Sweatshop Union: Awareness Through Music

Vancouver hip-hop collective Sweatshop Union manages to balance a socially and politically conscious message with refreshing musical tracks on their latest CD, Water Street. The group, comprised of seven Vancouver rappers, has been performing and recording together since 2000, and today has a solid fan base across the US and Canada. From rapping about rampant materialism to the importance of individuality, Sweatshop Union has become known for its lyrics that deal with important societal issues.

“[This subject matter] is just a product of my environment,” explains Sweatshop rapper Kyprios. “As much as I had fun listening to NWA and 2 Live Crew, I wasn’t going to talk about the things they were because I wasn’t a gangster and I wasn’t a pimp. I could identify with some of the more socially conscious artists.”

Growing up in middle-class Vancouver as opposed to the streets of Compton has allowed Kyprios and Sweatshop Union the privilege of focusing on social issues they care about. “Politics kind of permeates every fact of everyday life,” says Kyprios, “so I find it difficult sometimes not to address it.” And while they don’t set out to beat people over the head with it, affecting change on the issues the songs discuss is an added benefit.

One issue that especially worries Kyprios is the current US financial crisis. “It would be naïve to think that it wouldn’t affect our economy. It’s the disposable income that is generally what laymen spend on music and arts. People have already stopped spending on records, so the one solace that artists had was that you could go tour and get in front of people. If they’re on a budget, well, [they’ll say], ‘I can’t go to this show because I have to get my groceries.’ It trickles down.”

Kyprios draws a parallel here with the current Canadian political climate, in which arts funding is typically the first thing to be cut by the government, funding which has allowed for Sweatshop Union’s very existence. “It’s a beautiful thing that we have [arts funding] in our country, and unfortunately the government is trying to cut out the artist grants. That would be very debilitating to thousands of Canadian artists.”

True Canadian artists through and through, Sweatshop Union continues to impress with their great beats and meaningful words.