UNECC

Columbus Ohio’s own Unecc featured real vocals and precision-sharp rap performances - Curve Magazine

Unecc and friends, the Columbus Women’s Chorus, Habeeba’s Bellydancers and Lisa O. are among other local acts that will keep the festivities going.

- Gay People's Chronicle

Unecc and friends, the Columbus Women’s Chorus, Habeeba’s Bellydancers and Lisa O. are among other local acts that will keep the festivities going.

- Gay People's Chronicle

This Week in Outlook• FEATURE - The Queer Music Issue: featuring The Fabulous Johnson Brothers, No Shade, Unecc, Team Smile & Nod, RJ Cowdery, Shane! Shane! Shane!, Donna Mogavero, Jana Mashonee, and Patrick Fleming's look at "American Out Idols."• EARTH TALK - What About the Smart Grid?• ARTS - The Phoenix Theatre for Children's Many Moons• THE EXAMINED LIFE - "Surfing the Urge for Tina"• SNAPSHOT - Network Columbus• Wayne Besen's Anything But Straight, Jack Fertig's Q Scopes, Romeo San Vincente's Deep Inside Hollywood, Dan Savage's Savage Love, Simon Sheppard's Sex Talk, Jacob Anderson-Minshall's TransNation, Adam Leddy's Out Business News spotlight on Scott Heimlich, Leslie Robinson with The Last Word, Community Corner, About Town, and more!


- Outlook Weekly

But screw political correctness. This is hip-hop, after all. And the Homorevolution Tour performers are not trying to sugarcoat the fact that they fall under the small but growing category of, as they say, "gay hip-hop."

When the tour made a stop in Minneapolis Sunday at the Pi Bar, it wasn't the city's first experience with this genre.

After all, Tori Fixx, the godfather of the GLBT hip-hop scene, calls the Twin Cities home. Alicia Leafgreen, better known as White Lesbian Rapper, has been causing a stir at straight Twin Cities' venues for a couple of years now.

But the Homorevolution Tour, or Homorev, as the artists involved call it, is still breaking new ground in Minnesota and all around the country. It is the first city-to-city tour of GLBT hip-hop artists.

Minneapolis was the tour's last stop, for now. The organizers, like creator Camilo Arenivar and Midwest tour manager Bigg Nugg said that they are taking this tour in spurts because the artists are essentially funding their own tour.

Homorev started in the Southwestern United States, where a majority of the original 17 performers were based. But the GLBT hip-hop movement started years before that.

Tori Fixx has been rapping for about 20 years now, he said. Living in California about a decade ago, he helped start what has evolved into an entirely new genre, and a movement for awareness, acceptance and equality.

The GLBT hip-hop scene received national attention with the release of 2005's "Pick up the Mic," a documentary exploring the genre and highlighting the "PeaceOUT World Homo-Hop Festival" that occurs every year in Oakland, Calif.

The Homorev tour itself was birthed unintentionally, Arenivar said. He manages Deadlee, one of the rappers featured on "Pick up the Mic," whose new album came out earlier this year. They wanted to gather up a couple of GLBT supporting acts to go on a tour with Deadlee to promote his new album. They found so many willing supporters, however, that Arenivar decided to expand the album tour into a first-of-its-kind GLBT hip-hop national tour.

"This is a slap in the face of hip-hop," Arenivar said. "We're gay and lesbian and we're out of the closet. They don't want to know that."

Indeed, the attention Homorev has received from mainstream media outlets - among them Tyra Banks, CNN and Rolling Stone - revolved directly around this tension between mainstream hip-hop and GLBT hip-hop.

"Hip-hop, more than any other musical genre, is blatantly misogynistic and homophobic," Tori Fixx said.

Although, according to Bigg Nugg, some major record labels have asked the Homorev artists to submit their albums for review, none of the artists have been signed. The reason, Homorev artist DaLyrical thinks, is fear.

"It's a struggle because mainstream hip-hop don't want to acknowledge who you are," she said. "But they're not going to be able to deny us very long because we're right there in their faces. And we're just as talented, if not more talented, than some of the people on (the major labels.) But they're scared because we're gay."

