Tommy Ill
aka Thomas Young, Tommy Ill & Buck Beauchamp
Thomas Young is a Wellington based rapper, songwriter, beat maker and producer who performs and records under the alias Tommy Ill.
Born in Wellington in 1985, Young grew up in the Hutt Valley region. During his childhood he sang in choirs and played guitar before starting rapping when he was 14 years old. Around the same time he started recording his own bedroom demos, eventually leading to performing at an open mic showcase in 2003 as part of the Respect festival at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt.
Cheese on Toast interview 2010
Cheap Wine Bender
Come Home Mr. Ill
Living Dead
New Car Money
Robot (Featuring A Robot)
Tommy Ill
Photo credit:
Photo by David James
Tommy Ill interviewed on the Radio Wammo Show, 2 April, 2012
Trivia:
In 2008 he recorded with Kimba towards his EP Matchsticks.
Young 's voice was once compared to Beck by Peaches.
In 2012 he released a music video 'New Car Money' which parodies 'Otis' by Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Young is a graphic designer by trade.