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Describing The Union's music can be hard at times because it defies comparison to most current hip-hop artists. Hip-Hop today seems to only have a few lanes of creativity: drug-rap, gangsta rap, conscious rap, girl-rap. But The Union's music can most simply be described as East Coast hip-hop infused with lyricism, braggadocio, introspection, reality, and creativity. Influenced by artists like Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, A Tribe Called Quest, Eminem, and Wu-tang Clan, along with many, many others, The Union is a group of rapper's rappers who just make really good music.
The Union formed when Knowledge and Da Vinci met in the spring of 2005 at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. A mutual friend catalyzed their meeting, setting the stage for conversation in philosophy class where the emcees discovered that they shared a love for complex lyricism and east coast hip-hop. Soon after they decided to try creating good hip-hop together, and almost immediately a chemistry of contrasting styles was formed that has not died down to this day. Knowledge's rhythmic verses full of far-reaching cultural references and literary devices like alliteration blend extremely well with Da Vinci's love of complex metaphors, punchlines, and tongue-twisters.
But without the funds or connections to secure original beats, the group had to spit on whatever instrumentals they could find. Later, a producer was befriended the group, another Morgan student then going by Nick Fury. Now as Nickel-N-Diamond, he is an in-house producer for The Union. An early demo named Heatwave Vol 1 was released during the Summer of 2005. Besides its jacked instrumentals, this release was completely self-produced, meaning The Union recorded, mixed, and mastered it themselves. A sampler for future releases, Heatwave Vol 1. carried a few songs that appeared on future releases and several that weren't released anywhere else.
Throughout their time in Baltimore, the group performed at various open mic events on their school's campus and throughout Baltimore. These performances led to feature performances at events such as Season The Microphone Mondays, Mic Life Thursdays, and Mic Life Wednesdays. At these performances, the group showed an energy and attention to showmanship that impressed everyone in attendance.
In Summer 2006 came The Unionomics Manifesto, an EP that showcased the group's growth since Heatwave Vol. 1, and continued Heatwave's DIY philosophy. This was the first release to feature production by Nickel-N-Diamond, and featured a new Union affiliate named Diatribe on two tracks. The title UnioNoMics means "The Union no mics", as in no mics in The Source, a self-effacing joke about the groups lack of clout. Regardless of the lack of major exposure, the cd impressed fans and created many new ones. It featured introspective songs like Raw Life, hard-hitting braggadocio cuts like Transformers, and romantic songs like I Love You.
After The Unionomics Manifesto, The Union went on hiatus, as Knowledge focused on finishing college and Da Vinci transferred to NYU's Institude of Audio Research, where he studies Audio Production. During this time no new music was released, until Da Vinci's The Perseverance came out during the Summer of 2008 Da Vinci also started making beats, so those interested in purchasing can make inquiries at his production website.
The Union is ramping up for a great second half of 2009. Now based in Philadelphia and Central New Jersey, they are making moves to start performing again and put out a slew of cds. Knowledge's debut EP, Thru Playin' Round Here is dangerously near completion, and is sure to appease fans who have been waiting years for it! The pre-release version can be heard to the left, as can all of The Union's past releases. After that, but still before Summer 2009 ends, will come a group mixtape, Kick In Ya Speakers, and Da Vinci's The Perseverance Vol 2.
PS: Any DJ's or radio cats who would like drops should holler at me/us immediately. Anyone who has opportunities available, like mixtape, or who wants to collab should do the same.
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