Positive hip-hop vibes that dial up the golden era
This week we welcome Unagi, aka Brolin Winning, a rapper and music producer who recently performed in Epicenter’s first underground music showcase at The Local in Queens. Raised in a musical household with a professional jazz musician, Unagi played multiple instruments as a child, and was captivated by his stepdad’s massive record collection and in-home recording studio. He played trumpet in the school band, then bass, guitar and drums in an assortment of experimental noise-rock outfits as a teen.
A hip-hop head from day one, he started taking rapping and making beats seriously in the mid-’90s, working with his group, Discs of Tron, recording and performing around Western Massachusetts and writing reviews for iTunes as a side hustle. Disgruntled with the rise of the “shiny suit” era and increasingly corny state of music, he doubled down on producing, focusing on making uniquely funky instrumentals for himself and others. After relocating to San Francisco, he started his label 442 Records, inspired by the all Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which his grandfather had served with. It was the most highly decorated unit for its size and length of service in U.S. military history, though it remains virtually unknown to the public at large.
His self-titled debut album dropped in 2003, recorded entirely to cassette four-track on the SP-202 and Dr. Rhythm drum machine. It was a genre-bending affair jam-packed with a zillion samples, basically setting the stage for what became known as lo-fi beats and vaporwave although neither the terms nor the genres existed yet.
Over a decade-plus in the Bay Area, he worked with a wide assortment of underground heavy-hitters, including Infinito 2017, Eddie Meeks, Kero One and King Cesar (of Monsta Island Czars). He put out more albums and collaborated with many emcees, while DJing multiple residencies around the cityy. In 2009 he linked up with local legend Motion Man, releasing the cult classic LP, “Adult Situations.”
After returning to small-town Massachusetts, Unagi set up a studio deep in the woods and continued to record new music, just doing it for fun and putting it out online with zero attempt at promotion. Then in 2020 he got inspired to rap again, and started cranking out new songs at an alarming rate. Nearly a decade since his last show, he began performing live, and put out his first album doing all the rhymes and beats, “Terminally Eel,” in 2023.
Heavy on nostalgia and autobiographical storytelling, infused with a healthy dose of humor, tracks explored the ups and downs of aging, rural living, paying dues and a lifelong love of hip-hop. Now, three years later, Unagi is returning with “Western Mass Hysteria,” his 15th record, again rapping on every track and producing the whole thing, with an assist on the cuts from DJ Toro Bravo.
After living on both coasts for many years, his classic-style production is influenced by the Cali sounds of Dre and Muggs, as well as their NYC counterparts, Large Professor and Premier, plus the freakier vibes of Bay Area acts like Hieroglyphics and Digital Underground. Unorthodox sample sources, deep-cut references and never-quantized drums bring to mind MF DOOM and Dilla, while his wordy but smooth rhyme style harks back to Rakim and Lord Finesse.
If you’re an aging hip-hop head unimpressed by the current musical climate, or a younger cat with an ear for the golden era, Unagi is just what you need. In the game for nearly 30 years, he’s never changed his style to chase trends, and was always just ahead of the curve. Relentlessly funky and positive, his music is an antidote for all the bad vibes in today’s news cycle. Good time music for a crazy world.
“Western Mass Hysteria” drops on limited vinyl, CD and all digital platforms May 1.
For music, videos and more, visit unagi442.com
