Years active 1992 (1992)–present | Genre Hip-hop/rap | |
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Associated acts Rock Steady CrewMoka OnlyDilated PeoplesLa Coka Nostra Website www.battleaxewarriors.com Albums Beautiful Death Machine, Armed to the Teeth, Bad Dreams, Dagger Mouth, Black Magic Profiles |
Swollen Members is a Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting mainly of Madchild and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only (who was actually a member of the group for a short period of time in the mid-1990s when the group was formed, and then again from 2002 to 2005) along with the other former members Easy Roc & Zodak who were only in the group for a few years and producer Rob the Viking, an official group member since 2002. Swollen Members has released nine studio albums, one greatest hits album and 2 compilations, as well as numerous other singles.
Contents
- Swollen members night vision
- Foundation and single releases
- 2001 2002 Second album and mainstream success
- 2002 2003 Monsters in the Closet
- 2003 2004 Heavy
- 2005 2006 Black Magic
- 2009 2010 Armed to the Teeth
- 2011 2012 Dagger Mouth
- 2013 Beautiful Death Machine
- 2014 Brand New Day
- 2015 KOTD Black Out 5
- Juno Awards
- MuchMusic Video Awards
- Western Canadian Music Awards
- Additional awards
- Songs
- References

Swollen members night vision
Foundation and single releases

Swollen Members was founded in the mid-90s by Vancouverites Madchild (Shane Bunting), Prevail (Kiley Hendriks), and Moka Only (Daniel Denton). Having begun a solo career while living in San Francisco, California, Madchild returned to Vancouver to work. There he met Prevail and Moka Only, who had been working together. They joined together. The group had to decide on a name and Moka Only suggested Swollen Members as a joke and it stuck.
In 1996, Madchild and The Arsonists.

The group began testing the international hip-hop waters by releasing four 12-inch vinyl singles on Madchild's own indie label Battleaxe Records initially distributed by New York-based Fat Beats; the singles sold approximately 10,000 copies each.
2001-2002: Second album and mainstream success

Following Balance, Swollen Members recorded and released 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, 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.
2002-2003: Monsters in the Closet
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 from Dilated Peoples.
2003-2004: Heavy
In 2003, the band released 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 "The Bottom Line" was featured in the videogames WWE Day of Reckoning and WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw.
2005-2006: Black Magic
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. It is understood that Madchild 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)", was released in August 2006. Later that year, Nettwerk Management dropped the group due to Madchild's affiliation with the Hell's Angels.
2009-2010: Armed to the Teeth
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.
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.
2013: Beautiful Death Machine
On March 19, 2013, their tenth studio album, Beautiful Death Machine was released, and had debuted at number 3 on the Canadian Albums Chart, making it the group's highest charting album in Canada to date.
2014: Brand New Day
June 17, 2014 brought their 11th studio album Brand New Day to store shelves across the world.
2015: KOTD Black Out 5
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. Footage of his trailer for this event can be found on the KOTD Entertainment channel on YouTube. The footage of the battle can be seen on the KOTD YouTube channel.
Juno Awards
MuchMusic Video Awards
Western Canadian Music Awards
Additional awards
Songs
Reclaim the ThroneArmed to the Teeth · 2009
Fuel InjectedBad Dreams · 2001
Lady VenomBalance · 1999