Sweatshop Union Present Three New Albums This Summer
Veteran Canadian rap icons Sweatshop Union and Canada’s preeminent hip-hop label URBNET are pleased to announce a new partnership which will see three brand new Sweatshop Union releases on URBNET this summer. The three “Sweatshop Union Presents” CDs will be released in Canada on June 15 and in the United States on August 10th.
Sweatshop Union began as a progressive-minded hip-hop co-operative in 2000 and has been enlightening the Canadian hip-hop landscape with their ace combination of perceptive lyrics and neck-snapping beats ever since. They have been extensively touring Canada since 2001, the United States over the last four years and have been recognized in Urb Magazines next 100 for 2009. Comprised of several west-coast hip-hop groups, 2010 sees the crew organizing efforts to concentrate on their bread and butter — moving the crowd while rocking the microphone.
Pigeon Hole, down with the Union since day one, make a strong bid for hip-hop relevance in 2010 with their brand-new full-length “Age Like Astronauts.” Fortunately for listeners, Pigeon Hole’s ten years on the scene have failed to mellow the duo of MC/producers, who proudly refuse to be pinned down to any specific genre or sound. Their music runs the gamut from boom-bap hip-hop classicism to ecstatic psychedelic freak outs — sometimes on the same track. “Age Like Astronauts” features songs with D-Sisive, Moka Only, DJ Itchy Ron and Mos Eisley of Sweatshop Union.
Another charter member of Sweatshop Union returns on June 15 with the release of Dirty Circus’ debut release “Alive And Well.” Years in the making and anticipated by fans for almost as long, “Alive And Well” is meticulously constructed as a tribute to the golden years of hip-hop when beats and rhyme reigned supreme over image and bling. After 10 years and five albums with the larger Sweatshop Union collective, Dirty Circus’ Metty and Mos bring it all back home with deep concentration on this effort, curating beats by West Coast luminaries such as Swollen Members’ Rob The Viking, Chin Injeti and features collaborations by Geo from Blue Scholars and cuts by Rhettmatic. Joining the fun on “Alive And Well” is a virtual whos-who of stunning independent rap talent, including Bootie Brown from the Pharcyde and Canadian underground hero Shad K.
“Sweatshop Union Presents: The Trillionaire$” is the third new CD to drop on June 15. Constructed as both a critique of capitalism run amok as well as a paean to the good life to which we all strive, The Trillionaire$ is hip-hop satire at it’s highest level. Produced soley by Metty (twice nominated for a Juno with Sweatshop Union), The Trillionaire$ is a collaboration between Metty and respected west-coast scene veteran Evil Ebenezer, and features cameos by underground legends Josh Martinez, Frank Nitt from Frank N Dank and AWOL ONE, among other notables.
Still going stronger than ever, Sweatshop Union and URBNET are pleased to announce three brand-new releases by Pigeon Hole, Dirty Circus and The Trillionaire$ this summer. All three full-length will be released on CD and digital June 15 in Canada and August 10th in the United States.