Another Homorev rapper, Unecc, agrees that it's frustrating how one personal fact inhibits their careers.

"It's sad that we are locked out because of who we choose to sleep with," she said.

The over-the-top posturing and straight-as-a-gun-barrel masculinity expressed through mainstream hip-hop culture alienates a lot of gay youth who otherwise enjoy the genre, the Homorev artists said. They are trying to counteract that image by saying what they are presenting is a more realistic image of hip-hop and homosexuality.

"We want people to know that what you thought was gay isn't. There are masculine gay men on stage, like Deadlee," Bigg Nugg explained. "Every lesbian is not the bulldog type; there are everyday women up on stage rapping."

Growing up as a hip-hop fan, White Lesbian Rapper said she was never bothered by the homophobia in the genre. It wasn't until she came out in her late teens that she started to notice the lyrics a little more.

"It bothers me now, but I'm sure my lyrics bother other people," she said. "I think people are able to say whatever they want. Just don't expect me to support what you're saying. You do your thing and I'll do mine."

All of the artists expressed a desire to represent all of who they were, not just a part of their beings.

"The overall message is that, beyond our differences, there is still talent and beauty and a diversity of thoughts," Tori Fixx said. "Our sexuality is just a part of who we are and where we're coming from in our music."

Highlighting the fact that these rappers and producers are homosexual does not change the fact that the Homorev artists are, first and foremost, hip-hop artists, Arenivar said.

"This is hip-hop," he said. "It's confronting social problems, fighting oppression through music, challenging mainstream ideas."

And how much more genuinely hip-hop can you get?

- MN DAILY By Megan Kadrmas

With almost every genre of entertainment there now is a queer subgenre. There are gay romantic comedies, dramas, even horror and science fiction films. There are gay musicals on Broadway and off, and queer literature has been around in one form or another for millennia. With music, each type of music has its own substrata of out, queer performers pushing the boundaries of their style.

In punk rock, for example, the homocore or queercore movement started in the 1980s and still is going today. Hip-hop, however, seemed to take a little longer to get out the big gay gate. While much of punk rock was political, or at the least anti-establishment, hip-hop is as much about partying as it is about protest. For every Public Enemy fighting the power, there are a dozen Naughty By Natures trying to get some OPP.

That all began to change by the dawn of the new millennium, however. Groups like Deep Dickollective, God-Des and She, Team Gina and individuals like Tori Fixx, Katastrophe, Deadlee and other picked up the mantle of homo-hop, organizing festivals like the PeaceOut World Homo Hop Festival.

Now, the HomoRevolution tour is traveling across the country, filling in the gaps that the coastal PeaceOut might miss. Rapper Bigg Nugg, a native of Fremont, Ohio, and co-organizer of the tour, is excited about its only Ohio stop currently scheduled, in Columbus on October 4.

"Columbus' date will actually be a Bigg Nugg headlining show, due to artists having to withdraw from the tour," he said. "So it will be Unecc (pronounced Unique), DaLyrical, and myself." Nugg was effusive in his praise of the women with whom he will perform. "

Unecc has a great stage presence and her flows are off the chain. She is actually a Columbus native, so I'm sure her home town will bring the love!" he noted. "DaLyrical comes to us from Atlanta, but she too also lived in Columbus at one point in her career," he continued. "She has so much charisma on stage with her delivery that it is amazing to watch. And her tracks and her knowledge definitely need to be heard."

The rapper has been playing in bands for 12 years, but picked up the mike and became an MC as Bigg Nugg three years ago. He says that Fremont, despite being a small town, is big on hip-hop. "Fremont's culture is pretty hip-hop driven. It's a little city with big city problems, as I like to say," he noted. "So I think the people there relate to it more. There are also some tight hip-hop artists there as well. I have one cousin that flows, and another that produces tight beats."

Nugg signed with Milo Management in Los Angeles last year, putting him in a family with Deadlee, Delacruz, Salvimez, Tori Fixx and Shorty Roc, and it was through that family that the tour was created. Although Columbus' show is currently the only Ohio date, organizers are looking to bring it back through the state in 2008, possibly paired with the documentary film Pick Up the Mic by Alex Hinton. The film is where the tour got its name.

