UNITY

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Thump/Universal Records Signs Unity Lewis
Unity Lewis is one of the purest vessels of hip-hop – he follows tradition, but can take his rap to many different levels and prides himself in the diverse styles of rhyming he has perfected. “I’m the most well-rounded emcee that’s walking around today,” said the 25-year-old California rapper, whose sound is heavily influenced by reggae and funk. “A lot of my rap is reality rap, but I’m also versatile and I try to touch on as many different hip-hop styles as I can.” Thump/Universal Records recently noticed Unity’s talent and offered him a record deal in November. Unity signed with the label and plans to release new material in May 2008. Unity was introduced to hip-hop as a toddler when he first heard Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, and he’s been rapping along ever since. Making music and performing is in Unity’s blood – his father is a reggae artist and his mother a reggae, jazz and soul singer – so he was drawn to the stage at an early age. His first solo performance was at Marla Gibbs Memory Lane, a Los Angeles club, when he was only seven. He performed three of his own songs, including the first rap he wrote, “Preaching Wisdom.” Even at a young age, Unity said he was aware of the importance of rapping with a message. “Since I started rapping, I was listening to KRS-ONE who always had a message about liberating people, and rap comes from that tradition,” Unity said. “My music always has a message to free your mind, liberate yourself and don’t get caught up doing things that you shouldn’t do.” Growing up in both Los Angles and Sacramento, Unity was surrounded by gangs, and the experiences he had motivated him to keep rapping. He was the kid that people protected because he could rap better than anyone his age, so he chose to rap about things that would save others as well. “I’m not just rapping, I’m saving people’s lives,” Unity said. “Not only by being a positive example, but by trying to be a good role model, and always being conscious about what I say.” Unity became known for his quick and clear rhymes and was given the name Young Precise. “I’m very meticulous with my rhyming and everything I say,” Unity said, “so whether it’s freestyle or it’s written, it’s on point … that’s why people started calling me Young Precise.” Unity began seriously recording music when he was 13 and founded a rap group with two other friends called The Napalm Clique. “We were in rival gangs, but rap brought us together,” Unity said of the original Napalm members. The group had listed several names they wanted to call themselves, but they were all naturally drawn to The Napalm Clique. “Napalm is a fire bomb that when it drops, it spreads,” Unity said. “We’re the bomb clique, and when we drop, we want to spread like wild fire and purify the minds of listeners and everybody walking the land.” When he was 17, the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) asked Unity to document his senior year in high school. As a result, Unity and his music were featured on a documentary and soundtrack that ran on PBS stations across the nation. In 2000, Unity finished Fight, his first album with The Napalm Clique, and moved to Oakland to attend California College of the Arts. While in Oakland, Unity sold hundreds of copies of Fight and began working with Street Scholars, an underground hip-hop and reggae group. He’s performed all over the Bay with them and opened for KRS-ONE in San Francisco. Unity also founded his record label, Unmarked Entertainment, and released a handmade box set with 58 tracks. The box set documents his recordings from ages 14 through 21, and includes tracks with Subtitle from Project Blowed and Oscar Brown, Jr. Each four-disc set is unique and personal, and shows how Unity connects his visual art with his music. He displayed the box sets at an art show in October 2004 in San Francisco. As Unity grew in Oakland, so did The Napalm Clique. Several emcees that he met in the Bay joined the Clique, and the 13-man team is producing an album together. They released the Napalm Clique Classique Mixtape in early 2007, which instantly gained popularity. Unity has been recording a solo album, produced by Organized Elements, that will feature tracks with Stic.Man from Dead Prez, Peace from Freestyle Fellowship and reggae legend Scientist. “On this album, you’ll get to see me working with professionals and proving that I can hang in an arena with the big dogs,” Unity said. “And I’m not just holding my own, but I’m going beyond that and just shinning.” Audiences can expect nothing but the best from Unity Lewis, it is the motto he lives by: “If you want to do something, do it to the fullest and put your all into it, because when you create, that’s God working.”
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