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Biography
Refimprove|date=August 2008Infobox musical artist | name = Swollen Members| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = group_or_band| origin = Vancouver, British Columbia , Canada | genre = Alternative Hip-Hop | years_active = Start date|1992present| label = Battleaxe, Suburban Noize Records|Suburban Noize | associated_acts = Rock Steady Crew Moka Only Dilated Peoples La Coka Nostra Tre Nyce| current_members = Mad Child (1996-present) Prevail (musician)|Prevail (1992-present) Rob The Viking (2002-present)| past_members = Moka Only (1992-1996, 2002-2005) Easy Roc (1992-1998) Zodak (1996-1998)| website = URL|swollenmembers.com Swollen Members is a Canadian Hip hop music|hip hop group from Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria , British Columbia , Canada consisting mainly of the duo Mad Child , and Prevail (musician)|Prevail . Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only (who was actually a member of the group for a short period of time in the 1990s, and then again from 20022005) and producer Rob the Viking, an official group member since 2002. Since the group's formation in 1996, Swollen Members has released five studio albums, one greatest hits album and 2 compilations, as well as numerous other singles.
History
Swollen Members was founded in the mid-1990s by Vancouverites Mad Child (Shane Bunting), Prevail (Kiley Hendriks), Rob the Viking, and Moka Only (Daniel Denton). Having begun a solo career while living in San Francisco|San Francisco, California , Mad Child returned to Vancouver to work. There he met Prevail and Moka Only, who had been working together. They joined together under the name Swollen Members.
In 1996, Mad Child and Prevail went to the B-Boy Summit in San Diego|San Diego, California , where Mad Child won several freestyle rap|rap battles and was initiated into the Rock Steady Crew . Swollen Members is one of only three rap groups affiliated with Rock Steady, Others include Dilated Peoples and The Arsonists.
Their first releases were three 12" singles on Mad Child's record label Battleaxe Records, between the years of 1996 and 1998, then came the debut album Balance (Swollen Members album)|Balance in 1999. Balance received wide critical acclaim and has since sold over 41,000 copies in Canada. Featuring collaborations with artists such as Everlast (singer)|Everlast , Divine Styler , and Dilated Peoples , the album received the Juno Awards of 2001|2001 Juno Award for Best Rap Recording.
Following Balance , Swollen Members recorded and released Bad Dreams (album)|Bad Dreams , released on November 13, 2001, and featuring guests such as Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 , Son Doobie , Joey Chavez , and former member Moka Only. It appealed to both underground and mainstream audiences, with several singles reaching platinum status in Canada. The album earned Swollen Members their second Juno Award and four MuchMusic Video Awards including best rap video, best director and best independent video. http://www.billboard.com/news/swollen-members-clean-up-at-muchmusic-awards-1516974.story#/news/swollen-members-clean-up-at-muchmusic-awards-1516974.story "Swollen Members Clean Up At MuchMusic Awards" Billboard (magazine)|Billboard June 2002
2002's Monsters in the Closet , their third release, brought official group membership for Moka Only and Rob The Viking to Swollen Members. Monsters in the Closet was a collection of B-sides and outtakes along with three new songs, "Breathe" which featured British Columbian pop singer, Nelly Furtado . Production credits include Evidence (rapper)|Evidence from Dilated Peoples.
In 2003, the band released Heavy (Swollen Members album)|Heavy . In the same year the songs "All Night" and "Deep End ( Utah Saints Remix)" were featured in the videogame SSX3 . In 2004, the Swollen Members song "Bottom Line" was featured in the videogames WWE Day of Reckoning and WWE SmackDown& #33; vs. Raw .
In 2005, Moka Only decided to break off from the group for a second time and continue work on his solo career. The following year, Swollen Members released their fifth full album, Black Magic (Swollen Members album)|Black Magic . It is understood that Mad Child and Prevail made an attempt to return to their previously critically acclaimed style and method. Their previous album Heavy was unlisted on their official site discography. A single from the album, "Put Me On (feat. Everlast (musician)|Everlast )", was released in August 2006. Later that year, Nettwerk Management dropped the group due to Mad Child's affiliation with the Hell's Angels.Woo, Andrea. http://exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx? csid1=138& csid2=946& fid1=42067 "Conversations: Swollen Members", " Exclaim! " November 2009.
Armed to the Teeth (Swollen Members album)|Armed to the Teeth was released October 27, 2009 through Swollen's new label Suburban Noize Records. Featured artists on the album include La Coka Nostra , Talib Kweli , Tech N9ne , Tre Nyce, and a return of Moka Only on the previously-released track, "Red Dragon". This release was followed by a North American tour with Australian Hip-Hop group Bliss 'n' Eso.
Swollen Members scheduled the release of a studio album, Dagger Mouth , for April 2011, under Suburban Noize. Its first single is "Mr. Impossible". http://musicremedy.com/s/swollen-members/videos/mr-impossible-51313.html The second single released off Dagger Mouth is "Bring Me Down" which features rapper Saigon (rapper)|Saigon . A compilation album titled Monsters 2 was released August 2, 2011.
On December 6, Swollen released a compilation of previously unreleased tracks from 1997, titled 1997 the rap group Dilated Peoples was featured on the track Canada 3000 .
The song "High Road" was featured in the movie "One Big Trip". The song includes many audio clips from the movie. Mad Child's first verse mentions the movie directly "Just like this movie Big Trip, where five drive across the country as they journey through new realms, the helm of an adventure as they capture it on film."
