Swollen Members is a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting of rappers Madchild and Prevail, and producer Rob the Viking. Former group members include Zodak and Moka Only. Swollen Members have released eight studio albums, three compilation albums, two greatest hits albums, and one live album.
Career
Foundation and single releases The group was founded in 1996 by rappers Madchild and Prevail. The duo had chemistry while rapping together at a house party and formed the group. The name Swollen Members was suggested by Moka Only, who later joined the group in the early 2000’s. The name, which is a double entendre for a large crew and a sexual innuendo, was later listed as one of the worst rapper names by Complex and Cracked.
The group released four 12-inch vinyl singles from 1997 to 1999 on Madchild's indie label Battle Axe Records, initially distributed by New York-based Fat Beats. The singles sold approximately 10,000 copies each.
1999-2000: Balance In 1999, the group released their debut album Balance, with features from Evidence and Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, Aceyalone, Del the Funky Homosapien, Divine Styler, Everlast, Saafir, and Son Doobie. The album peaked at number 40 on Canadian alternative albums, earned Gold status by the CRIA and won Rap Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2001. They also won the Most Played New Group Award at the Canadian Radio Music Awards in 2001.
2001–2002: Bad Dreams Following Balance, Swollen Members released their second album Bad Dreams on November 13, 2001. It includes guest appearances from Buc Fifty, Chali 2na, Evidence, Moka Only, Planet Asia, Rakaa, and Son Doobie. The album peaked at number 34 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and placed on multiple Canadian year-end charts in 2002. In 2002, Bad Dreams was the seventh-best-selling rap album in Canada and the best-selling rap album in Canada by a Canadian artist. The album also earned Platinum status by the CRIA, and won Rap Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2002. The song "Fuel Injected" (featuring Moka Only) won four MuchMusic Video Awards."Swollen Members Clean Up At MuchMusic Awards" Billboard June 2002 "Bring It Home" became the group's highest-charting song, peaking at number three on the Canadian singles chart. At the 2002 West Coast Music Awards, it won Album of the Year.
2002–2003: Monsters in the Closet Swollen Members album Monsters In the Closet is a collection of B-sides, outtakes and three newly produced songs, released in 2002. The album brought group membership for Moka Only and producer Rob The Viking. The album debuted at number 7 on the Canadian albums chart, and placed on multiple Canadian year-end charts in 2002. The album also earned a Gold certification from the CRIA, and won the group their third consecutive Rap Recording of the Year Award at the 2003 Juno Awards. The song "Breath" (featuring Nelly Furtado) won Best Rap Video at the 2003 MuchMusic Video Awards. At the 2003 Western Canadian Music Awards, "Breath" won Video of the Year and the album won in the Outstanding Rap/Hip-Hop Recording category. In January 2003, Swollen Members signed a deal with Virgin Records. However, they never released anything with the label.
2003–2004: Heavy In 2003, the group released their third studio album Heavy, with guest appearances from Abstract Rude and Son Doobie. It debuted at number 14 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album includes Moka Only on every song, for the first time. After the release, he left the group and continued his solo career. At the 2004 Western Canadian Music Awards, the album won in the Outstanding Rap/Hip-Hop Recording category.
2006–2007: Black Magic In 2006, Swollen Members released their fourth studio album, Black Magic. It features guest appearances from Evidence, Alchemist, Barbie Hatch, Casual, Everlast, Ghostface Killah, Mr. Vegas, Phil Da Agony, Planet Asia, Sick Jacken, DJ Revolution, DJ Babu, DJ Swamp, and Moka Only. Later that year, the group lost their distribution deal with Nettwerk due to Madchild's affiliation with the Hells Angels.Woo, Andrea. "Conversations: Swollen Members" , "Exclaim!" November 2009. The album peaked at number 22 in Canada, number 21 on the US Billboard Independent Albums and number 19 on the Heatseekers Albums charts. The album also went on to win the group their fourth Rap Recording of the Year Award at the Juno Awards of 2007.
2009–2010: Armed to the Teeth, Greatest Hits Armed to the Teeth was released October 27, 2009, by Battle Axe Records and 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 the Australian hip-hop group Bliss 'n' Eso.
In 2010, Swollen Members released their first greatest hits album titled Greatest Hits: Ten Years of Turmoil, which reached number 110 on the Canadian Albums Chart.
2011–2012: Dagger Mouth and Monsters II Swollen Members released their sixth album, Dagger Mouth in April 2011, with the label Suburban Noize. The first single was "Mr. Impossible", followed by "Bring Me Down" which features rapper Saigon. The album was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2012. It won Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year at the 2012 Western Canadian Music Awards.
A compilation album titled Monsters II was released on August 2, 2011. In December 2011, the group released another compilation album titled 1997. The album includes songs recorded in the late 1990s, some of which first appeared on the Europe/United Kingdom release of their debut album Balance.
2013: Beautiful Death Machine On March 19, 2013, their seventh studio album, Beautiful Death Machine was released, featuring guest appearances from Heavy Metal Kings, Slaine, Esoteric, Celph Titled, Apathy and Snak the Ripper. The album debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, making it the group's highest-charting in Canada.
2014: Brand New Day On June 17, 2014, the group released their eighth studio album Brand New Day. In mid-February 2015, Madchild was listed on the King of the Dot BO5 card against the battle rapper by the stage name of Daylyt.