The homo hop scene is growing, and will continue to do so, he believes. "We are not quite there yet, but we are growing," he said, noting that it stretches beyond the country's borders. "It's international as well, with great artists like Qboy, Mz. Fontaine and Gay Fight Club. This gay hip-hop scene has a very underground, punk feeling about it. It's very indie, and the community is very tight." "And our followers are the most loyal fans," he said. "We are only going to grow and grow until we are in every Best Buy around the world!" That growth is the most notable change he has seen since he started following homo hop.

"The scene has seen dozens of new gay hip-hop artists lately, which is dope," he opined. "I am glad more people know they can stand up and really take a hold of this conscious movement."

"The main thing I notice is all of the artists' ability to do more shows, and to take their live shows nationally and internationally," he continued. "Artists on the HomoRevolution Tour, as well as Katastrophe who is doing a ton of dates this year, need to be commended for spreading the love."

The HomoRevolution Tour hits Jacks Bar, 2210 Summit Street in Columbus on Thursday, October 4. Doors open at 10:30 pm, the show is at 11 pm. Tickets are $5, and available now at www.gaymusicusa.com. More information about the show is available at www.homorevolution.com, and Bigg Nugg can be found online at www.myspace.com/biggnugg.
- OHIO's GAY PEOPLE's CHRONICLE

Also performing at Lenny's was DaLyrical, Atlanta's own HomoHopper. I first saw her perform at Black Pride a couple of years ago. She struck me then as very talented onstage and almost painfully shy offstage. A couple of years later, she seems to be growing into the increasing attention. I did not have the chance to talk with her offstage, but her onstage performance was more connected and more confident that I remembered. DaLyrical is getting sexier, and her performance with Ohio's Unecc got many of us hot from more than the Atlanta spring heat. Before her performance, DaLyrical shared that family tragedy had her distracted, but she put aside personal worries and gave the MondoHomo crowd all she had.

If you missed MondoHomo, you still have a chance to experience
- Life On Q -written by Laura T

The HomoRevolution Tour 2007 is wrapping up performances after the successful first year with the homo-hip-hop tour. Gay and lesbian hip-hop artists from all over the nation gathered together in March of 2007 and began to spread vocal awareness of homosexuality and personal experiences through up-beat tempos and hardcore lyrics. Homo-hip-hop artists toured and performed anywhere they could get a microphone plugged in. They went from such diverse places as San Francisco to Atlanta and made a huge impact on their audiences at each stop. Along the route Bigg Nugg, DaLyrical and Unecc (pronounced “Unique”) stopped at a little place called Jack’s in Columbus, OH.

While performing they were able to get the crowd involved with their back-up dancers, lyrics and beats. They took a small stage and made it seem 10 times its size with all the talent they piled onto it. This is, musically, the start of a real revolution although the tour is wrapping up on Dec. 5 at Club Cobra in North Hollywood, the 2008 dates and ticket information are currently posted on their Web site (homorevolution.com) and they are looking forward to more GLBT performers and followers to join the “homohop” bandwagon.


Tell us about the HomoRevolution Tour 2007.
Bigg Nugg: Well, the tour started out kind of like a Deadlee-headlining tour and then it turned into this big collection of people like Tori Fixx, Johnny Dangerous and JFP we just really wanted to work with them. We started in San Diego and then we were in L.A. then we hit all the big cities and ended up in Dallas we had 10 shows in 12 days! Imagine 12 gay rappers in one van, it can get interesting.

What kind of message are you trying to send with your music?
Bigg Nugg: More of a conscious message and letting people know that you can be who you are, you can be real. Mainstream hip-hop is so glorified that if you can come out and be real, I mean if its gay say it’s gay and if that’s what you’re talking about then that’s what your talking about. Your going to connect with someone out there no matter what so I think breaking those stereo types like I do when I get up there and say what I say some people take it as “did he really just say that?” and at the same time something clicks and having that reaction with the crowd and audience is what its all about.

What’s your perspective on the tour and how did you get involved?
Unecc: Bigg Nugg, at first I was surprised because I had looked on-line and seen the website and I wondered how I could become a part of this then he asked me and at first and I thought it was a joke, but then I was like ‘sure let’s do this.’

