U-N-I
A Love Supreme
To quote seminal rap group De La Soul: ‘The stakes is high.’ After marauding the underground for nearly two years’dropping Fried Chicken & Watermelon in 2007, and most recently the bouncy Before There Was Love mixtape, featuring a bevy of local acts’U-N-I present A Love Supreme, a cool and cocky collection of expansive beats and fresh rhymes. But, it would be unfair to give Y-O and Thurzday’collectively U-N-I’all the credit for Supreme. Beat maven Ro Blvd’the lone producer on the album’is equally deserving of praise for his colorful, soul-hop mash-ups. Ro’s sample-laden soul cuts fuse heavy bass lines, resonant horn samples and gritty snare drums as the perfect sonic milieu for U-N-I to unleash a flurry of rapper tales and caviar dreams. The opening track, ‘My Life,’ sets the scene for an unstoppable hour of renaissance rap from L.A.’s native sons. On it, Y-O spits with refreshing candor: ‘C’mon man, my life’s a queen/ Treat it like a movie never wasting a scene/ Yeah I’m broke though, like poor people/ Still manage to shine wit no vehicle.’ The red-hot ‘Hollywood Hiatus’ and ‘Supreme’ are easy favorites as well, but the main course is the monumental ‘Pulp Fiction,’ featuring Cali collaborator Fashawn. Narrated by Thurzday, the track is an intricate account of friendship, betrayal, and survival told by an apt storyteller (think a 3.0 version of ‘Rewind’ by Nas). Though few, there are flaws: filler tracks like ‘Windows’ and ‘Stylin’ would have been better left on the cutting room floor. But, when it’s all said and done, Y-O and Thurz make good on all the buildup. Supreme is electric and a commanding effort. Nonbelievers take note, this is love at light speed.
Loading ...
[...] A Love Supreme 2.0, Pussy, Ro Blvd., UNI Posted 6 seconds ago Funny how I was jamming to A Love Supreme yesterday only to get treated to this crassly-titled mp3. This is quite an aggressive track for the [...]