Illicit

Illicit is a name used by several different acts across hip hop, rock, metalcore, psychedelic music and melodic hardcore. The listed tags also connect the name with jungle, ragga jungle, raggacore and psy-trance.

Named acts

One Illicit is a Dutch hip hop group from Utrecht, Netherlands, active since 2002. It is a five-piece line-up with Bram Hakkens on drums, Freek Cerutti on bass guitar, Pieter de Graaf on keys, Principle on guitar and ParAdoX on vocals. The group combines instrumental hip hop with raps and has a sound described through comparisons to artists such as The Roots, Common, Outkast, Prince and Sly Stone. It performs under the title Cheap Propaganda for its first official record, and guest contributors include DJ Sjam on scratching, Atactic on rhyme and the Dutch old school crew The Proov. Its live history includes appearances at North Sea Jazz and Brussels Jazz Marathon, and the record is issued by the German label Pottpeople.

Another Illicit is a five-piece rock band from East Auckland, New Zealand, active for around four years in the period described. Its members are Rory, Brenton, Kieran, Kasey and Chris. The band plays hard live shows and uses catchy riffs, breakdowns and melodies. It supports charity concerts for the Red Cross, NZ Kids First and World Vision, competes in battle-of-the-bands events, takes second place in the Primal national battle of the bands New Zealand final in 2006, and reaches regional finals in the World Battle of the Bands. It releases two EPs, Illicit and Read Between the Lines, and later plans a single and video while continuing to play at Parachute.

A third Illicit is an Australian metalcore band from Brisbane, formed in March 2009. It begins after core members Ben Wrigley and Harry Jubb meet at high school and form the group to fill what they see as a gap in the local music scene. The five-piece line-up is completed by drummer Christian Rady, vocalist Lloyd Colligan and bassist Stephen Lee. The band develops a fan base and prepares to release a debut EP titled Hollow Park.

There is also a sixties Peruvian psychedelic band called Illicit, and a five-piece melodic hardcore band from South Wales, UK, described as active between 2014 and 2016.