DaLyrical: I became part of the HomoRevolution Tour completely by fluke because I met up with everybody at Mondo Homo [in Atlanta]. I was part of that show but some of the entertainers canceled and I was in the right place at the right time and got to perform that night they liked what they saw and added me to the tour. I am pretty blessed to be a part of this, I enjoy it and I am glad to be on the roster. This tour is groundbreaking and I am glad to be a part of it.

DaLyrical, what’s coming up with your music?
DaLyrical: Well I just dropped my second album call Proud and I am getting a lot of good feedback from it and I am working on touring on my own and this tour is helping me get further, everything I have done up to this point has helped me get a little bit further. I hope to have a new album next year but hopefully I am too busy to work on anything. My music is about me just whatever I am feeling. I grew up on rock-and-roll—KISS is my favorite band of all time. I thought I was Gene Simmons growing up, can you imagine a little black kid … [laughs].

Who inspires you?
DaLyrical: I would say MC Lyte, Queen Latifah and all the old schools, because to me, now the music just ain’t the same. I live in Atlanta and it’s like your turn on the radio and everything just sounds the same so I don’t listen to [newer] songs that much.

Unecc: Smokey Robinson … but right now it’s Left Eye. I love Left Eye! That is my mentor, my idol. I met her once when I was 13 years old and I just loved the realness that came from her. She would walk up to anybody and tell like it is. I am also enjoying Remy and Trina.

What are you up to besides the HomoRevolution Tour?
Unecc: Well what we are doing right now is trying to start and indie record label, it is just real family oriented, I mean people have never really seen a brother and sister rap group together it is all about the music not gay or straight it is just about being who we are. There is just something about being me that I really enjoy. Literally this is coming out of our pockets I am working two jobs and I built my studio in my condo, so all I really know is work, work, work.
- Curve Magazine Issue: 17#10

Hip hop/rap artist UNECC joins Weezer in the cafe to share some music off of her new CD Life is Beautiful. Join us as we chat about her new music, women & politics.
Music provided by UNECC/ Album: Life is Beautiful
- TheCooterCafe

Unecc has been on the Out Hip Hop scene for a few years now. But in the past year she has collaborated with the Homo Revolution Tour(s) and the Unity Tour. Now we get a chance to learn more about her!

You have been described as the "female" Jay-Z by Melange Lavonne. Why don't you let us all know where you are from, and where you are now located?

Melange is a breath of fresh air...she’s on my i tunes that's my cuzzo...she's a BEAUTIFUL human being...inside and out. I can't wait to lay down some tracks with her. I'm from the South Bronx, New York born and raised until my early teens...came to Columbus Ohio after my moms passed. I love OHIO very comfortable we in the middle.

You have a rap group with your brother (who is straight) called UntouchablE. Please tell us about that. Also, do you play both straight and gay events/ clubs?

UntouchablE started by default actually, me and my brother were under the same manager, wanting something fresh and new...we decided to become a group. You don't see a lot of brother and sister combo's in hip hop... A big plus is being individual artist as well. It's like having clean and dirty mixed...guess we already know where that would put me. We looked at the meaning and studied "UntouchablE" ...Ironically it starts with a "U" (Unecc) ends with an E (E). So in between we UntouchablE together we UntouchablE. I brought the hip hop game to E when I came to Ohio in the 90's. We been doing this since we were kids. We've performed at a couple of different Prides and Clubs throughout the Midwest...both straight and GLBT clubs. Detroit's Hotter Than July...D.C Pride...Indiana Pride...Columbus Pride. We hit Nashville and Chattanooga earlier this year with the Fo Dem Ladeez Tour we are apart of... I've been on the road since February I'm sitting a goal to hit road all of next year!

You are completing your first full-length solo release titled "Life Is Beautiful", how is the album shaping up?

