U-N-I - Land of The Kings x Interview

From the heart of South Central to the shores of Malibu:

U-N-I films their new video for “Land Of The Kings.”

The incoming tide lathers a Malibu shore. Overhead, the passing storm fades the California sunshine to a grey tinge. Thunder rolls down the coastline. Dressed in indigenous garb, their faces are painted in the brightest of reds, greens and blues to match their Nikes, Vans, and Supras. This is the Land of The Kings.

Today, LA Hip Hop duo, U-N-I, is on-set shooting their forthcoming video off the critically acclaimed, A Love Supreme. Recently sharing the stage at the Lyricist Lounge west coast premier with Pac Div, Mickey Factz and several others, U-N-I is breathing a unique freshness into Hip Hop. Recently picked to represent the West Coast along with Nipsey Hu$$le in XXL Magazine’s July 2009 Hood2Hood Feature, U-N-I’s Y-O! (Mohawk rocking, Yonay Michael) and Thurzday (Yannik Koffi) have been garnering industry attention since winning “Best Breakout L.A. Artist” at the 2008 MTV Music Video Awards. In just a few short years, their music has quite literally brought them from the heart of South Central to the shores of Malibu.

With pacific waves throwing fume on beaten rocks, the tribal cast circles where land meets ocean tide. As the crew blows smoke over the beach, U-N-I’s drummer, Te'Amir Yohannes Sweeney, sits in the center of the group beating a drumhead covered in blue and red powder. With each beat and each step of the Steadicam operator, colored powder collides with the white smoke, creating a surreal filter that is apparent even to us onlookers. The 15 or so people around me gaze through the 4^th wall, barricaded with spot lights and generators, at a scene that is a snapshot of both a time long past and a new beginning for a generation of Hip Hop.

“The feeling behind the song is the emotion of accomplishment. The video is set to showcase a journey through obstacles in being King and accomplishing your goals.” Says Thurzday. Musically, the track is highly unique for Hip Hop, but not for UNI, a group who has carved their niche through experimental beats and high-energy performances. The song begins with a hard-hitting piano line evocative of Kanye West, and builds with deep snare hits and horn sections. Mixed in with the organic sounds is a myriad of synthesized notes and accents that are as colorful as the war paint adorning the group’s faces. Together with skilled lyricism, “Land of The Kings” has the makings of a classic song in a constantly evolving genre.

Among the Lost Boys inspired cast, is Ro Blvd, the beat architect behind the song and the album, A Love Supreme. He is dressed in reminiscence of Ruffio from Peter Pan…except this Ruffio is wearing Vans with “Rad” written in the soles! Initially meeting up with U-N-I for the track “The Launch,” off the group’s debut album, Friend Chicken and Watermelon, Ro’s relationship with U-N-I has developed from a single song to crafting their entire new album. A self-described “ new school cat, with an old soul,” Ro Blvd. credits the group for his development as a producer: “My skill level wouldn’t be at this point if it wasn’t for Thurz and Y-O,” he says.

The U-N-I team wouldn’t be complete without video director, Tomas Whitmore. With a distinct eye for the creative visual depiction of the group, Tomas brings a uniquely refreshing narrative to their videos. “He's the best,” says Thurzday, “I trust his vision and we always get something out the box and visually stunning. He's done all the [videos] that have been released and featured on MTV.”

The sun is now setting between the storm clouds and the deep blue Pacific. A flock of Brown Pelicans flies inches above the white caps. A small seal attempts, repeatedly, to climb a nearby rock. With the last few scenes of the day coming to a close, the equipment strewn across the beach slowly finds its way back, piece by piece, to the grip trucks and electric vans. The drum stops beating, for now anyway. As the reels go in for post production, U-N-I is heading to Europe to further the bands stated mission of “expanding and texturizing hip-hop's conversation: tackling the lust, love and hate of relationships.”

In this exclusive interview I sat down with UNI to discus the video shoot and their plans for the coming months.

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UNI Video Shoot 6/3/09 Interview

How did you like the shoot?

Thurz: The shoot was dope. Land of the Kings is an epic record that will have an epic video.

Y-O!: Simply amazing, felt like I was back home in Africa, LOL. To me this is by far the best video we ever shot so far.

Who is the director and how do you like working with him?

Thurz: We always work with director Tomas Whitmore and we trust his creative ability to capture the essence of the song. He has done KREAM, Beautiful Day, Soul Hop and Hollywood Hiatus. It’s always a pleasure.

Y-O!: Tomas Whitmore has brought another creative treatment to life. The same relationship & vibe we have making music with Ro Blvd. is equivalent with Tomas, we love it.

What is the feeling behind the song, Land of the Kings, and the video?

Thurz: The feeling behind the song is the emotion of accomplishment.The video is set to showcase a journey through obstacles in being King and accomplishing your goals.

Was the theme for the video there from the beginning of the song or did it develop after the record was cut? How did you come up with the theme?

Thurz: It developed after the record was cut. That's how all our videos are shot. The theme is based off the course we've taken with our careers and being from LA. We have done everything with no co-sign and no label. We've endured cats talkin’ down on us and have made the necessary moves to prove we are the best!

Y-O!: The way Tomas works with us is he likes to hear the finished product on our end, then he'll just zone out & come up with a treatment around it. Us being an indie with no co-signer, feel like we've done most than others. We've been thru many obstacles to make it where we are now & we feel like we made the right move as artists to say we're the Kings of our land.

What was your favorite location during the shoot?

Thurz: My favorite location was the stream. It was hilarious when Y-O! and his queen had to get in the water. That's going to be a memorable scene.

Y-O!: Ahha, my favorite location of the shoot was the time we weren't shooting. It would have to be when we were walking to the next location & 1 of the ladies from the video was ahead of us & her damn legs were shinning with a cute tail hanging out of the shorts. Ahaha. I'm sure everyone was looking @ that!!

So you're off to Europe? Have you been to Europe before and where are yougoing?

Thurz: I've never been to Europe. We're hitting Norway first and thenLondon and Paris.

Y-O!: Man, I am so stoooooked for our 1st trip to Europe. We're gonna hit Norway, Sweeden & hopefully more. I heard they have posters floating around in the Sweden streets with our faces on it. I expect to end up staying out there for a month.

Do you have any expectations or goals for the trip?

Thurz: The goal is to rock every show and make new fans

Having just dropped A Love Supreme, which is substantially building your fan base (I am one of them), what can people look for from U-N-I in the coming months? Are you going to push this album for a while or are you going back into the studio?

Thurz: We have several videos for this album. We will work the record while we record our official album.

Y-O!: Don't be surprised if you see our faces on the big screens. We'll definitely work this album for a while to get the best out of it, while still recording for our debut album. There's so much opportunity out there for music to take advantage of.