Orikal Uno

Having just celebrated his 21st birthday, Orikal Uno has already established himself as a fixture on the celebrated Twin Cities music scene, He is probably well liked by your own favorite hip-hop artist, even if you’ve never heard of him. By 2011 that will probably change as Antonio Rosario a.k.a. Orikal Uno releases his debut LP simply titled Uno. The artist previously known simply as Orikal, has been a workaholic since first entering the game at the ripe age of 13. The native of the West Side of Saint Paul, self released numerous albums and mixtapes and shared stages with some local heroes from the Rhymesayers and Doomtree crews as well as many other Twin Cities hip-hop legends. 

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Three years ago he tapped longtime collaborator Anonimust to produce a full length debut LP for him that would set the stage for this next chapter in his career. Anonimust, who was previously known as “Jayechs” has been a long time fixture of the Twin Cities music scene and songwriter for artists locally and nationally. He gained his first exposure as a member of the groundbreaking hip-hop group S.U.S.P.E.C.T.S. and went on to continue a successful career producing songs for artists and music for TV and movies. As a father of two young children, the former Jayechs changed his stage name to Anonimust in 2007 to reflect the change in his musical style when he founded the group Hour to Hope, to personally work on positive music and no longer wrote songs that included profanity or the “n-word.” As a producer, he still allows a “no-holds barred” experience for the artists he works with, and for Orikal Uno he provided a soundtrack unlike anything ever attempted for a hip-hop artist.

Together the collaboration of Orikal Uno and Anonimust - two artists at the top of their game, and in a crossroads of life - made for an LP worthy of cover-to-cover listening, even in this world of song-by-song downloads in iTunes. Capturing three years of risk-taking and progressive songwriting, the album presents a fully-fledged introduction to one of the most innovative artists to emerge from the Twin Cities. This album ranges from the synth-pop influenced lead single, “Party like it’s 2012” which, to the blues-infused heartbreaker “You’re Sure Not Ready” all the way to the salsa-driven “Bacardi Island” featuring Maria Isa. Orikal Uno re-defines the creative limits of underground hip-hop.