On August 5 and 6, 2011, Mad Child participated in World Domination 2, an mc battle event thrown by King Of The DOT a battle league from Canada which featured mcs from all over the world. Mad Child battled Dirt Bag dan for 3 rounds a top mc from grind time west coast division. Mad Child won by a split decision. In 2012, Swollen Members appeared on '' Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium '', a remix album prepackaged with Insane Clown Posse 's twelfth studio album The Mighty Death Pop! . http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=JU8fwgGMiGU
Canadian Recording Industry Association|CAN : Platinumcite web |url= http://www.cria.ca/gold/0902_g.php |title=Gold & Platinum Certification September 2002 |publisher= Canadian Recording Industry Association |accessdate=2010-08-20
CAN sales: 100,000
2003
Heavy
Released: November 18, 2003
Label: Battleaxe
14
CAN sales: 25,000cite web|author=Karen Bliss |url= http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Lowdown/2005/08/15/1174276.html |title=CANOE - JAM& #33; Music - Karen Bliss's Lowdown: Insider Canadian music news: Swollen Members returns to darker roots |publisher=Jam.canoe.ca |date=2005-08-15 |accessdate=2010-12-22
2006
Black Magic
Released: September 12, 2006
Label: Battleaxe
22
19
21
2009
Armed to the Teeth
Released: October 27, 2009
Label: Suburban Noize Records|Suburban Noize
19
146
5
23
2011
Dagger Mouth
Released: April 12, 2011 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LFO0LU
Label: Suburban Noize
15
3
41
2011
1997
Released: December 6, 2011
Label: Battleaxe
2012
Beautiful Death Machine
Release Date: 2012
Label: Suburban Noize
TBD
Solo albums
2009: Baseball Bat and Nails ( Prevail (musician)|Prevail solo EP)
2009: The Mad Child EP ( Mad Child solo EP)
2011: Madchild - King Of Pain EP
2011: Madchild Banned in America EP
2011: MadChild of Swollen Members -M.A.D.E
2012: Spasefase EP (Prevail solo EP) http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/spasefase-ep/id492918845 #50 CAN
2012: Little Monster (Mad Child solo EP)
2012: Dope Sick (Mad Child solo EP) http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/madchild-dope-sick/BAT305CD/
Collaborations
2007 - Vocal credits for "Artillery" on Israeli psychedelic trance duo Infected Mushroom 's 2007 album release, Vicious Delicious
Music videos
Year
Song
Director(s)
2000
"Lady Venom"
Trevor Cornish
2001
"Take It Back"
"Deep End"
Jason Goldwatch
2002
"Bring It Home"
"Fuel Injected"
Wendy Morgan
"Steppin Thru"
Wendy Morgan
"Breathe" (feat. Nelly Furtado )
Todd MacFarlane
2003
"Watch This"
2006
"Too Hot"
(feat. Everlast (musician)>Everlast )
Margaret Malandruccolo
"Pressure"
2009
"Warrior" (feat. Young Kazh)
Chad Archibald & Philip Carrer
"Bollywood Chick" (feat. Tech N9ne )
2010
"Pornstar"
Chad Archibald & Philip Carrer
2011
"Mr. Impossible"
Mr. Invisible
2011
"Bring Me Down (Swollen Mix)" (feat. Saigon)
Mr. Invisible
2011
"Night Vision"
2011
"Do Or Die"
Awards and recognition
Juno Awards
2001 - Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year|Best Rap Recording ( Balance )
2002 - Best Rap Recording ( Bad Dreams )
2003 - Rap Recording of the Year ( Monsters In The Closet )
2007 - Rap Recording of the Year ( Black Magic )
MuchMusic Video Awards
2002 - MuchVIBE Best Rap Video ("Fuel Injected" feat. Moka Only and directed by Wendy Morgan)
2002 - MuchMusic Best Director ("Fuel Injected" feat. Moka Only and directed by Wendy Morgan)
2002 - MuchMusic VideoFACT Award ("Fuel Injected" feat. Moka Only and directed by Wendy Morgan)
2002 - MuchMusic Best Independent Video ("Fuel Injected" feat. Moka Only and directed by Wendy Morgan)
2003 - MuchVIBE Best Rap Video ("Breathe" feat. Nelly Furtado and directed by Todd McFarlane )
Additional awards
2002 - Canadian Radio Music Awards Breakthrough Artist ("Fuel Injected" feat. Moka Only)
2002 - West Coast Music Awards Best Urban Release ( Bad Dreams )
2002 - The Georgia Straight Readers Choice Best Urban Act
2003 - COCA Campus Entertainment Awards Entertainer of the Year
2003 - Western Canadian Music Awards Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording ("Monsters In The Closet")
2003 - Western Canadian Music Awards Outstanding Video ("Breathe" feat. Nelly Furtado )
2004 - Western Canadian Music Awards Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording ("Heavy")
See also
Portal box|Music of Canada|Hip hop
Canadian hip hop
Music of Canada
Clear
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.swollenmembers.com/ Swollen Members official homepage
http://www.cream.cz/? rozhovor=moka-only-i-like-dirty-shit& preview=1 Cream Magazine interview with Moka Only
Swollen Members DEFAULTSORT:Swollen Members Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Musical groups from Vancouver Category:Canadian hip hop groups Category:Juno Award winners
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