Sweatshop Union

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Sweatshop Union
Sweatshop Union's logo
Background information
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Rappers Producers Graphic artists
Years active	2000 – present
Label(s)	Battleaxe Records (2002 - present)
Members
Kyprios Mr. Marmalade DJ Itchy Ron Metty the Dert Merchant Mos Eisley Dusty Melodica Conscience

Sweatshop Union is 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"^[1], and to produce their first album,^[2] which was published in 2001.

Known for an inventive and socially-conscious sound,^[3] 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.^[4] Speaking for the group, Mos Eisley put it as:

[T]o 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, [and] putting their careers on the line.^[4]

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.^[1]

Their 2004 album Natural Progression led to a Juno nomination^[5] and three Western Canadian Music Award nominations.^[6]^[7] They have been called part of "Vancouver's hip-hop Renaissance"^[8], and had their music featured in CBC Radio's "Make Some Noise" documentary.^[9] Their most recent album, United We Fall (released in 2005) is the group's favorite, reflecting the increasing maturity of their collaboration.^[10] They look to use it as a springboard to expand their touring to the east coast, and increase awareness about their music.^[11]

Current members of the group include Kyprios, Metty the DertMerchant, Mos Eisley, DJ Itchy Ron, Mr. Marmalade, Conscience, and Dusty Melodica. The members of the collective continue to work, and produce separately, similar to other hip-hop organizations like the Wu-tang clan.