YouTube's "Champaign ILL" Is as Ill as it Gets

The seriesamp160opens in 2003 with three best friends in the title city talking about what they plan to do after high schoolamp160 Ronnie Pally and Alf Richardson have amp8220normalamp8221 plans amp160Ronnie got into Yale and plans on doing some good in the world amp160Alf plans on marrying his high school sweetheart amp160All good at least until Lou Pharoah says what heamp8217s doing amp160Lou is a rapper who just got signed and his life is about to take off amp160Just like that Ronnie and Alf up and drop everythingFastforward fifteen years and Lou is living the rap star dream with Ronnie and Alf in tow as his crew amp160That is until Lou takes an unfortunately fatal fall during a music video shoot amp160Now Ronnie and Alf have to figure out how to live amp8220normalamp8221 lives after losing their best friendlifestyle benefactorFirst of all I respect the hell out of this show for not halfassing the hip hop amp160The soundtrack which includes amp8220Jet Lagamp8221 the fake song that Lou was shooting a video for and 2 Chainzamp8217s amp8220Itamp8217s A Vibeamp8221 is chock full of legitimate tracks rather than the glorified grade school poems that usually pass for music on popular sitcoms amp160Even the original stuff made for the score is pretty up to snuffSecondly Pally pictured at top left and Richardson top right are an unexpectedly perfect comedic duo amp160Their chemistry is crazy good and as a fan of both of their previous works Iamp8217m a little shocked this pairing never occurred to me before amp160It seems so perfect in retrospect Their timing is spot on and both are veritable masters of delivery amp160Funny stuff aside they have crafted loveably flawed characters amp160Pally can go from quippy smartass to wounded puppy in 02 seconds and Richardsonamp8217s ability to go from completely confident to totally awkward in the same amount of time is an enviable trait that he has in spades amp160It makes sense that theyamp8217re both also executive producers because itamp8217s their well crafted performances especially in the first two episodes that really set the pace for the show as a whole and Iamp8217ve no doubt that the freedom EPing allowed them had something to do with thatMore than just dick jokes and very accurate pop culture references Champaign ILL brings the realness as well amp160Like with any truly good entertainment the whole thing is informed by emotion amp160Loss insecurity shame comradery anger and absurdity these are just some of the chisels with which this piece of work is carved amp160For every up thereamp8217s a down even if it is overlooked by our leads who spend most of their time in some hilarious state of optimistic denial amp160This disastrous duo spends plenty of time bringing the laughs but time and time again theyamp8217re forced to deal with the realities of their situations amp160Thankfully Pally and Richardson are more than capable of bringing the drama tooThe attention to detail is worth a huge mention as wellamp160 Writingwise the entire season is beautifully interwoven amp160There are so many subtle moments of foreshadowing that get paid off in glorious fashion as well as callbacks and recurring bits that seeing them pay off the first time around is almost as much fun as watching them lay the groundwork for those moments on your second binge sesh amp160Yes I watched the entire season amp160Twice amp160I wonamp8217t spoil anything but just watch Ronnie and Alfamp8217s hair throughout the show amp160Details babyOf course occasionally there are times when these dudes are making decisions that no human being would ever make but the magic of Champaign ILL is that it never gets frustrating Admittedly they are two pretty ridiculous people but something about their misguided optimism and loyalty to one another is hyperendearing amp160Not to mention that their collective plight is entertaining as hell amp160Something about them just makes you want to see them winIn all honesty there really isnamp8217t much more I can say about this show without giving some of the best stuff away amp160Half the fun is discovering all the little ways that this show is dope as you watch it amp160Truth be told and this is not a promo after seeing the first three episodes on YouTube for free I actually paid for YouTube Premium just to see the rest of the season amp160Make of that information what you will amp160Champaign ILL is ill as fkClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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YouTube's "Champaign ILL" Is as Ill as it Gets

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Ainsley Andrade

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YouTube's "Champaign ILL" Is as Ill as it Gets

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