Illy, whose given name is Thomas Dorsey, was born on June 4, 1978. Eleven years later, while still in grade school, he bagan to write songs and rap for fun. The hobby soon turned serious when many took notice of Illy's lyrical talents. Illy formed a group with his friends, the "Skitsofrantix." Illy recorded with the group for two years, while also battling with personal demons. Illy went through a lot, including drug addiction, repeated trouble with the law and seeing many of his friends lost along the way. For these reasons, Illy choose to turn his life around and put focus on God in his music, even incorporating God into his name "G1Illy" to remember to keep God first. With his lyrical stylings and hard hitting beats, Illy bridges the gap between different genres of music. "This is not just Southern Music" states Illy, "I make universal music." Illy's early influence include Tupac Shaka who he states was more than a rapper, "He was a political figure, actor, and writer, who had an awareness of what was going on in the community around him." Illy is also heavily influenced by LL CoolJ, Run DMC, the Beastie Boys and New Edition. While growing up his parents listened to vetern R&B artists such as Sam Cooke, The Commodores, and numberous other Motown Acts. Illy has worked with artists such as BlackSheep, Mr. Malik and Jamal (formerly of Illegal), and Dallas Austin. He has been featured on radio stations WCHH Hot 92.7 and WPEG Power 98 in the Charlotte region. He has performed on the same bill as Outkast, Jay-z, Rakim, Master P, Limp Bizkit, Method Man and Red Man.