some stories, I got some lyrics (Sllime laughs). I don’t indulge in that but I can only imagine what it’s like to sell coke to white folks because, you know, the phone call being recorded and all that, so my imagination is from movies and books I read from my past.
GS: (Laughs) Do it like a blaxploitation film!
IF: But you know, going back and forth with ideas, we’re like compatible anyway with the sound. I used to produce a lot of stuff in my time, so it was easy, you know, it was easy to do it. We gone come with it again. Wolves Eat Goats 2: Raised by Wolves on the way. We gone cook somehow. It might have to be over on the phone, but we gonna do it again.
GS: He called me right when he got locked up, well not right when he got locked up, but as soon as I called him, he was already on it. He was like “you gotta sample the beginning of Caddyshack.” I’m like “n*gga what?” (laughs)
IF: I was holding that one in the cut. One of my bus drivers that I went to school with was telling me about movies and stuff for fat white dudes and he was like “Caddyshack is hilarious” and I always had an ear for sounds. That was years ago. It came to me again, that’s when I told SLLIME we gotta do it like the Steely Dan song. I heard the Steely Dan song [we sampled] 20 something years ago on the radio and it just never left my mind. When the opportunity presented itself, I was like we gotta do that. But yeah joe, that’s pretty much it in the nutshell. Me and bro got together and came up with the concept of the tape.
What was the inspiration behind the Wolves Eat Goats title?
IF: You know, around that time, everybody was talking about goats like,”oh, the greatest of all time, he’s the goat.” I’m a wolf, man. Wolves eat goats. A lot of people think they could just take that title, and it's supposed to be stamped. A lot of people can't hang with me. Even though I didn't get to where I feel I should have been, as far as the music, I could sit in the same room with anybody you pick. You can throw 100 pennies and they can hit [100] mfs, and I guarantee you none of them can mess with me. Pick anybody. Your best/favorite rapper, like dead or alive, ya feel me? So wolves eat goats, and I'm a wolf.
How did you choose the rapper that appeared on the project?
IF: People would always tell me, man, you should do more features. You should do more features and stuff like that, and SLLIME was kind of insisting on that as well, like, we should get features. Everybody who's featured on the tape, I've been jammed with for years. My man MFnMelo, Monster Mike, Qari, I’ve known Qari since he was a shorty. First time I met him, we was in [Studio] 119 over 10 years ago. Who else on that tape?
GS: Boldy.
IF: Man, that’s the dawg from way, waayyyyy back. That’s my n*gga, man. We ain’t always chop it up, but anytime I reach out, he’s cordial fasho. He always responds whenever I congratulate him on his successes because I was watching him fulfill his trailblazing. I met Boldy on the roof of Reggie’s Rock Club a long time ago. The O’My’s had a show with The Cool Kids… They were having an album release party for Gone Fishing and Timbuck2 was DJ’ing that night, rest in peace Timbuck2. Boldy was by the lil’ hot shot basketball hoop there. He was up there shooting ball with some other dude, and buddy was talking slick, but Boldy was swishing all the shots. So, I started betting with him, I’m like "I got $5 for every shot buddy hits.” Blood ain’t wanna bet ‘cause Boldy was swishing them joints. We chopped it up briefly then, and you know, I recognize someone who come from the trenches, especially being in a scenery like that where you might have more of a smooth atmosphere, but I could tell. We just had that understanding, you know. He from Detroit, so [we both] could tell when somebody is from the trenches.
So the second time I seen [Boldy], we was in the basement of Reggie’s, and I came down there because they wanted me to perform at a show opening up for the Cool Kids. And when I come down there, he was like, “Oh, that's my homie right there. That's my mans.” So I turn around, see him and I’m like “damn, what up bro!” so we chopped it up. They was down there shooting dice, Boldy and Mikey Rocks and someone who’s name I forgot. I get in the dice game and start spanking the dice game, I probably came up on $50. [Boldy] see me getting on their number in the dice game and he start trynna fade me, I’m like “man, what you trynna fade me for? I’m trynna get these boys’ money!” I’m like “man, I quit,” and I ain’t even have no bread for real. I spent my last little money to get over there on the bus and the train. So that’s how I met Boldy, then over the years— I had to go pay a political debt around 2011, I got out around 2012— and I seen Boldy had got up with The Alchemist, he’s on Mass Appeal, I seen him on Twitter, I just shout out like “man, come out here and rap with us,” he said he was trying… When I came and holla’d at him for a feature, because I had been chopping it up with him on Instagram a little bit, just, you know, congratulating the man, like “I see you working, bro. You doing your thing, bro. Keep it going,” he gave me a price on the playa side, ya feel me. He had already been doing his thing, signed to Griselda, had a bunch of stuff going with The Alchemist tapes, and he gave me a playa price. I got the funds together, and didn't even have a beat from SLLIME yet. I just gave him the money, like I need to lock that down. I called SLLIME and his ass was in the Caribbean (SLLIME laughs)… I’m like “send me a beat,” he’s like “I ain’t got none,” I’m like “I got dude online right now, already paid him, just send a beat.” He sent me the beat, it’s perfect, I shot it over [to Boldy], and let him check the beat out. Later on, I put my verses on. Bro was on tour with Action Bronson and Alchemist and [Earl Sweatshirt], he had recorded the verse on the tour bus and sent it over. The rest is, as they say, history.”
