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Sweatshop Union
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’’‘Sweatshop Union’‘’ are a Canadian Hip hop collective formed in 2000 when four politically-minded rap acts Dirty Circus, Creative Minds , Innocent Bystanders, and solo artist Kyprios came together “to create a powerful, distinctive voice”, and to produce their first album, which was published in 2001.
Known for an inventive and socially-conscious sound, Sweatshop Union’s music focuses on being “honest”, commenting on material ranging from the War in Iraq, the plight of the poor and working-class, to the negativity and misogyny of mainstream hip-hop. Speaking for the group, Mos Eisley put it as:
‘To me, politics aren’t a choice you make; they’re just a way of life. […] In that sense, I am trying to be more positive than political, because I’m already political to begin with…
I think that, at the same time as there’s a lot of money being put into hip hop that could be deemed negative or misogynistic or self-destructive, by the same token there’s a lot of guys who are coming up trying to be positive and rebel against that, putting their careers on the line.’
After signing with Battleaxe Records in 2002, their self-titled debut album was re-released as ‘Local 604. The group also began touring North America with a number of other rap and hip-hop artists, including their label-mates Swollen Members.
Their 2004 album ‘Natural Progression’ led to a Juno Awards nomination and three Western Canadian Music Award nominations. They have been called part of “Vancouver’s hip-hop Renaissance”, and had their music featured in CBC Radio’s “Make Some Noise” documentary. Their most recent album, ‘United We Fall’ (released in 2005) is the group’s favorite, reflecting the increasing maturity of their collaboration.
Known for an inventive and socially-conscious sound, Sweatshop Union’s music focuses on being “honest”, commenting on material ranging from the War in Iraq, the plight of the poor and working-class, to the negativity and misogyny of mainstream hip-hop. Speaking for the group, Mos Eisley put it as:
‘To me, politics aren’t a choice you make; they’re just a way of life. […] In that sense, I am trying to be more positive than political, because I’m already political to begin with…
I think that, at the same time as there’s a lot of money being put into hip hop that could be deemed negative or misogynistic or self-destructive, by the same token there’s a lot of guys who are coming up trying to be positive and rebel against that, putting their careers on the line.’
After signing with Battleaxe Records in 2002, their self-titled debut album was re-released as ‘Local 604. The group also began touring North America with a number of other rap and hip-hop artists, including their label-mates Swollen Members.
Their 2004 album ‘Natural Progression’ led to a Juno Awards nomination and three Western Canadian Music Award nominations. They have been called part of “Vancouver’s hip-hop Renaissance”, and had their music featured in CBC Radio’s “Make Some Noise” documentary. Their most recent album, ‘United We Fall’ (released in 2005) is the group’s favorite, reflecting the increasing maturity of their collaboration.
Top Albums
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Natural Progression
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United We Fall
Sweatshop UnionBuy- Download Album
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Sweatshop Union
Sweatshop UnionBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
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- Buy Album
- Amazon $29.84
- eBay Search
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Local 604
Sweatshop UnionBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
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Shoutbox
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Ruby_soho80 wrote:
:D
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zombyes wrote:
these guys are great. the show at the habitat was amazing, i would defiantly come again.
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gutterscab wrote:
come play the Portland area soon!
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gutterscab wrote:
If you get the chance to see these guys do it!! but do it fast they pack the house in my home town.
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robb3939 wrote:
Hit The Wall is amazing!
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Era-13 wrote:
The song Come Back is great man!
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DamionOWA wrote:
The show they played in Kelowna was aaaaaawesome.
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awedeluxe wrote:
gotta love Water Street! SU always make great music!
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catboots wrote:
these guys put on an amazin' show. maaaybe it had something to do with the venue but it was no doubt one of these best hiphop shows ive been to.
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Ewancusy wrote:
i know steelprophet! underrated and under listened
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Steelprophet wrote:
wow, just realized how great these guys are!
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Eatyourbrians wrote:
Moose is my new favorite track from Water Street.
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Tehryan wrote:
Album's almost as much fun as the real Water Street.
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Eatyourbrians wrote:
water street is dope. haah.
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Forsaken_Freak wrote:
"Comes And Goes" Is Awesome! Best Track Of The Album...
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Forsaken_Freak wrote:
NEW ALBUM Is Great!
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TGKN wrote:
Water street is different, yes, but still awesome. Very catchy, but still very, very far from selling out/abandoning their cause.
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thohnholt wrote:
water street is orgasmic. there are a couple of verses that didn't seem like the regular sweatshop style (less political, more "look how tight we are"). but for the most part it is a really good album, i would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
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SilverCellarDor wrote:
dude so my friend totally opened a show for them 4 years ago
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Noah_H wrote:
how's water street? reviews?
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Recent Activity
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RandomNinja19, razma2005, jollymones and 15 other people added Sweatshop Union to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
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IzmirLadde connected Sweatshop Union to the group The Collective | ROAM | SEASONS. last week
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hydr0holic, Joe_HasLastFm, Fat2u and 24 other people added Sweatshop Union to their libraries. last week
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Myra7733 tagged Sweatshop Union with underground rap, hip hop, rap and 2 other tags. 22 days ago
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Myra7733, ChrisSandison, Geneticflea and 6 other people added Sweatshop Union to their libraries. 22 days ago
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myles22 tagged Sweatshop Union with ‘mountainbike’. 26 days ago
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mar_rta7, dzimi_88, hjelle2 and 13 other people added Sweatshop Union to their libraries. 26 days ago
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pourmeanother wrote about Sweatshop Union in 22/Male Seeking Artist or Group to Fall in Love With. last month
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lilsicko408, hillaryjeanne, josiahcoombs and 14 other people added Sweatshop Union to their libraries. last month
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anecdoted tagged Sweatshop Union with ‘hip-hop’. last month
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Groups (12)
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Swollen Members
40 members
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Indie Canada
1,858 members
-
Upcoming Hiphop
599 members
-
Hiphopatitis B.
471 members
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Old People, New Music
154 members
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