It's crazy cause I've done 5 or 6 Mix tapes the last couple of years and this album by far is a challenge. I feel like it's a side of me that some folks really don't get a chance to see. I named it "Life Is Beautiful" cause even though I've been through some trying things for some years. Life still is very beautiful when you realize what it means. This album is me in a very open state of mind. I have a couple of different producers and collabo's on it... I’m working with Nugget Audio and Bigg Nugg is making an appearance in a BIGG BIGG way of course...Cat Eyez coming through...I have my group Society Rejectz making a debut on it...Mz Fontaine is dropping some fire...lets see... I will leave the rest for the mind to wonder lets just say I'm reaching out to OUR community and the album has about 15 to 16 tracks and some crazy skits AMERICA needs to hear! With some special treats hidden for my fam as well yep!

How do you feel about the current growth in the OutHipHop community?

The growth is great...we still have some establishing to do...but for the most part I see it opening up better than a lot of folks expected. There are some great Artists out who will rise above and beyond in the next few years to come...A lot of us have broken barriers already with hip hop in the big cities..small cities. With technology and the free ability to expose yourself to a wide variety of people we moving quickly. It's about dedication and hard work and something inside of an artist that just is...look at the different genres of music that's standing up. With LOGO and Internet shows we have the ability to be seen like mainstream and that's hot! Foxx was in XXL Magazine just recently...Melange is on FIYAH! Johnny Dangerous Blazin!...etc It's so FRESH to have my fam in my car when I'm riding by....

Who was the first "Out" hip hop performer you heard of, or touched b ase with?

I seen Caushun I hope I spelled it right a couple of years back on a BET show...and sad to say I was not impressed at all...I just felt it was more a joke than anything...then the HIP HOP Heads came out and started representing...it went from 10 to 20 and now there has got to be over 100 of us...I Linked up with Bigg Nugg in 07 for the H.R Tour...Its funny cause I really thought someone was playing a prank. I got a message on my Youtube Channel and the rest is what it is that's my baby!

Any future collaboration you are excited about, guest appearances you make on others CD’s, etc?

I recently met Tim'm @ Mondo Homo and we are gonna link up and do something real educating and open for the community to embrace...that project is hits home real close so im very excited! I did a hot joint called "Finer Things" with my familia Bigg Nugg on his new one...and T Fixx blessed me with a chance to be on his as well... Also UntouchablE is working on the first studio Album schedule for later this year. I'm producing the soundtrack for a gay movie filmed in Columbus this fall...as well as 50 other things I've got my hands in lol

If you could work with one producer in hip hop today, who would it be, and why?

Being able to work with TORI FIXX words can't even explain...I just smile every time I say his name...or hear his voice. Wishing on a star... I would love to work with Kanye West I think he is a Genius when it comes to music and art...his overall approach and attitude is amazing!!! He inspires me to do me!

You were recently a headliner at Mondo Homo '08. How was your experience?

Mondo Homo was HOT!!! In every aspect of the way! I had a lady jump on me onstage that was a first...wild...but it was cool I didn't get violated! I had FIBS (Tufu Ribs) and it taste just like the real thing to me...haven't had meat in a long long time!!! We were hosted by some Wonderful fam. ATLANTA was very GREAT and for my first I can’t complain! It must have been about 6 or 7 of us on that stage just working DaLyrical "Pocket Full of Digits". It was HOT...guess that's why they call it HOTLANTA!

Any shout outs?

Fa Sho... Shout outs to HUMANS...lets stand up for LIFE!!! Luster for keeping me grounded through this ride... Christina Nicole...Rina G...T Hezzy...Unc... Stephan W for keeping me on the pics...Bigg Nugg, DaLyrical...Melange... Prince Cat Eyez, My BOO DAMN SHE FINE FOXX Jazell...T FIXX...Shorty Roc...Deadlee...Aliza aka Haywood!!...BadKat....Captain Magik...Classic...Young D zy... E....DJ Soraya...Dutch's...Society Rejectz...MC Envy...Femme Mystique...Jessi & Tabbi...Marc...Myko...Nakita...Noka Davers...Poka... VIVA... HIT M ENTERTAINMENT & Classic Creations...and my fam yall know who yall is! O yeah my TOP 40 on MYSPACE LOL!


- Interview by Asst. Editor "greenThumb"

Unecc introduced her version of ‘Life Is Beautiful’ based on the Spanish movie ‘La Vita E Bella’ that changed her perception of life during a time when she felt against the odds in her career, personal relationship, and struggled to survive in today's economy. She saw the movie during a time in her life when she was trying to make peace with her past and her parents’ choices. During the make of the album Unecc was also dealing with frustration about people around her creating misery due to an inability to overcome negativity in life and find happiness.