What was your favorite song to work on for the project?
IF: I like all the songs. Most all the songs are their own experience. I like all the songs, for real. It was just a good vibe, they had a good flow. Still waiting on Mike Bump to put the footage together for the intro. I don’t know where his lil’ albino ass is, he need to go on and put that together.
GS: (Laughs) Yep, we all waiting! I was gone have to do my own shit… he probably done ten other things now.
IF: Tell his ass to come on with that footage ‘cause that’s gonna be cold. But yeah, the intro was dope because that was the Steely Dan [sample]. I had that in my had, in the chamber for years, probably 20 some years, and I never got to do it, so that was cool. The joint with Boldy, that was something I was real excited to get going. The joint me and SLLIME got, I like that joint a lot. That was cold, you know, SLLIME got on there and kicked the beat around, punched on the beat a little bit. The joint with Melo was a long time coming.
GS: That’s one of my favorite joints, that shit was so smooth… I think the Monster Mike joint was the first one we did, and it’s the last one on the tape.
IF: Yeah, that was the first one we done… you know, I like all the songs. It came together very nice. It was cohesive, in my opinion, and every song was its own experience. I can’t really say I have a “favorite.” Each song gives me its own specific vibe.
How does your faith influence your music?
IF: I’m a Muslim, I been Muslim for about six years now. I always had, in my opinion, a connection with Allah, even though I grew up Christian. God has always been instrumental in my life, in my experiences and things like that. Stuff that I've been in, I know I didn't get myself out of… after converting to Islam, I wanted to implement it in my music because it’s a lifestyle. People say it’s a religion, but it’s a lifestyle. It’s a way Allah wants you to live your life and be an example. I’m still working on myself, you know it’s gonna be a lifelong process, but I want to implement it in my music so people can see the growth… because the music is supposed to be a message. It's supposed to be something in there that people can either relate to or grasp, take from it. And to be honest, to do music in certain ways, it's haram. So I wanted to put Allah into my music, to try to at least let you know that anything that I do, Allah is present. At the end of the day, I'm not really glorifying nothing. I'm just giving you my perspective on stuff. Try to give people the insight, try to put you in the front-row seat of what's going on, so you can understand how I was thinking at the time… I could have lost my life a long time ago. At a point in time, I ain't think I was gonna make it past 19, and I'm an old dog now. I ain’t gonna tell my age, but I’mma old, old dog. I just wanna let people know God is real, God is present. That’s it.
What’s the message you want audiences to take away from Wolves Eat Goats?
IF: At the most, try to find some enjoyment in it. I try to give people my perspective on things, bring people into my mind and actually project what I'm thinking as best as possible. People can understand what direction I'm coming from [regardless of] if they know me personally, or if they hear me for the first time, or if they been in tune with my music from years ago, to just see the growth, see the development. I always kick heat, and I could do it with the best of ‘em on any level. If we talking street stuff, if we talking intellectual, I don't have any brackets. I do it all. So I wanted to show the range, show the growth, as long as people enjoy it and get something from it.
You got any final words?
IF: Yeah, drink water. Preferably alkaline water, not this dirty Cook County water. You need to put water in your body, man. Stay true, do what you do, and make sure you putting points on the board no matter what your situation is. As long as Allah give you a chance to open your eyes and take a breath, you got another shot at making it happen. As chaotic as the world may seem, or whatever your situation is, you gotta put your armor on and get on your bully. We can’t make excuses all the time, just gotta get to it. That’s it.
GS: Go play that Wolves Eat Goats, free my mans ICEFACE, y’know what I’m saying? That’s all I really got to say.
I appreciate both of y’all’s time. God bless.
