MINNEAPOLIS — Art brews at the corner of 46th and 41st in South Minneapolis.
"It totally feels like it's a part of our story," Sarah 'Fancy' Lanier-Duncan said. "It feels like it's a part of our journey, all the work that we've done musically."
Sarah, who prefers to go by her stage name Fancy, and her husband Emmanuel 'Envy' Duncan' are joined in life and in music.
Collectively known as iLLism, the duo first found each other at an AT&T call center, years ago.
"He introduced himself to the group--we go around and do an ice breaker—tell us your name and something you do, and he stood up and said, 'I am who I am, and I rap, and I have a show coming up Friday,'" Fancy recalled.
Fancy knew, then that music was going to be their thing.
"From there we were just friends, we were friends for a good long while," she said. "We'd go on lunch breaks together, I'd bring mixed CDs, back when CDs were a thing."
That medium-- of a mixed CD-- is where Fancy professed her love for him, before he left for Atlanta, in pursuit of his music career.
"Before I left, she gave me a note and a CD," Envy said. "A mixed CD."
"Woooo mixed CD!" Fancy interjected.
"But this mixed CD was different," Envy said. "This mixed CD-- it kind of like told me her feelings? So all of the songs, just like, it meant something. She likes me and obviously, the letter said it all, and the mixed CD gave me something to think about while I'm driving way down."
Home is where the heart is and ultimately where the art is for them.
So ever since Envy came right back, they've been creating music, in the south Minneapolis studio they call their Legacy.
"So it's kind of like a one-stop-shop, you can achieve anything here," Fancy said. "And that can be really really hard as an artist because we find ourselves a lot of the time, having to go so many different places, dealing with a bunch of different people that too, have one idea about how they want to help you, how they want to support you-- or not support you."
The creative space for both audio and visuals, while they own it, belongs to the community. They said they specifically prioritize lifting up BIPOC artists. The reason is simple. They needed this kind of help too when they were just starting out.
"There's a difference in culture, a difference in language sometimes even," Fancy said. "So we're really glad that we can prioritize people of color and give them the space where they feel comfortable and safe to express themselves in their art."
The Legacy building is also where the artist has become the investor.
"We ask ourselves, are we the example? Sometimes you have to be that person, no one else is doing this, we're going to do that, and at least this opens the door to maybe inspire other people," Envy said.
"Build a tribe," Fancy added. "Build a community and they will come."
The Duncans, who have always invested in music, are now making another investment, this time in the community.
You can find iLLism on all the music streaming platforms. Their next big project is putting together "Soul of the Southside," a neighborhood Juneteenth celebration.
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