2018: "Bank Job" and other projects In 2018, the Swollen Members single "Bank Job" was released, followed by several solo releases by Madchild and Prevail and Rob the Viking's new project XL The Band.
In 2021, Swollen Members released a single and music video for "Tetris" featuring Neph. Since then, Madchild has been focused on solo releases, and Prevail and Rob the Viking have been focused on XL The Band. In 2022, the group released a second greatest hits album titled The Best Of.
Musical style Their music is influenced by punk rock and heavy metal. Matt Conaway of AllMusic said their debut album Balance was "at the forefront of developing a new style" and they have been called "a bridge between punk rock and hip-hop". The Rough Guide called them "two of the most innovative people in hip-hop".Shapiro, P: The Rough Guide To Hip-Hop, page 53. Rough Guides, 2005 The group was known for their "medieval" wordplay and references to vikings, warlocks, wizards, Dungeons & Dragons and Conan the Barbarian.
Cultural impact The groups music and style has been heavily connected to extreme sports culture, primarily skating and snowboarding. In 1994, Madchild released his debut single "Pressure" with producer and skateboarder Tommy Guerrero. In 2001, the group made their first appearance at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival, and have since been performed at the event more than any other group. In 2002, Swollen Members performed at Molson Snow Jam. The bonus disc of their 2003 album Heavy includes skateboarding footage of Colin McKay, Danny Way and others. In 2004, DC Shoes released a limited edition "Manteca" shoe for the group. In 2005, their music was featured in the Billabong surfing video "Passion Pop". Their music was featured in multiple Mack Dawg Productions snowboarding videos, including "The Resistance", and "True Life", which were sold with a bonus compilation CD of Battle Axe Records songs. Their music was also featured in the 2002 compilation album Circa Presents… and two Red Dragon skate videos "RDS / FSU / 2002" and "Skateboard Party". In 2006, screenings of "Skateboard Party" played before their shows. Their music is also in the video games Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 and SSX 3.
Legacy Swollen Members are the best-selling Canadian hip-hop group in Canada of all time. From 1996 to 2016, they were the second best-selling Canadian hip-hop artist in Canada. They have won four Juno Awards, including three in a row from 2001-2003. Aaron Zorgel of Complex credited the group as "the defining sound of Canadian rap between the years 2000-2002". Complex also ranked the group number 4 in their list of "Canadians Who Shaped Canadian Hip-Hop: Northern Touch To The 2000s". The group was ranked number 10 in a 2010 list of "Best Canadian Rappers of All Time" by Global News.
Group members
Current members Madchild – (1997–present) - rapper Prevail – (1997–present) - rapper Rob the Viking – (2002–present) - producer
Former members Zodak – (1995–1999) - DJ, producer Moka Only – (2002–2003) - rapper, producer
Discography
Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications CAN U.S. U.S. Heat U.S. Ind. Balance Released: May 31, 1999 Label: Battle Axe Records, Jazz Fudge – – – – CRIA: Gold Bad Dreams Released: November 13, 2001 Label: Battle Axe Records 34 – – – CRIA: Platinum Heavy Released: November 18, 2003 Label: Battle Axe Records 14 – – – Black Magic Released: September 12, 2006 Label: Battle Axe Records 22 – 19 21 Armed to the Teeth Released: October 27, 2009 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize 19 146 5 23 Dagger Mouth Released: April 12, 2011 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize 15 – 3 41 Beautiful Death Machine Released: March 19, 2013 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize 3 167 3 26 Brand New Day Released: June 17, 2014 Label: Battle Axe Records 8 – 7 –
Compilation albums Title Album detailsCANCertifications Monsters in the Closet Released: November 12, 2002 Label: Battle Axe Records7 CRIA: Gold Monsters II Released: August 2, 2011 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize - 1997 Released: December 6, 2011 Label: Suburban Noize -
Greatest hits albums Title Album detailsCAN Greatest Hits: Ten Years of Turmoil Released: March 16, 2010 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize 110 The Best Of Released: November 4, 2022 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize -
Live albums Title Album details Live at the Fox Theatre Released: November 16, 2018 Label: Battle Axe Records
Singles Year Title Peak chartpositions Album CAN1997 "Shatterproof" — Balance1998 "S + M on the Rocks" — 1999 "Front Street" — "Strength" — 2000 "Lady Venom" — "Camouflage" — Bad Dreams 2001 "Full Contact/Take It Back" — 2002 "Fuel Injected" (featuring Moka Only) — "Bring It Home" (featuring Moka Only) 3 Bad Dreams / Monsters in the Closet "Temptation" —Monsters in the Closet 2003 "Watch This" — Heavy 2006 "Black Magic" (featuring DJ Swamp) — Black Magic "Too Hot" (featuring DJ Babu) — "Put Me On" (featuring Everlast and Moka Only) — 2009 "Warrior" (featuring Tre Nyce and Young Kazh) 94 Armed to the Teeth "Red Dragon" — "Bollywood Chick" (featuring Tech N9ne and Tre Nyce) — 2011 "Mr. Impossible" — Dagger Mouth "Bring Me Down (Remix)" (featuring Saigon) — 2013 "Kings of Diamonds" — Beautiful Death Machine "Mercenary" — "Inception" — "Almost Famous" — 2018 "Bank Job" — TBA (2018) 2024 "Triple Aces" — TBA (2024) 2024 "Faceless Kings" — TBA (2024) "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Guest appearances