Jneiro Jarel and Khujo Goodie? Who would have figured? On the surface, the two couldn't be more different. Jneiro is an acclaimed rapper, singer, and producer of bleeding-edge beats. In fact, he usually adopts a different alias for each album: 2005's Three Piece Puzzle as Jneiro, 2006's Brazilian-inflected Beat Journey as Dr. Who Dat; and last year's space-hop adventure Craft of the Lost Art as Shape of Broad Minds.





Meanwhile, Khujo Goodie is one-fourth of the legendary Goodie Mob, the Atlanta quartet behind the groundbreaking 1995 classic Soul Food. His inimitable baritone and Southern wisdom is recognized by hip-hop fans the world over. He continues to be an underground force, releasing a well-received solo album, Mercury in 2007.





Together, the two are called Willie Isz.

"My dad's name is Willie Gilyard, and his dad's name is Willie Knighton. And they're both from Georgia," explains Jneiro. Meanwhile, the "Isz" comes from the 90s MTV cartoon The Maxx, where little carnivorous monsters called the Isz plague the titular superhero. It's inspired by Khujo's trademark growl: "Khujo's got a monstrous type of approach where you've got to take him seriously."





It's their mix of sensibilities - Jneiro's urban futurism and wildly unique vocals alongside Khujo's classic Southern rap - that powers Willie Isz's Georgiavania.