U-N-I
| U-N-I | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Inglewood, Los Angeles and Seattle, Washington |
| Genres | Hip hop, trip hop |
| Years active | 2006–2011 |
| Labels | Honor Roll |
| Website | Official Myspace |
| Members | Yannick "Thurzday" Koffi Yonas "Y-O" Semere Michael |
U-N-I (short for "U-N-I To The Verse") are a hip hop duo from Inglewood, Los Angeles, consisting of Y-O (born Yonas Semere Michael) and Thurzday (born Yannick Koffi).
Y-O and Thurzday met in 1999 at St. Bernard High School in Westchester, California. They were originally part of a four-man group, the Rap-Ture Kamp, along with fellow St. Bernard student Ablaze and local producer Unjust Ant. This crew released two mixtapes, Rap-Ture Kamp Unleash, Volume 1 and Jacking Beats. After graduation in 2006 they split from the Kamp and formed U-N-I, the name inspired by The Roots' 1996 album Illadelph Halflife. Thurz stated "To us, it's a first person statement. Myself and Y-O, U-N-I-verse, ain't nobody against us. It also stands for being universal and not being boxed into one sound."
Y-O is the mohawk emcee whose name "Yonas" translates to "Soldier" in his native Ethiopian and he moved from Seattle, Washington to Inglewood, California in 1996. Thurzday is a descendant of both Côte d'Ivoire and Belize, taking his moniker from his last name "Koffi" which translates in Ghana’s native language of Akan to "boy born on Friday."
U-N-I who profess to be die hard sneaker aficionados flipped The Wu-Tang Clan's "C.R.E.A.M" into the 2007 hit song "K.R.E.A.M." (Kicks Rule Everything Around Me) which to date has received 430,000 hits on YouTube. That same year the duo released their satirically titled street album Fried Chicken & Watermelon which contained 14 songs including the single "Beautiful Day" and "Phat Girls," an ode to bigger women. “Beautiful Day” has received over 1.2 million views on YouTube, and garnered international acclaim from as far as the Czech Republic, Belgium and Germany. The duo soon became a staple on the urban and alternative blogosphere and received 5.5 million profile views on Myspace. Subsequently they were signed by ICM Agency and opened up for artists including Lupe Fiasco, 50 Cent, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Wale, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, The Roots and Redman. They were named "Best Breakout LA Artist" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, featured in URB Magazine's “NEXT 100” & “NEXT 1000,” XXL Magazine’s “New Kids in Town,” Billboard Magazine’s “Acts to Watch,” The Source Magazine’s “Unsigned Hype” & “Off the Radar,” Time Out New York’s “The Volume,” MTVu’s “The Hot Seat,” BET.com’s “Rookies of the Year” and ending up on the “SoundBoard” of The Los Angeles Times while serving as the official hosts of MTV’s “Sucka Free” - on the strength of their observant, life-affirming rhymes that revolved around everything from limited-edition sneakers to cosmic existentialism and old-school video games to musings on life and actress Lauren London.
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