Since my man Region closed down his blog a couple of months ago (remember escuchebien?), I figured I’ll go through some of the stuff I hit him up with and I’ll re-post it here for your convenience.

Sens Unik could well be called the first Swiss rap group that really made it big. Back in 1991, when Swiss hip-hop was still in its budding phase and nobody really had any albums or even 12″es out, Sens Unik exploded onto the small scene with their first album. They instantly put their city of Lausanne on the map and sent a quake across the country and into neighbouring France whose far advanced rap scene with IAM, NTM and MC Solaar had inspired them.

These are their first 4 albums and as you listen to them in sequence of appearance, you’ll be able to hear how their sound, almost exclusively produced by legendary Just One, evolves from more modest but already pretty very catchy tunes on their first, into a rich soundscape that can’t really be told apart from any top-notch international level production.
After their first album, MC Carlos shares the mic with Rade who’d only done beatboxing before that, and they take on French singer Sista D who later changes her name to Déborah.
On Chromatic, their third album, they are joined by Osez, who stays on board for two albums before he pursues his own solo career. And drummer Bio completes the group with his work behind the buckets. Especially their live shows with Rade’s seemingly never-ending beatboxing interludes will remain in every fan’s memory.

After these 4 albums, there have been two more, which I don’t plan to post yet. I may if somebody persuades me to.

Recently, the group has disbanded after over 15 years on top of the Swiss hip-hop scene, having enjoyed their success all over Europe as well as in Canada. MC Carlos has made some promising moves into acting (he scored a role in Casino Royale, among other roles and appearances in TV commercials) while the rest of the group seem to keep making music for Déborah’s solo albums and who knows what more.

01. Le VIeme Sens
02. L’Africain
03. Ceci N’Est Pas Fait Pour Moi
04. Beat Box Rade (Chronique)
05. To The Moon Please
06. Le Film De Ta Propre Vie
07. No Es Los Que Quiero (Mix 91)
08. Ceci N’Est Pas Fait Pour Moi (Remix)
09. Beat Box Rade (Chronique)

Sens Unik – Le VIème Sens (1991)

01. Les portes du temps
02. L’arche de Noe
03. Rira bien qui rira le dernier ft. Houairi K. (Alliance Ethnik)
04. Hijo de Latino ft. Osez
05. No 1 Top 50
06. Metro boulot dodo
07. Fiches
08. Tue ton poste
09. Eternel
10. Beat Box Rade
11. Dring dring quoi
12. Marche à suivre ft. IAM
13. La horde des faux
14. Live
15. Les rives du leman

Sens Unik – Les Portes du Temps (1992)

01. Chromatic
02. Rouge
03. L’ile Au Tresor
04. What I’ve Got
05. J’ai Peur Des Requins
06. Les Pendules A L’heure ft. Strike
07. Vert
08. Le 156 Rade
09. Le Repas ft. MC Solaar
10. Es Mi Tierra
11. HBBR
12. Laisse Toi Aller
13. Je Veux Des Vacances ft. Fabe
14. Bleu
15. Aujourd’hui
16. Demi-Lune
17. El Sueño
18. La Feuille Blanche

Sens Unik – Chromatic (1993)

01. Intron
02. Tu Aurais Pu Te Reposer
03. Mr. Commissaire
04. C’Est Toi Le Titre
05. Qui T’A Menti
06. Barbarian ft. Osez
07. Aucune Limite
08. Chronic
09. Don’t Break Me Down ft. Rockin Squat (Assassin), Pretty Boy Floyd, Snake Eyes
10. Rien N’A Change
11. Le Devant De La Scene
12. Courir
13. Paquito
14. State
15. Coolisse
16. Jeux De Societe
17. La Mission

Sens Unik – Tribulations (1996)

Sens Unik website

Paix, 9@home