AGAINST ALL OPPOSITION

West Coast Duo U-N-I bringing fun back to Hip-Hop & speak on first EP, Fried Chicken & Watermelon.

In the multifaceted world-wide hip-hop spectrum, more often then not it’s easy to get weighed down by the humdrum mediocrity of it all. And every so often, like a baby’s first breath, we are reawakened by fresh talent. New sounds and experiences voicing epic creativity that leaves you – “feeling better than some head on a Sunday afternoon” (in the words of Mr.West)… well maybe not better, but damn close.

Hailing from Inglewood, California, U-N-I is that first breath… Taking their name from The Roots’ track “UNIverse at War”, featuring Common from the Illadelph Halphlife album (1996); group members Y-O and Thurzday, exude creativity and honesty in their music; ready to take the world by storm. Never afraid to take risks and bring back the fun in Hip-Hop, they are committed to making substantial contributions to the ever-changing dynamic of progressive Hip-Hop.

These West-Coast MC’s have been spittin’ lyrical flows together since high school, in the lunch-time-cyphers of the schoolyard. Thurzday and Y-O have continued their journey together while hurdling obstacles to release their debut album, Fried Chicken and Watermelon in 2007. This diverse album is a musical voyage taking you deeper into the world of U-N-I, by way of witty lyricism, melodic flows and humorous, personable life tales that give you a taste of who they are.

The only thing competing with their love for hip-hop is their insane passion for kicks, as the two are obsessively impulsive sneaker heads, copping limited editions and splurging on must-have footwear on the daily – bringing them to their first single and video “K.R.E.A.M” (Kicks Rule Everything Around Me) – borrowing visual elements from Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” and samples from Wu-Tang’s classic “C.R.E.A.M”; which landed them a very memorable Myspace feature and article in SLAM magazine. Following up with a melodic, feel-good banger “Beautiful Day”, they are only setting the tone for more amazement to come.

Met in high school…

Y-O: Yea we met my freshman year, his sophomore year at St. Bernard High, in 99. You know, lunchtime everybody outside doing battle raps or playing ball – and we did both from time to time so… Every time we were in cipher, I spit and then I hear Thurzday spit… So we just noticed each other’s skills and said lets just form a group and do a talent show. It was actually a 4-man group when we first started.

Still keep up with the other two?

Y-O: yea definitely one of is my Uncle… do all the time. Me and Thurz branched out in 06, and dropped “Fried Chicken and Watermelon” in 07.

What kind of kids were you guys in high school?

Y-O: [laughs]

THURZDAY: I was a scholar athlete – I gotta highlight that [laughing]… almost a 4.0! I was always into hip-hop – always writing stuff in class. I wasn’t the most popular, but I was known for being talented and playing ball and being in the ciphers.

Y-O: I was wild man [laughs]. High school was my wild days man.. [laughing]. I played varsity basketball in my sophmore year. So just off of that I was getting all types recognition from the senior girls, and I was just like [laughing] not big headed, but I was kinda a little cocky [laughing] to the point where people couldn’t tell me nuthin’. But Thurzday was always there to humble me down. But I was pretty good in school; my main focus was book, basketball and hip-hop.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a hip-hop artist?

THURZDAY: Well I wrote like my first verse in second grade I was at Darby Park and I was rapping and it was all these kids at intermission where all the kids were out of school and down there in this little group. So from there I always wanted to write, and then in my freshman year of high school, I started taking it more serious. So I guess you can say, I always wanted to do this. I’ve been doing it since second grade.

Y-O: For me, it was always basketball before music. I started playing with the ball since I was 4 years old, so all my life I just eat, sleep and think basketball. I wrote my first verse in 96, when I first moved out here [LA]. I was in 6th grade. I wouldn’t think anything of it… but it wasn’t until high school, we had our first performance and I saw how people were moved from just my words, I was like Whoa… This can be something I can take serious and do for a living. After high school, it was a long story I was supposed to get a scholarship to a college out in Iowa and the coach that scouted me resigned. Then I just got real down and distant from basketball, but that’s when I got closer to hip-hop.

Why Fried Chicken and Watermelon?

THURZDAY: Well, you know it’s a stereotype that all black people eat fried chicken and watermelon. So we looked at the west coast in the same light., the way that people think all west coast artist are gangster rap artist. So we wanted to catch pull ‘em in and catch your attention and listen to hip-hop music that doesn’t fit the mold of what people expect it to be. Its Fried Chicken and Watermelon, but its not the normal recipe. It’s something different, something authentic and needs to be heard.

What are your favorites on your album?

Y-O: I’m gonna have to go with K.R.E.A.M. ‘Cuz that was the shock breaker I guess, that gave us the article in Slam, and Myspace feature.

THURZDAY: My favorite song would have to be “Fat Girls” –

[laughing] That song is hilarious!

THURZDAY: [laughing] nah, my favorite is beautiful day. I love the vibe we set with that. It was [a] really unexpected [song] coming from west coast artists to drop something like that and to have the effect that it has. So we came out with that video, and everybody’s recognizing and its been played on MTV.

How would you describe your sound?

THURZDAY: Its honest. Everything that we rap about is based off our lifestyle, and experiences.

What would you say is your musical approach?

THURZDAY: I always wanna be lyrically clever, always try to be different and honest. Let people know who Thurzday is and not sound like any body else. And that’s the same thing for Y-O.

What kind effect do you want your music to have on people?

Y-O: We love to hear when people say we’re bringing back the fun in hip-hop. I love to hear when people say; we remind them of Pharcyde and Tribe Called Quest. We always wanna have our own sound, but its good to hear, because obviously, we’re moving in the right direction.

THURZDAY: I always wanna hear people say that we’re doing something memorable, Nothing that’s gonna be fly by night… always be remembered for putting out something classic and original. Give people a good feeling and put a smile on someone’s face.

Continue to Part 2 of INTERVIEW: U-N-I..

Related Dopeness:

• FEATURE: U-N-I pt.2 (1)
• VIDEO: “K.R.E.A.M” (1)
• VIDEO: SOUL HOP (1)
• BLACK MILK PLUS U-N-I & MORE 10/24 (0)
• SPECTRUM FUNK - CMJ EDITION 10/23 (0)