ILL Mo has been a pivotal figure in the Taiwanese Rap scene since its inception. As an MC, he was part of Taiwan’s first Rap group, the TriPoets, with Teacher Lin and Shortee. Mo is also a professor teaching English Media Language to students, but recently, he has taken on new work – translating. Over the past year, he’s translated books by 2Pac and 50 Cent, which have inspired his new mini-EP, Trainslate. LiFTED caught up with the multi-hyphenate to catch his vibe.

Tell LiFTED readers a bit about your new mini EP Trainslate. What prompted the recording of the songs?

Not many are able to do translation and Rap at the same time. It feels like something only I can do. The books I have translated are Hip Hop-related, so this has all come together naturally. The translation of books takes months to finish, so I have to spend a lot of time really digesting the content of the books. I take them as challenges to capture the themes from the books and styles of these two artists.

You’ve translated books by 50 Cent and 2Pac. Which rapper is more meaningful to you? What did you learn from each of them?

2Pac is more meaningful to me, and his impact is second to none in the Hip Hop world. I learned to be ambitious and passionate about work from 2Pac, and learned about the importance of grinding from 50 Cent.

First, you were an MC, then a professor, and now a translator. What do all of these jobs have in common? What is your next job?

These jobs are different, yet they share common characteristics, including Hip Hop and English. I became interested in Hip Hop around the time I was in junior high school, and this interest led me to want to break the language barrier and learn more about the music.

Being an MC and a professor both require a stage and a microphone to communicate with the students/crowd. However, a translator is a more private type of work. It is somewhat similar to the creative process of writing songs, where you don’t demonstrate your work until it is finished.

I don’t know what my next job will be, but I’m always down for new challenges.

You’ve got a show coming up on August 9. What can people expect from the performance?

I am not sure if I’ll call it a show because it is somewhat unorthodox. The event will be a combination of a talk and a Rap performance. I’ll talk about both 2Pac and 50 Cent and their books, the translation process, and perform songs from my new EP, as well as some old songs. I’m really looking forward to sharing my thoughts and songs with people who plan to attend the event.