Yannick "Thurzday" Koffi and Yonas "Y-O" Semere Micheal met in 1999 at St. Bernard High School in Inglewood, California. They got to know each other during freestyle battles, recognized each other`s talents and decided to join forces along with a bunch of friends.
After graduation, they formed the duo whose name is inspired by a track called "UNIverse at War" off of The Roots` album "Illadelph Halflife". In 2007, they released a street album titled "Fried Chicken & Watermelon". All of the three songs they have shot videos for so far, "K.R.E.A.M.", "Beautiful Day" and the most recent "Soul Hop", are featured on this album. Together with a producer called Ro Blvd, they are planning on releasing "A Love Supreme" album in spring 2009.
You`ve known each other for almost 10 years now. What made you decide to try to break through as U-N-I in 2006?
Y-O: We were getting a lot of requests from our fans, and you can`t ignore the people that support you.
Thurz: So we had to give everybody what they wanted. The response has been crazy, so we just want to continue pumpin` out good music that`s true to us.
You managed to get the hype you got and attract attention of a lot of people all by yourself. What is your advice to other up-and-coming groups?
Thurz: The key is to be true to yourself and build up a team of folks that support your vision.
Y-O: I agree. Be true to yourself and keep an ear open for your fans.
The internet has obviously had major impact on the progress of your career so far. What do you think would have changed for you had there been no Internet? Is it easier for young artists trying to shine now than it was 10 years ago?
Thurz: Without the Internet, the process would have been a little slower. We definitely work hard, but we would`ve had to work harder and invest more money in ourselves to hit different metropolitan areas and different countries.
Y-O: I believe it`s easier to shine now. To come out 10 years ago, you would have needed a major label backing young [artist] along with a major cosign from an artist.
What does being voted as MTV VMA Best Breakout artist from LA and being Unsigned Hype in Source or Top10 Indies in XXL mean to you? Does it open any new doors for you?
Thurz: Those accomplishments mean a lot to us. It lets us know that our hard work is being recognized. It opens a lot of doors [for us] and gives us more leverage when we sit down with major labels.
It has certainly spawned some haters of yours as well. What`s your take on that?
Y-O: If you don`t have haters, you`re not doing your job!
In terms of music, Inglewood has much more buzz surrounding it than it had a few years back. What has changed there? Who should we look out for from there other than you?
Thurz: What`s changed is that everyone is not embracing that gangster persona. There are more common-type folks than people living a "street life".
Y-O: Besides us, look out for Fashawn, Three-1-Zero, El Prez, DiLAted Peoples, Kes Kaos, Stix, Curtains, Fee, Blu.
You recently released a video for "Soul Hop" off of your street album "Fried Chicken & Watermelon". What was it like to shoot it? Was it any different than shooting videos for "K.R.E.A.M." and "Beautiful Day" [off of the same album]?
Thurz: Soul Hop is some of Tomas Whitmore`s best work. He executed his ideas and it came out very well. We spent 14 hours shooting that video and we planned it out for 2 months.
Y-O: It was different from our other videos, because the experience level increased with this being our 3rd video. We shot "Beautiful Day" video with song playing 2x faster than the normal speed, and we took 4 days to shoot "K.R.E.A.M.". Like Thurz said, we were able to knock this out in one day.
I noticed that you mentioned the Czech Republic among the countries you`ve got fans in. Is there a way for European fans to get their copy of "Fried Chicken & Watermelon"? Are you planning on touring across Europe?
Thurz: The best way to get our CD is through PayPal on our MySpace, or through our SNOCAP account. We are definitely planning on touring across Europe. Posdnuos of De La informed me that hip-hop is well received out there and it`s a great market to hit.
Mick Boogie`s "The Honor Roll" mixtape features your remake of De La Soul`s hit single "Stakes Is High". How did this collaboration come up and what was it like to remake such a classic song?
Y-O: We were honored to remake this song. 6th Sense hit up Thurz on AIM and asked if we`d be down with being featured on Mick`s upcoming project. We automatically accepted!
Thurz: De La is one of my favorite groups of all-time. I sent it to Pos after we recorded it and he told us it was dope. Folks said we did the classic justice, so we`re fortunate to have had that opportunity and delivered.
We`re all looking forward to your project with the talented producer Ro Blvd called "A Love Supreme". When should we expect it to be released and what else could you tell us about it?
Thurz: We`re going to drop it on March of `09.
Y-O: All we can say is "stay tuned". We`re gonna take you on a ride, so open up your ear drums for some ILL music!
Would you like to add anything before we wrap this up?
Thurz: We love everybody!
