Tell any member of Westurn Union (Soopafly, Demani, and Bad Lucc) that West Coast Hip-Hop is dead, and you’ll be lucky to walk away with all your teeth intact. And with that fierce regional loyalty, the trio seeks on their debut House Shoe Musik Vol. 1 not to bring the West back, but to show that it never left.
The mixtape starts strong with “Intro To The Union” and “Bird In The Hand.” The former boasts battle raps over classic G-Funk, while the latter takes pointed stabs at President Bush for his handling of the Iraq War. The Union next directs their attention to the South, particularly the “call and response” rap groups of Atlanta: Dem Franchise Boyz, D4L, and the Ying Yang Twins.
On “Hold Up,” the aforementioned party groups receive verbal lashings for being “clown ass rappers” and “sing-along characters.” The disdain in Damani and Bad Lucc’s voices is distinct, and the MC’s also proclaim “if crunk ain’t dead….check now!” Thankfully, the attacks are confined to one song, and the Union spends the rest of their project showing their musical worth instead of lamenting on the shortcomings of others.
The success of this mixtape largely rests on the versatility in Soopafly’s production. As with Snoop Dogg, Soopafly shows a wealth of musicacl knowledge; sampling everyone from Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes to X-Clan breaks.
“Mr. West” utilizes a clever reworking of Kanye’s Late Registration intro, while the potential hit first single “All Night” chops Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” into the perfect club jam for the twenty five and up crowd.
Without a Snoop Dogg collaboration in sight, Westurn Union’s debut shows that they can stand on their own musically and lyrically. Indeed, the group has made good on the claim made early on in the mixtape: “Our mixtape is harder than most of you ni***’s albums.”
Westurn Union Featuring BJ
“All Night”
Westurn Union
Cali Grown