U-N-I

A Love Supreme 2.0 (London Live)

Blog darlings hailed as the next big thing in L.A. after their Love Supreme mixtape made it cool to emulate Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak, U-N-I earns its through-the-roof confidence on debut release A Love Supreme 2.0. Thurzday and Y-O come off as charismatic as Kanye throughout, riding a live band to Neptunes-glam on “Stylin” and “Voltron,” an organ-fueled cut suggesting Hell Hath No Fury even out in the Valley. Synth/keys ace Peter Dyer’s crew bangs baddest on “Pulp Fiction,” which puts U-N-I alongside fellow Cali prince Fashawn for a hard-nosed cipher of street legend and Elden Campbell memories. That nostalgia could be the only knock against U-N-I; they don’t rap about much besides “Calendar Girls” and fly headgear. Yet true swagger needs no subject matter. For Thurz and Y-O, everything’s straight gravy in the “Land of the Kings.” (Thu., 8pm, Billboard.com Bungalow; Sat., 9:40pm, Club de Ville.)

***.5

This article appears in March 19 • 2010.

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