Swollen Members
Industry Records/Nu Gruv Alliance
The Swollen Members sure get around. The Vancouver, B.C. hip hop crew has been putting out jam-packed 12-inches since mid-'97, and has since collaborated with a veritable who's who of underground producers, DJs, and MCs. They've done
tracks with Dilated Peoples, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, The Hobo Junction, Aceyalone, Tony Da
Skitzo, and even Funkdoobiest. For beats and cuts, they've worked with Evidence, Paul Nice, Mix Master Mike, DJ Vadim, Kool DJ EQ, and others.
Swollen dropped four 12-inch EPs as singles to promote their first full-length, Balance, garnering radio airplay and club rotation from San Francisco to Vienna and allowing their sound to sink into heads before they unveiled the LP on their own Battle Axe imprint. Both domestic and European versions of Balance are already approaching collector's item status, highly sought after and extremely dope.
Swollen Members' affiliation with the Rock Steady Crew probably hasn't hurt matters either. But the bottom line is that Swollen Members make solid, no-frills hip hop, meticulously written,
produced, and recorded. Like so many other debut albums in hip hop, Balance will be a tough one to follow up. But with all their connections, life seems destined to keep getting better for Vancouver's finest.
The featured track, "Groundbreaking," comes from Industry Records' Process of Elimination compilation.
last updated:
08/28/01
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