U-N-I were probably one of the, if not the, fastest rising groups
on the West Coast in 2008. The release of "Fried Chicken and Watermelon" and the
accompanying video for "Beautiful Day" over a year ago changed it all and took
the movement to another level. Their follow up mixtape "Before There Was Love"
with Mick Boogie just dropped last week and has been spreading like wildfires.
As expected, the Inglewood duo stand their ground and stick to their formula by
delivering fresh rhymes over dope beats.
"We're getting a lot of
good reviews back home," Y-O told Dubcnn. "A lot of artists in Inglewood
give us props and say it's good Hip-Hop, so we must be doing something right.
We started recording in the street, so it's great to get that feedback while letting
the world know where we coming from."
But even though they just dropped
a new joint, U-N-I don't plan to sit around and wait for things to fall in their
hands. Their next project, entitled "A Love Supreme", will be their official debut
album and it's scheduled to come out next month on March 31st. "We achieved
some things, but we wanna further establish what we started so we got a lot more
things to do." Thurzday said about U-N-I's current situation. "I think
after we release more videos and get a bigger push radio wise, stuff will pick
up at a even faster pace. We're just taking advantage of the momentum and keep
running. So hopefully with "A Love Supreme", they will welcome us into that next
level."
Thurzday and Y-O, who met in high school back in 99, hit the
scene with the intention to bring back a innovative and refreshing sound that's
been missing on the West Coast. A sound that reflects the daily life that they
live, by focusing more on the fun and stylish side of Hip-Hop. "It's still
authentic," Y-O stated. "but it represents more of a common individual,
because not everybody's into the L.A. gang life. Ain't nothing wrong with
that though, I mean I grew up to some of it and I still see it everyday, but that's
not us and not what we represent. We're not gangsters, just fashionable cats that
like to have fun and be witty with the lyrics. It's a different style and we wanna
show the world that you can't put everybody on the West Coast in the same box.
So us breaking outside of that box is definitely part of the reason why we're
getting that much buzz. It seems to work so we wanna keep that going."
With
the next project in line, they're looking to follow that lane and keep riding
their own wave in the L.A. Hip-Hop scene. You can expect some minor changes, one
being the production as they linked up with Ro Blvd to produce the entire
project after developing a working chemistry on previous collabos. "People
already got a taste from us, but "A Love Supreme" is gonna be a little bit different
again sound wise" Thurzday continued. "It's gonna be more progressive,
partly because it's all produced by Ro Blvd. The closest thing I heard to it was
some of the Outkast material. It's still U-N-I and it's still Hip-Hop, but we're
trying to expand our fanbase and give them more than just what they think we are."
If
for some reason you still haven't heard or downloaded the "Before There Was Love"
mixtape, you should do that by clicking on the link below.
U-N-I - Before There Was Love
01. Mick Boogie Intro
02. Cali Soul Feat. H.O.P.E. and Shawn Jackson [prod
DiBia$e]
03. See L.A. Feat. Damani [prod Faahz]
04. Cast'Em Out [prod DiBia$e]
05. The Press Play Show Interlude Part 1
06. On Tour Feat. Bambu [prod
Ro Blvd.]
07. Think About It Feat. Vandalyzm and 6th Sense [prod 6th Sense]
08. Half Off Feat. Evidence
09. Run Son Feat. El Prez, 310, C-San, and
Casey Veggies [prod Ro Blvd.]
10. Stakes is High [prod 6th Sense]
11. The
Press Play Show Interlude Part 2
12. Beautiful Day Remix Feat. Big Pooh, Evidence,
Aloe Blacc, Kes Kaos, Mickey Factz, Fashawn, and Theo [prod DiBia$e]
13. Yesterday
[prod Ski Team]
14. Hey Neighbor [prod Ro Blvd.]
15. Wildin' Feat. Chen
Lo and Chris Focus [prod Ro Blvd.]
16. The Press Play Show Interlude Part 3
17. Castle Vee Re-Up Feat. Black Milk [prod DiBia$e]
18. Arcade Fly Remix
Feat. Wildabeast, 6th Sense, Buff1, Donny Goines & Fashawn [prod 6th Sense]
19. Night Nurse [prod Cook Classics]
20. Relax Feat. Fashawn [prod FredNukes]
21. Return Feat. Talib Kweli [prod Bannon]
22. Mainstream Consumers Feat.
Free Speech and Bambu [prod Ro Blvd.]
23. Monster Feat. Shawn Jackson [prod.
Jag Skills]
24. Vitamin B Feat. Curt@!n$ [prod Bannon]
25. The Press Play
Show Interlude Part 4
26. Start My Day Feat. H.O.P.E. [prod Ro Blvd.]
27.
Herb Feat. Co$$ and Bad Lucc [prod Ro Blvd.]
U-N-I - Before
There Was Love
www.dubcnn.com
The Westcoast News Network.