Swollen Members
Swollen Members performing in January 2010
Background information
Origin	Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Hip-hop Hardcore hip-hop Alternative hip-hop
Years active	1990 (1990)–present
Labels	Battle Axe Records, PCP Productions,Suburban Noize,Virgin Records
Members	Madchild Prevail Rob The Viking
Past members	Moka Only Easy Roc Zodak
Website	x.com/swollenmembers www.instagram.com/swollenmembers/

Swollen Members is a Canadianhip hop group fromVancouver,British Columbia, consisting mainly ofMadchild andPrevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalistMoka Only, Easy Roc, Zodak and producer Rob the Viking, an official group member since 2002. 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.^[1] They have won theJUNO Award four times.

Swollen Members was founded in 1995 by Vancouverites Madchild (Shane Bunting), Prevail (Kiley Hendriks), andMoka Only (Daniel Denton). Having begun a solo career while living inSan 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.^[2]

In 1999, the group released their debut album “Balance”, with features fromDel the Funky Homosapien,Aceyalone,The Alchemist andEvidence, who also produced on the album. The album peaked at #40 on Canadian alternative albums and #43 on Canadian rap albums.^{[citation needed]}

FollowingBalance, Swollen Members recorded and releasedBad Dreams, released on November 13, 2001, and featuring guestsChali 2na ofJurassic 5,Son Doobie, Joey Chavez, and Moka Only. It appealed to both underground and mainstream audiences, reaching platinum status in Canada.^[3] The album earned Swollen Members their second Juno Award and fourMuchMusic Video Awards including best rap video, best director and best independent video.^[4]

2002'sMonsters 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, "Breathe" which featured Portuguese Canadian pop singer,Nelly Furtado. Production credits includeEvidence from Dilated Peoples. In January 2003, Swollen Members signed withVirgin Records.^[5] The album earned a Gold certification and peaked at #7 in Canada.^[6]

In 2003, the band releasedHeavy. The album includes Moka Only on every song, for the first time. In the same year the songs "All Night" and "Deep End (Utah Saints Remix)" were featured in the video gameSSX3. In 2004, the song "Bottom Line" was featured in thevideo gamesWWE Day of Reckoning andWWE SmackDown! vs. Raw.

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” (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.^[7]

Armed to the Teeth was released October 27, 2009 through Kottonmouth Kings label Suburban Noize Records. Featured artists on the album includeLa 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 theCanadian Albums Chart.^[8]

Swollen Members scheduled the release of a studio album,Dagger Mouth, for April 2011, under Suburban Noize. Its first single is "Mr. Impossible".^[9] The second single released offDagger Mouth is "Bring Me Down" which features rapperSaigon. A compilation album titledMonsters 2 was released August 2, 2011.

On March 19, 2013, their ninth 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.^{[citation needed]}

On June 17, 2014 the group released their tenth studio albumBrand New Day.In mid-February 2015, Madchild was listed on theKing of the Dot BO5 card against the battle rapper by the stage name ofDaylyt.^[10][11]

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.^{[citation needed]}

• Canadian hip hop
• Music of Canada
• List of songs recorded by Swollen Members

• http://www.xltheband.com/
• Swollen Members atIMDb

• Musical groups established in 1990
• Musical groups from Vancouver
• Canadian hip-hop groups
• Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year winners
• 1990 establishments in British Columbia

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