Breaking his finger in seventh grade effectively ended Jerreau’s trumpet playing career, but began his career rapping.

Well, it may not have exactly began his rapping career, but it did give it a jump start.

“I played trumpet in the seventh grade, and then I started rapping,” said Jerreau. Each of the members, whether formal or not, have a long history with music, and they have each made it their career with rapping for Fly.Union.

“I didn’t study (music) past high school. I played instruments in high school, but I always created music and made beats throughout my life, same as Iye,” Jay Swifaa said.

Iyeball agreed. “All of our families have backgrounds in music,” he said.

With that those heavy roots in music, the members of Fly.Union are not without experience both on stage and off. The trio is known for meshing styles with rap, including a large influence from their home town and state: Columbus, Ohio.

“To be able to do shows in Columbus, Cleveland, Akron, and Cincinnati, it’s a great when you have the support from your own state,” Jerreau said.

Fly.Union may have beginnings in Columbus, but the members have been finding audiences around the nation who are amazed with their music. The group is fresh out of SXSW in Austin, in addition to having opened for Kendrick Lamar, performed at Jay-Z’s Made in America festival, and their music is heard in the shows Buckwild and Black Ink.

The difference between Fly.Union and other groups: they value their fans. A lot.

“Recently we have been introdcuting this thing at our shows of what our crowd wants to hear and work it into the set,” Iyeball said. “You don’t go on stage and hit play…it lets us take the energy from the fans, convert it, and give it back.”

The group’s style meshes layers into it’s beats and music, along with its innate influence from Ohio and the Midwest.

“We’ve got a lot of influences. Our style is whatever we feel at the moment,” Iye said. “We try to immerse ourselves in the culture and give something back to it.”

Their plans for 11fest? “Other than killing shit? Naw,” Jerreau said.

Follow them on Twitter: @FlyUnion

-Shelby Lum

@shelby_lum