For Vancouver’s premier hip hop group, Sweatshop Union, making top notch music isn't a problem. In the past six years, the seven-person group has produced four albums, two of them being nominated for a Juno Award (Canadian Grammy), and one of them winning the honor. “It’s been great to do what we’ve done so far,” says group emcee Metty the Durt Merchant, “But we don’t feel like we have done enough. There is a lot more music for us to make and a ton more fans to reach.”
On October 14th of this year, Sweatshop Union released their most recent effort, titled Water Street. The album, just like the rest of Sweatshop’s work, carries the theme of West Coast underground hip hop gone great, which is a wonderful thing to see.
Besides certain projects coming from the Stones Throw and Rhymesayers labels, in the past years the West Coast hip-hop scene has really been dragging ass. Beats have become obscure and difficult to listen to, and lyrics have become non-engaging. What happened to the energy that created Aceyalone’s Book of Human Language or the Mystic Journeyman’s Worldwide Underground? These two albums were amongst those that defined what it meant to rock authentic West Coast underground. Now a decade after the release of those albums, that same energy and creative force is starting to once again pop its head through the clouds in the form of Sweatshop Union.
But do Sweatshop Union and Vancouver have what it takes to compete as a major market contender with the scenes in L.A, San Francisco and Oakland?
It does if Vancouver joins forces with California, which is exactly what Sweatshop Union’s label, Battle Axe Records, is doing. Aside from having super-talented Canadian artists on board (Swollen Members and Sweatshop Union), but they are also reaching out to Cali greats (Abstract Rude and DJ Drez), and an East Coaster (Shabazz the Disciple).
“Vancouver has always had a hip hop scene, at least in terms of gear and culture. But as of lately it has been really expanding musically,” explains Metty. “We have been very involved in the scene for a long time, and it makes us feel great to see it growing.”
With one listen to Water Street, or any of Sweat Shop Union’s other three albums (Local 604, Natural Progression and United We Fall), any hip hop/ rap aficionado will be drawn in by the instrumentally steady and multi-layered beats accompanied by the ever-present intelligent and rhythmic lyrics. The music will force you to ask yourself “why haven’t I heard of these guys before?”
Although Water Street is the type of album that you can enjoy equally from start to finish, the disk’s high points include the organ-heavy “Now”, the hard hitting and politically insightful “Oh My”, the Swaze-like “Comes and Goes” and the most slamming and grooving track on the disk, “Moose”.
Sweatshop Union is currently on the home stretch of their latest tour around the lower forty-eight, which has been a 100 show non-stop Van City musical expose. As for the future, Sweatshop is looking to spread the word as much as they can in the best fashion possible. “We want to hit the entire United States all at once, but right now we are sticking to the West Coast to concentrate our message,” says Metty, “after that, sky is the limit.”
Look out for Sweatshop Union’s Water Street, and tap into the growing Canadian hip-hop scene. The great North is threatening to redefine the underground standard. Click here for the Sweatshop Union Myspace.
