One half of U-N-I hopped on the phone with my old stomping grounds to talk about the inspiration behind his upcoming solo album, altercations with the police and more.
The project started with the first song I recorded for the album, “Los Angeles.” Ro Blvd made the beat and initially I was gonna go in on some Jay Electronica-type stuff, just some crazy raps and all that. But I sat back and listened to it, and I wanted to involve my fans into the record. So I had people call and e-mail me voice notes of a well-intentioned statement of what Los Angeles meant to them. And I just wanted to paint an honest picture of what Los Angeles is. So I was able to get all these little positive comments of what Los Angeles is, as well as a few negative comments, and kind of painted this picture of Los Angeles, and that’s what sparked the project. At the time some of my folks were doing research on the Los Angeles riots, and that title struck me. I was like, damn, I want to do a project called L.A. RIOT. It’s not solely based on historical events. A lot of the music is intense; it’s like scoring the lifestyle of a young male in Los Angeles.
Like I have a record called “Niggaz” on there, and the record is a self-critique. I’m looking at myself, I’m looking at some of my friends, and I’m looking at the word “nigga” and I’m giving a little history of the word and I’m studying why we call ourselves that on a daily basis. And at the end of the song, I’m like I don’t want to be this word, let’s be kings. A lot of the music on there is kind of intense and uplifting and knowledgeable. And that goes hand in hand with the “Rodney King” record. It’s a riot in music, a riot in art, and I’m just kind of going against the grain of what’s popular. It’s not the same hit record that you hear over and over and over. I’m not trying to do that.
Check the full interview here.
great interview. i fuccs wit cuz
Now that’s a real los angeles dude rite there.
Why are you still posting that he’s in u-n-i? They broke up
U-n-i broke up?since when gtfoh I can’t believe that
If they did that that’s crazy
King Thurz!!
when did u-n-i break up? da fuck
Y-O said it himself look
http://watdadickens.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/yotwitter.jpg?w=611
Wow can’t believe they broke up.this is heart breaking.I hope they explain why and it better be a good reason besides wanting to explore deeper into solo careers.
Thurz killin shit
what he is doing is beyond u-n-i
Damn I didn’t know either of them (U-N-I) had depth like that. I thought they were all “feel good” music.
While I agree there are crooked cops out there and some go to far but by comparing the Rodney King thing is kinda crazy. 1st off let me say Im a black male (from the south) who’s been pulled over and harassed by cops the majority of my driving yrs and I’ve seen my family and friends get done so also. Now, the Rodney King thing tho not warranted and I dont condone it he was resisting arrest, he had priors, was under the influence and was evading. For a min having known all that as a police officer how would you have behaved? I agree that it didnt take all those officers to beat dude like that but why didnt he jus stop and comply with the law.(im sure he knows how cops in LA are huh) Theres real cases where cops have over stepped there authority and even killed innocent ppl but the Rodney King situation isn’t one of them and im frankly tired of hearing the comparison. By misinformation by certain ppl and media it sparked a riot that wasnt necessary. I judt dont agree. My opinion!
@j.O you are missing the whole point. This project is the “light in darkness” to showcase things beyond Rodney King
@fggt I didn’t know either, but I’m glad Thurz left the group situation to do some real shit