Vibin' with
Ish Williams
of $outh$ide
Ishmial or “Ish” Williams is a 24-year-old Collingswood, NJ artist who proudly reps what him and his clique call, the SouthSide.
I stumbled upon Ish sometime last summer, on “Wanni Wag,” a collaboration with Mir Fontane. After that, it was like his name continued to cycle in conversation. However, he remained a mystery that was yet to be cracked.
But lets fast forward to when he dropped the visual to his single “Motion.” I was reintroduced to the subtle lyrical whiz through a mutual friend, who the link my way and calling the hit “nasty. Now, I’m not really one to really take recommendations all the time but the familiar name definitely sparked my interest.
What do you know, he was right. Not even a half hour later I was retweeting the link and shouting out the dope job he had done.
Ish has a clear talent to make you vibe out to the truth, his truth, and that is not something I had the pleasure of easily coming across.
In his LP, Sonia’s Son, which was released last November, Ish spits about his experiences; what he’s went through, seen, done, learned and conquered. Songs like “2 Weeks,” “ Want It All” and “Loyalty” are lively, honest and full of energy but he transitions to a slower or simpler pace that digs deep with tracks like “Chocolate,” “There I Go” and “Belly.” He tops it off by inserting words of wisdom from none other than Sonia herself, even dedicating a whole track to her, “Sonia’s Peace.”
It was honestly a bit relieving to have the chance to speak with him. It’s always great to let an artist’s work speak for themselves but if given the chance, delve deeper to get a glimpse of how they think/interpret things.
Three things I took from my chat with Ish Williams is that he’s big on his family (his mother and close friends); giving back to his community; and honesty.