“Watching ‘La Vita E Bella’ was like watching my life,” Unecc explained to me during our phone interview on October 8, 2009. “The message of the movie was clear: don’t deny who you are. ‘Life Is Beautiful’(the movie) transformed my hate for the lifestyle I grew up in into love and the shame I felt about my past into pride for who I am and where I come from. I felt inspired to create this album ‘Life Is Beautiful,’ which is my way of telling the world why you should celebrate life no matter what is going on. Just be thankful you’re here.”

Having personally listened to the album and spoken with the soulful lyricist Unecc I was thrilled to find something extremely unique and passionate. Hip Hop mixed with soulful meaning and spiritually enticing melodies are instilled with concrete human-right movement morals and values. The tracks on this album reveal how Unecc has lived and struggled then found her empowerment and made a true peace with her own past demons.

Tracks like Slow Bomb and Lost It illustrate not to allow haunting memories of traumatic experiences such as rape and incest keep you down because no matter what you’re facing the obstacle is there for you to overcome. You should feel no shame because life is a reflection of who you are and what you have faced. Her lyrics are filled with a powerful expression of why so many people lose control from time to time. She empowers a message I feel very strongly about: the way people choose to act effects you emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually, but how you choose to cope and act afterward is what will heal and instill strength in all aspects of life. This means if you soul search and dig for positive light the people who have harmed you in your life lose their control over you. They can no longer influence you.

Unecc verbalizes the emotional ups and downs of love and all its aspects in Pretty Brown Brown, Never Lie, Forever Beautiful, LaLaLa, You Scared, and Hey Lover. Making yourself vulnerable to love and open to trust your significant other is no easy task. Relationships are hard work. Unecc instills in her listeners that one of the hardest obstacles in relationships is to never lie about where you really stand. Unecc says, “truth is the best protection for me and you.” She isn’t lying either because we all know trust once broken is rarely ever capable of being fixed. Love is the ultimate gift between two people and it is forever beautiful even once its broken. We all have experienced the downside of love. When you take the chance of loving anyone and trusting them you are vulnerable to the risk that the future may not go the way you expect it to. When you do find yourself in this situation Unecc gives voice to how hard it is to let them go. Most of us have at least one person in our lives where the best thing to do is love them from a distance. To me it is the most challenging way for a person to help another human being. In any variation of love or lust you may be experiencing there is something for everyone on this album.

Songs like Swag, Live Yours, Who You Are, and Life Is Beautiful spread the message to live, laugh, and love all while being true to yourself. You have nothing to prove to anyone except yourself. The pride and passion Unecc has in herself and life is unforgettable. One of the messages standing out to me is the only person you have the right to judge and measure is yourself, how you treat people, and what you are contributing to the world. All we do on earth is express who we are. We are all from God so why would you ever try to repress anyone’s form of expression? When you have the courage to live your truth then you are finally free. Unecc advizes all people to “Never give up, never give hope away.” Life is your chance to be who you are and see what you are made of. When you choose to uncover yourself the journey you take discovering who you are becomes the only reason you need to celebrate life.“Never give up on who you are” for anything.

There couldn’t be a better ending track to an album like Life Is Beautiful than the last song Viral. Unecc states it simply, “Life is what it is.” This translates as life is what you put into it. With negativity you can make life miserable for yourself and others. With positivity you can recognize what you gain from your hard times. In this light those hard times become the strength of your character and you begin to manage your obstacles instead of being continuously defeated by them. Stress levels are reduced and the soulful truth that life is beautiful becomes reality.

- Nicole Smith

Stonewall Columbus Executive Director, Karla Rothan, interviews Pride Festival Performer Unecc who will be performing with Unecc and Friends on Saturday, June 28th on the Main Festival Stage.

They talk about her performance at the Columbus Diversity Pride Events, what she has coming up and what to expect from them at Columbus Pride 2008.

****INTERVIEW IS ON PODCAST FOR REVIEW GO TO URL BELOW****
- Stonewall Columbus