Swollen Members
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 vocalists Moka Only, Easy Roc, Zodak. Swollen Members has released nine studio albums, one greatest hits album, and two compilations. From 1996 to 2016, Swollen Members were the second best-selling Canadian hip hop artist in Canada and were the best-selling Canadian hip hop group in Canada. They have won the JUNO Award four times.
History
Foundation and single releases
Swollen Members was founded in 1995 by Vancouverites Madchild, Prevail, and Moka Only. Having begun a solo career while living in San Francisco, California, Madchild returned to Vancouver to work. In Vancouver, he met Prevail and Moka Only, who had been working together earlier and joined them. Moka Only jokingly suggested Swollen Members as a group name and it stuck.The group released four 12-inch vinyl singles 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 Del the Funky Homosapien, Aceyalone, The Alchemist, and Evidence, who also produced on the album. The album peaked at #40 on Canadian alternative albums, #43 on Canadian rap albums, earned gold status in Canada and won the 2000 Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year.2001–2002: ''Bad Dreams''
Following Balance, Swollen Members released Bad Dreams on November 13, 2001, featuring guests Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Son Doobie, Joey Chavez, and Moka Only. It appealed to both underground and mainstream audiences, reaching platinum status in Canada. The album earned Swollen Members their second Juno Award and the song “Fuel Injected” won four MuchMusic Video Awards.2002–2003: ''Monsters in the Closet''
2002's Monsters [in the Closet (Swollen Members album)|Monsters In the Closet], their third release, brought group membership for Moka Only and Rob The Viking. Monsters in the Closet was a collection of B-sides and outtakes along with three new songs. The song "Breath" featuring Portuguese Canadian pop singer, Nelly Furtado won a MuchMusic Video Award for Best Rap Video. Production credits include Evidence of Dilated Peoples. The album earned a gold certification and peaked at #7 in Canada. The group also won their third consecutive Juno Award. In January 2003, Swollen Members signed with Virgin Records.2003–2004: ''Heavy''
In 2003, the group released Heavy. The album includes Moka Only on every song, for the first time. In the same year the songs "All Night" and "Deep End " were featured in the video game SSX3. In 2004, the song "Bottom Line" was featured in the video games WWE Day of Reckoning and WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw.2005–2007: ''Black Magic''
In 2005, Moka Only left the group for a second time and continued work on his solo career. The following year, Swollen Members released their fifth full album, Black Magic. A single from the album, "Put Me On” was released in August 2006. Later that year, Nettwerk Management dropped the group due to Madchild's affiliation with the Hell's Angels. The album would go on to win the group their fourth Juno Award in 2007.2009–2010: ''Armed to the Teeth'', ''Greatest Hits''
Armed to the Teeth was released October 27, 2009, through Kottonmouth Kings 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.In 2010, Swollen Members released their greatest hits album, which reached #110 on the Canadian Albums Chart.
2011–2012: ''Dagger Mouth''
Swollen Members scheduled the release of a studio album, Dagger Mouth, for April 2011, under Suburban Noize. Its first single is "Mr. Impossible". The second single released off Dagger Mouth is "Bring Me Down" which features rapper Saigon. A compilation album titled Monsters 2 was released August 2, 2011. The album was nominated at the 2012 Juno Awards.2013: ''Beautiful Death Machine''
On March 19, 2013, their ninth studio album, Beautiful Death Machine was released, and debuted at number 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart, making it the group's highest charting album in Canada.2014: ''Brand New Day''
On June 17, 2014, the group released their tenth 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.
Group members
;Current members;Former members
- Moka Only –
- Easy Roc –
- Zodak –
Awards
MuchMusic Video Awards
Western Canadian Music Awards
| Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref | - |
| 2011 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording "Dagger Mouth" | Nomitated | - | |
| 2004 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording "Heavy" | - | ||
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording "Monsters In The Closet" | - | ||
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Video of the Year - feat. Nelly Furtado "Breath" | - | ||
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Video "Breath" | Nomitated | ||
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | - | - | - | |
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | - | - | - | |
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | - | - | - | |
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | - | - | - | |
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | - | - | - |