With tens of thousands of albums sold and hundreds of shows rocked, the word of mouth is spreading about Sweatshop Union's style of conscious lyrics, highly musical beats, and high energy live shows that far surpass the average hip hop concert. Campaigning to create awareness for their fourth album Water Street, Sweatshop are embarking on their most extensive phase of touring ever, hitting over 100 cities across North America in just over 4 months.

Sweatshop Union began as a collective of Vancouver-based artists pooling resources to release an album, transforming into a group in the process. The crew, made up of Kyprios, Dirty Circus, Pigeon Hole, and Innocent Bystanders, released their debut album Local 604 in late 2002 via indie label Battle Axe Records. In support of the album, they created three music videos and toured Canada with Jurassic 5 and Blackalicious, as well as then-labelmates Swollen Members and Abstract Rude. This was the beginning of a relentless touring schedule that has proven to be a key catalyst to solidifying their growing fan base and maintaining momentum.

Natural Progression, Sweatshop's sophomore album, hit streets in 2004 and cemented their position as a group to be reckoned with. More videos and touring followed; Sweatshop crisscrossed Canada, headlining several tours and also touring as the opening act for the Black Eyed Peas. Critical acclaim grew, and both college and commercial radio gave Sweatshop tracks substantial airtime. Nominations for a Juno Award (the Canadian Grammy), a MuchMusic Video Award, Canadian Radio Music Awards, and more piled up. Recognizing the appeal of Sweatshop Union's music, music supervisors used their music in dozens of films, television shows, and video games, creating even more international awareness.

2005 brought the release of the third Sweatshop Union album, United We Fall, featuring collaborations with Rob The Viking, Mad Child (Swollen Members) and DJ Revolution (The World Famous Wake Up Show). Canada was blanketed, more albums were sold, more audiences were rocked, and more accolades (including nominations for another Juno Award and MuchMusic Video Award) were received. In 2006 Sweatshop Union hit the road in the United States for the first time, giving their American fans a taste of what is to come. Since then, Sweatshop has rocked over 100 shows a year, a pace that that they have no intention of letting up.

Despite their heavy touring schedule Sweatshop Union still found time to record the 23 tracks that make up their latest album, which is almost entirely produced by members of the group. Water Street hits Canadian streets and online retailers on August 5th and will reach store shelves in the USA & internationally on October 14th, further solidifying their position as one of Canada's top selling independent hip hop artists. In a time when hip hop music remains soulless and simplistic in the eyes of the mainstream, Sweatshop Union remain driven to deliver a deeper, more meaningful sound into the conscience of the masses.

Featuring Shaymlusly Elliterate

Shaymlusly Elliterate consists of emcee's Elliterate (of Seattle, WA) & Shaymlus (Missoula, MT). In their short amount of time on the scene, they have released three full-length mixtapes, produced the musical score for two award winning Seattle theatrical productions (Seattle Public Theater's "Mauritius" & Theater Shmeater's "Crooked"), performed over 30 shows with the likes of Dead Prez, Nappy Roots, Tech N9ne, Murs, Curren$y, Nipsey Hussle & more, and were voted "Missoula's Best Local Band/Musician 2011" by the Missoulian newspaper. Currently, they are working on their fourth full-length, original mixtape, featuring a collaboration with hip-hop pioneer Spice 1 & underground legend Raashan Ahmad (of Crown City Rockers).

loading...

Starr Entertainment & Royale Entertainment present:

SWEATSHOP UNION
& Shaymlusly Elliterate
also performing
... Def 3
Pigeon Hole
ShmodZ

with Official all-night Afterparty hosted by Bassface Krew

Friday, January 20th
8:00 pm - 5:00 AM

American Legion Hall
825 Ronan Street
Missoula, Montana

Ages 15 and up
Full bar for 21+

TICKETS
Starting at $12
Available online via Brown Paper Tickets:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/218760
Physical Ticket availability to be announced
note: surcharges apply for those under 21

 

DOWNLOAD SE MIXTAPES BELOW:
shaymlusly-elliterate.bandcamp.com

More From 96.9 Zoo FM