Categories: Music

Unity and DJ Jaffa Create a Moment with New Record ‘Where We Belong’

“It’s tinged with grief… but it speaks of the circles of life, change, and being at peace with the world.” That’s how Cardiff-based lyricist Unity describes Where We Belong, her brand new 7-track collaborative project with Welsh hip hop legend DJ Jaffa, which dropped on August 1st. From the moment you hit play, you can feel that intention — it’s emotional, poetic, and grounded in real life. There’s a quiet power to it. And for Unity, who’s already been making serious waves across Wales and beyond, this feels like her most personal work yet.

This is Unity’s sixth release — and her first ever project without any featured vocalists. Just her voice, her thoughts, her lyricism, and Jaffa’s production. The result? A project that flows like water, sometimes still and reflective, sometimes stormy, but always carrying something deeper underneath. “It’s a very personal project, similar to my Diving Deeper album with water themes running throughout,” she says. It includes tracks like Can You Hear Me, Cello Memories, Earth, Wind and Fire, Where We Belong, and more — each one layered with storytelling and emotion. It’s the kind of album you sit with, replay, and hear something new every time.

The rollout began with Ripple, a lead single released on June 20th alongside a beautiful, meditative visual by Ya.Snaps. That was followed by a quirky video for the title track Where We Belong, shot in Unity’s signature style: thoughtful, grounded, but never too serious to play. By the time the full project arrived on August 1st, fans already knew they were in for something special. The album is available on SoundCloud and other platforms, and the visuals are up on YouTube — both worth a watch.

To celebrate the release, Unity threw a launch party on Saturday, August 2nd at The Full Moon in Cardiff. It was one of those nights that felt more like a community than a concert. Unity performed the full project live — with a couple of bonus tracks — and was joined by special guests like Quintessence MC, whose set delivered raw, soul-touching lyrics. DJ sets came from Bedos, the one and only DJ Jaffa, and Jamie Winchester, who even hosted an open hip hop cypher for any MCs brave enough to grab the mic. Entry was donation-based, with all proceeds going to Love Music Hate Racism, and the whole night ran from 7pm till 1:30am. It was 18+ and packed with people who came not just to hear music, but to feel it.

Unity’s career so far reads like a love letter to the UK underground — and especially to the Welsh hip hop scene. She’s had multiple plays on BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cardiff, and BBC6 Music, as well as international spins on stations like Raptz Radio in France, Sunny G in Scotland, Breaks & Bass in England, WVCC Radio in the US, and more. She’s performed solo and as a guest MC with jazz-hiphop fusion band Dirty Alex at festivals like Focus Wales, Wrexfest, Landed, Boomtown, Big Love, Llais, and Brecon Jazz Fringe. She’s also spoken at BBC 6 Music Festival, joining three other artists for an “In Conversation” segment with Afrodeutsche. From the big stages to the community events, she’s built her name step by step — and always with intention.

Over the years, Unity has opened for icons like Grandmaster Flash, Kae Tempest, Jam Baxter, Lazy Habits, The Scribes, Truemendous, Kofi Stone, Verb T and Blak Twang. Her music has been championed by Fresh on the Net, featured in Buzz Magazine, and picked up by BBC’s Orbit discovery series and the BBC Horizons Music & Mental Health series. She’s been nominated for multiple awards by Larynx Loaded — Wales’ most prominent MOBO platform — and is now working on another upcoming EP with Vice Beats, the renowned Bristol producer known for the only official UK J Dilla tribute.

Critics and tastemakers have caught on. Buzz Magazine described her style as one that “stitches folk, jazz and hip hop together in a consistently interesting and undiluted way.” Fresh on the Net called her music “positive, poetic and driven by a great energy.” Infinite Sounds said it plain and simple: “Unity is one to watch in hip hop. Mark my words.”

But despite the praise, Unity stays grounded. She releases music both independently and through Welsh labels Later Records and Bard Picasso, and her focus has always been on creating something real. Where We Belong is exactly that — real. It’s lyrical and raw, poetic and full of heart. It doesn’t chase hype. It builds its own rhythm and invites you to sit with it, to reflect, and to find where you belong in the story.