# Swollen Members

Swollen Members is a four-time JUNO Award-winning Canadian hip hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia, consisting mainly of Madchild and Prevail. Frequent collaborators include vocalist Moka Only (who actually helped form the group in the mid-1990s, left, and then joined 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. From 1996 to 2016, Swollen Members were the second best-selling Canadian hip hop artist in Canada (behind Drake) and were the best-selling Canadian hip hop group in Canada.

## History
### Foundation and single releases

Swollen Members was founded in 1995 by Vancouverites Madchild (Shane Bunting), Prevail (Kiley Hendriks). 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. The group had to decide on a name and Moka Only suggested Swollen Members as a joke and it stuck.
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.
In 1999, the group released their debut album “Balance” to positive reviews, with features from Del the Funky Homosapien, Aceyalone, and Evidence, who also produced on the album, along with The Alchemist and others. The album peaked at #40 on Canadian alternative albums and #43 on Canadian rap albums.

### 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 Portuguese Canadian pop singer, Nelly Furtado. Production credits include Evidence from Dilated Peoples. In January 2003, Swollen Members signed with Virgin Records.

### 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 video games 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 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.

### 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 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 to date.

### 2014: Brand New Day

June 17, 2014 brought their tenth studio album Brand New Day to store shelves across the world. 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.

### 2018: "Bank Job" + other projects

In 2018, the Swollen Members single "Bank Job" was released on all platforms, 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.

## Discography
### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | CAN | U.S. | U.S. Heat | U.S. Ind. | Certifications |
| Balance | Released: May 31, 1999 Label: Battle Axe Records | – | – | – | – | MC: Gold |
| Bad Dreams | Released: November 13, 2001 Label: Battle Axe Records | 34 | – | – | – | MC: Platinum |
| Monsters in the Closet | Released: November 12, 2002 Label: Battle Axe Records | 7 | – | – | – | MC: Gold |
| 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 | – | |

### Compilations

| Year | Album |
| Greatest Hits: Ten Years of Turmoil | Released: March 16, 2010 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize |
| 1997 | Released: December 6, 2011 Label: Battle Axe Records, Suburban Noize |

### Singles

| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album |
| Year | Single | CAN | Album |
| 1999 | "Front Street" | — | Balance |
| 1999 | "Strength" | — | Balance |
| 2000 | "Camouflage" | — | Balance |
| 2000 | "Lady Venom" | — | Balance |
| 2001 | "Take It Back" | — | Bad Dreams |
| 2001 | "Fuel Injected" | — | Bad Dreams |
| 2002 | "Bring It Home" | 3 | Bad Dreams |
| 2002 | "Steppin Thru" | — | Monsters in the Closet |
| 2002 | "Breath" (featuring Nelly Furtado) | — | Monsters in the Closet |
| 2002 | "Fuel Injected (Remix)" (featuring Saukrates) | — | Monsters in the Closet |
| 2003 | "Watch This" | — | Heavy |
| 2006 | "Black Magic" (featuring DJ Swamp) | — | Black Magic |
| 2006 | "Too Hot" (featuring DJ Babu) | — | Black Magic |
| 2006 | "Put Me On" (featuring Everlast and Moka Only) | — | Black Magic |
| 2006 | "Pressure" | — | Black Magic |
| 2009 | "Warrior" (featuring Tre Nyce and Young Kazh) | 94 | Armed to the Teeth |
| 2009 | "Red Dragon" | — | Armed to the Teeth |
| 2009 | "Bollywood Chick" (featuring Tech N9ne and Tre Nyce) | — | Armed to the Teeth |
| 2010 | "Pornstar" (featuring Tre Nyce) | — | Armed to the Teeth |
| 2011 | "Mr. Impossible" | — | Dagger Mouth |
| 2011 | "Bring Me Down (Swollen Mix)" (featuring Saigon) | — | Dagger Mouth |
| 2011 | "Night Vision" | — | Dagger Mouth |
| 2011 | "Do or Die" | — | Dagger Mouth |
| 2011 | "War Money" | — | Dagger Mouth |
| 2013 | "Kings of Diamonds" | — | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Mercenary" | — | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Inception" | — | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Almost Famous" | — | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2018 | "Bank Job" | — | TBA (2018) |
| 2024 | "Triple Aces" | — | TBA (2024) |
| 2024 | "Faceless Kings" | — | TBA (2024) |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart |

## Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
| "S and M on the Rocks" | 1999 | — | Blazing the Crop |
| "Artillery" | 2007 | Infected Mushroom | Vicious Delicious |
| "Chewing Concrete" | 2010 | DJ Murge | Search and Rescue |
| "Lost in the Music" | 2012 | Insane Clown Posse | Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium |
| "Falling Down" | 2013 | Twiztid | A New Nightmare |
| "The Plague" | 2015 | Prozak, Ubiquitous | Black Ink |

### Music videos

| Year | Song | Director(s) | Album |
| 2000 | "Lady Venom" | Trevor Cornish | Balance |
| 2001 | "Take It Back" | Wendy Morgan | Bad Dreams |
| 2001 | "Deep End" | Jason Goldwatch | Bad Dreams |
| 2002 | "Bring It Home" | Wendy Morgan | Monsters in the Closet |
| 2002 | "Fuel Injected" | Wendy Morgan | Bad Dreams |
| 2002 | "Steppin Thru" | Wendy Morgan | Monsters in the Closet |
| 2002 | "Breathe" (feat. Nelly Furtado) | Todd McFarlane | Monsters in the Closet |
| 2003 | "Watch This" | | Heavy |
| 2006 | "Too Hot" | | Black Magic |
| 2006 | "Put Me On" (feat. Everlast) | Margaret Malandruccolo | Black Magic |
| 2006 | "Pressure" | | Black Magic |
| 2009 | "Warrior" (feat. Young Kazh) | Chad Archibald & Philip Carrer | Armed to the Teeth |
| 2009 | "Bollywood Chick" (feat. Tech N9ne) | | Armed to the Teeth |
| 2010 | "Pornstar" | Chad Archibald & Philip Carrer | Armed to the Teeth |
| 2011 | "Mr. Impossible" | Mr. Invisible | Dagger Mouth |
| 2011 | "Bring Me Down (Swollen Mix)" (feat. Saigon) | Mr. Invisible | Dagger Mouth |
| 2011 | "Night Vision" | | Dagger Mouth |
| 2011 | "Do or Die" | | Dagger Mouth |
| 2013 | "King of Diamonds" | D-Shot | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Mercenary" | D-Shot | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Inception" | D-Shot | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Almost Famous" | D-Shot | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "BAX WAR" | D-Shot | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Death Warrant" | D-Shot | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Fear" (feat. Snak the Ripper) | D-Shot | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2013 | "Juggernaut" | | Beautiful Death Machine |
| 2014 | "Power" | | Brand New Day |
| 2014 | "Brand New Day" | Dale Resteghini | Brand New Day |

## Awards and recognition
### Juno Awards

Awards and nominations for Swollen Members :
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
| 2007 | Juno Awards | Rap Recording of the Year "Black Magic" | Won |
| 2003 | Juno Awards | Group of the Year | Nominated |
| 2003 | Juno Awards | Rap Recording of the Year "Monsters In The Closet" | Won |
| 2002 | Juno Awards | Best Rap Recording "Bad Dreams" | Won |
| 2001 | Juno Awards | Best Rap Recording "Balance" | Won |

### MuchMusic Video Awards

Awards and nominations for Swollen Members :
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
| 2001 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Independent Video "Lady Venom" | Won |
| 2001 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Rap Video "Lady Venom" | Nominated |
| 2002 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Cinematography Feat. Moka Only & directed by Wendy Morgan Pardo "Fuel Injected" | Nominated |
| 2002 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Director Wendy Morgan Pardo (director) Feat. Moka Only "Fuel Injected" | Won |
| 2002 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Independent Video Feat. Moka Only "Fuel Injected" | Won |
| 2002 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Video Feat. Moka Only "Fuel Injected" | Nominated |
| 2002 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Rap Video Feat.Moka Only "Fuel Injected" | Won |
| 2002 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Peoples Choice: Favourite Canadian Group Feat. Moka Only "Fuel Injected" | Won |
| 2002 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic VideoFACT Award Feat. Moka Only & directed by Wendy Morgan "Fuel Injected" | Won |
| 2003 | iHeartRadio MMVAs | MuchMusic Video Award for Best Rap Video feat. Nelly Furtado & directed by Todd McFarlane "Breathe" | Won |

### Western Canadian Music Awards

Awards and nominations for Swollen Members :
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
| 2011 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording "Dagger Mouth" | Nominated |
| 2004 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording "Heavy" | Won |
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Rap/Hip Hop Recording "Monsters In The Closet" | Won |
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Video of the Year - feat. Nelly Furtado "Breath" | Won |
| 2003 | Western Canadian Music Awards | Outstanding Video "Breathe" (feat. Nelly Furtado) | Nominated |

### Additional awards

* 2003 – COCA Campus Entertainment Awards Entertainer of the Year
* 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