Strength within ALWAYS BELIEVE is not a one-dimensional concept. Throughout their new album, U-Warrior delves into themes of resilience via various voices, generations, states of mind, and viewpoints, which enables the project to transition from celebration, contemplation, ambition, vulnerability, to loss. For the three Berlin-based producers, such diversity becomes crucial for creating something that will feel bigger than just a collection of singles.
One of the best illustrations is provided by how the album begins and ends. “Godmother Pt. 1,” featuring Ché Noir, opens the project with a sharp storytelling performance and a distinctly feminine perspective. “Godmother Pt. 2,” featuring Lil Keyu, closes it from another angle. U-Warrior describes the two songs as a set of parentheses around the album, creating a framework that gives the project a sense of continuity.
The choice to open and close the album with songs featuring women was quite deliberate. The representation of women is considered by U-Warrior as a vital part of the project, rather than an accidental detail. Ché Noir sets this perspective from the very beginning, giving the project its initial purpose and theme of strength in diversity. Lil Keyu adds her own unique element to the closing track. She goes on the offensive and contributes an entirely new outlook to this last record that will see the album out with some kind of shift, yet still maintaining the opening message.
This sense of acceptance of differences is also reflected in ALWAYS BELIEVE as a whole. U-Warrior does not try to create a sound or mood for the entire album but lets it flow through a variety of styles from boom bap to Southern rap, lo-fi beats, soul, and current hip hop, creating room for each collaborator to bring something distinctive to the project.
As in the case of “Last Porn”, where Juvenile meets up with The Musalini. The producers were particularly interested in hearing Juvenile approach a production unlike what listeners might normally associate with him. His performance brings a different energy to the record, while Musalini provides a contrasting presence that completes the pairing.
Elsewhere, “2 Sides” places G Perico and Sham1016 alongside Masta Ace, connecting West Coast and New York perspectives while bringing different generations of artists into the same musical setting. The contrast is part of the point. Rather than treating differences in style, age, or geography as obstacles, U-Warrior uses them as creative possibilities.
Some of the album’s most significant contrasts, however, are emotional. “Best Kind,” featuring Maxo Kream and the late August 08, carries a different weight following August’s passing in 2023. U-Warrior remembers being immediately struck by his voice when his vocals arrived, describing the experience as one that gave the producers goosebumps. The group had traveled to Los Angeles intending to shoot with August, but the timing ultimately did not work out. His death transformed the meaning of the finished song. What began as another collaboration became a reminder of an artist whose career still had so much ahead of it. U-Warrior’s reaction is rooted less in the mythology surrounding his passing than in genuine admiration for what he could still have created.
That emotional dimension helps explain why ALWAYS BELIEVE is not simply concerned with technical production or impressive collaborations. The producers wanted to create music that could carry meaning beyond its initial release.
Even the album’s wrestling influences reflect that interest in changing perspectives. U-Warrior grew up fascinated by the way wrestling blends entertainment and illusion, where villains can become heroes and appearances can change without warning. The group sees parallels between that world, everyday life, and the music industry.
Ultimately, ALWAYS BELIEVE asks listeners to accept those contradictions rather than smooth them out. Strength can coexist with vulnerability. Celebration can sit alongside loss. Different generations can occupy the same record. An album can look backward to childhood while still pointing toward the future.
The ideas running through ALWAYS BELIEVE at the end of the day point toward the same principle that gives the album its name. Music can hold celebration and grief, nostalgia and ambition, individuality and collaboration all at once. By allowing those contrasts to remain part of the project, U-Warrior has created an album that reflects the unpredictability of both creativity and life. With more music already taking shape, including two EPs, a Detroit collaboration, and a second album, the group is continuing to build on that foundation while holding onto the belief that the most meaningful work is worth taking the time to create.
Listen to U-Warrior’s New Album ALWAYS BELIEVE, out now: