Biography
ili Yes built a multifaceted path as a producer, songwriter, and performer that crossed electronic dance floors, stage musicals, and dramatic roles. His first solo outing arrived in 2019 via the serene house single “Oh Gran Via,” following earlier work supplying material for other artists.
Born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1989, ili Yes developed an early fascination with rhythm and movement. A household stash of recordings featuring Oum Kalthoum, Tina Turner, and the Gipsy Kings shaped his tastes, while repeated viewings of Michael Jackson clips sparked his initial dance moves and steered him toward funk and hip-hop. In 1995, at age ten, he became part of the on-air ensemble for a weekly children’s broadcast on Moroccan National Radio that featured live sets by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. At twelve he entered the Conservatory of Music of Temara for solfège and classical guitar lessons; over the next five years he added vocal training and poetry composition. He later pursued marketing and business management studies at the University of Perpignan in France.
At twenty-one ili Yes entered professional theater through Syppox Theatre productions of the musicals The Lion King and Grease. Several years afterward he shifted to Spain, where he emerged as a central figure in Madrid’s club circuit and helped launch the Clubbers Tour alongside DJ Marcos Carrion. Seeking a slower rhythm, he settled in the coastal town of Barbate and concentrated on writing and producing. One result was the dance-pop number “Ritmo y Color (With Peace We Love and Dance),” which Red Supa recorded with Rahs and Invicto and which Universal released in 2013. In 2015 he returned to the stage for La Leva de Trafalgar, written and directed by Sergio Román. Two years later he established himself in London and turned again to his own recordings, surfacing at the close of 2019 with the club cut “Oh Gran Via,” which introduced the debut EP The Four Chapters.
Born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1989, ili Yes developed an early fascination with rhythm and movement. A household stash of recordings featuring Oum Kalthoum, Tina Turner, and the Gipsy Kings shaped his tastes, while repeated viewings of Michael Jackson clips sparked his initial dance moves and steered him toward funk and hip-hop. In 1995, at age ten, he became part of the on-air ensemble for a weekly children’s broadcast on Moroccan National Radio that featured live sets by the National Philharmonic Orchestra. At twelve he entered the Conservatory of Music of Temara for solfège and classical guitar lessons; over the next five years he added vocal training and poetry composition. He later pursued marketing and business management studies at the University of Perpignan in France.
At twenty-one ili Yes entered professional theater through Syppox Theatre productions of the musicals The Lion King and Grease. Several years afterward he shifted to Spain, where he emerged as a central figure in Madrid’s club circuit and helped launch the Clubbers Tour alongside DJ Marcos Carrion. Seeking a slower rhythm, he settled in the coastal town of Barbate and concentrated on writing and producing. One result was the dance-pop number “Ritmo y Color (With Peace We Love and Dance),” which Red Supa recorded with Rahs and Invicto and which Universal released in 2013. In 2015 he returned to the stage for La Leva de Trafalgar, written and directed by Sergio Román. Two years later he established himself in London and turned again to his own recordings, surfacing at the close of 2019 with the club cut “Oh Gran Via,” which introduced the debut EP The Four Chapters.
Singles