Patiently Waiting
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hen most people think about Los Angeles, California’s culture, more than likely cinematography of John Singleton movies Boyz N The Hood and Baby Boy, or lyrics from pioneer rap group N.W.A come to mind. But gangbanging, ’64 Impalas, good Cali bud and “gangsta” rap is only one side of the City of Angels. On the flipside you’ll find a group like U-N-I, an Inglewood, CA duo, consisting of Yannick “Thurzday” Koffi and Yonas “Y-O” Semere Michael, who are more Pharcyde than “niggas wit’ an attitude.” “We represent that common individual,” Thurzday says. “The majority of the people out here in the West aren’t gangbanging. Gangbanging is what the West is known for, so [we’re] just the refurbish of common rappers, rapping about their lifestyles. The first people to do it were like the Pharcyde and Souls of Mischief. They rapped about their lifestyles and they weren’t gangster, they just made good music.” Y-O and Thurzday first met in high school in 1999, and along with two other MCs formed a four-member group. But after a couple mixtapes, the group split, and Y-O and Thurzday decided to stick together as a duo. The name U-N-I originated from the song “UNIverse at War” on The Roots’ 1996 album Illadelph Halflife. In 2007, U-N-I released their debut street album, Fried Chicken & Watermelon, which received critical acclaim. It featured the singles “Beautiful Day” and “Soul Hop,” whose videos received play on MTV Jams and MTV2. “We named the album [Fried Chicken & Watermelon] because it’s a stereotype for every American-American. [They say] we all like chicken and watermelon,”
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Y-O explains. “And us being from the West Coast, we’re looked at in the same light as every West Coast artist: gangsta rap. So basically, we’re tired of that. We’re [trying] to break that stereotype for West Coast artists.” As a follow up to Fried Chicken & Watermelon, earlier this year, the duo released a mixtape with DJ Mick Boogie entitled Before There Was Love, featuring the likes of Talib Kweli, Big Pooh, Evidence and Black Milk. And this past March, they released another street album A Love Supreme, produced entirely by LA producer Ro Blvd. Both projects have given U-N-I momentum and notoriety to help shake their coast’s stereotypes. With the buzz surrounding their street albums and singles, along with praise from numerous media outlets, U-N-I (who is still independent) has seemingly exhaled a fresh breath into the West Coast rap scene. ““We’ve done everything indie,” Thurzday begins. “We shot our own videos, put our music out ourselves. And people are following the steps that we laid down. So, I feel like we’re trendsetters in this new wave. We’re just trying to pioneer a new era.” Words by Randy Roper Photo by Ed Canas