The Rice University Neologisms Database

Cool, awesome, hip, amazing or good. Possible reason used: This word is very typical in the everyday language usage of African Americans. African Americans as a group are very adept at creative variation of words. This word is perhaps used to make a statement about how good a rapper’s abilities are, but in a way that signifies all the qualities of a good rapper in a succinct word. Instead of listing all the qualities that make up a good rapper, one word, ‘ill’ sums it up.