Irs - Can't Sleep (prod. by T.R.A.C.K.S.)

Monolith - Bye D'Plenty (prod. by Korry Deez)

Wio-K - Ten ft Monolith

Originally recorded in 1999.
Produced by Scam.

Dan-e-o Dear Hip Hop (the 2nd letter) ft Grimace Love

Grimace Love - The Zig Zag Man ft DJ Dopey (prod. by Lancecape)

Grimace Love - Dun Write ft Skizzz, Parker, Black Cat & Rishaard (prod. by Black Cat)

Wio-K - Ooh Ooo Yaya

Arcee - Stripes ft Kardinal, Brassmunk & Irs (prod. by Jake One)

Irs - Never Enough ft Nish Raawks (prod. by Black Cat)

Nish Raawks - On The Raawks (prod. by Black Cat)

Nish Raawks - Love 2 Hate (prod. by Lyve)

MONOLITH

With over 20 years of experience recording, performing and touring, Scarborough, Ontario’s “Mighty” Monolith is arguably the most talented and durable crew in Canadian hip-hop history. Well known for their combination of high-quality lyricism and impeccable beat production, the 10-man crew is widely considered to be the nation’s most elite collective of hip-hop artists. 

Originally formed in 1994 as an amalgamation of two Toronto hip-hop crews - Lyrical Coalition and The Horde - Monolith was born featuring a roster of about 20 members. Often compared to such other multi-membered crews as Wu-Tang Clan, Odd Future and Hieroglyphics, Monolith functions as a both a whole entity and a family of solo artists with their own respective careers. Monolith are Dan-e-o, Wio-K, Grimace Love, Lancecape, Parker, Rishaard, Nish Raawks, Charisma a.k.a. Skizzz and Irs (Korry Deez & Black Cat).

The crew first came into prominence in 1996 when Dan-e-o and Wio-K released their underground anthems, “Dear Hip Hop” and “Sunlight” respectively on Beat Factory's RapEssentials Volume One compilation. 1997 saw the hip-hop conglomerate founding its own label, One Rock Records and independently releasing the groundbreaking EP, The Long Awaited... the following year. The project spawned two iconic music videos in “At The T.O.P.” and “Plan Eh”. 

The impact of The Long Awaited.... EP permanently placed Monolith on the hip-hop map. International music heavyweight Kardinal Offishall joined forces with Monolith crewmates Irs and Wio-K in 2002 to create one of Canadian hip-hop’s biggest tunes, “Ol’ Time Killin”. The club-destroying track continues to receive enormous worldwide accolades to this day. In fact, hip-hop superstar, Drake sampled this timeless treasure for his song “All Me”, later expressing his appreciation with a shout out via Twitter. 

In 2005, Monolith was featured in yet another international hit when Dan-e-o released the single, “Kama Sutra” from his sophomore solo album, See No Evil, Hear No Evil. Featuring fellow Monolith members Charisma a.k.a. Skizzz, Rishaard, Parker and Grimace Love, the song’s inclusion of Dan-e-o’s cousin and dancehall reggae legend, Red Rat helped to propel its music video to over 8 million YouTube views!

Since then, the crew has attained a legendary status in the Great White North by having worked and performed with the who’s-who of the urban music world: Drake, Sean Paul, Bootcamp Clik, Maestro Fresh Wes, Frank N Dank, Chip Fu, Boogie Down Productions, Naughty By Nature, Promise, Classified, J Shiltz, Kev Brown, Elaquent, Jake One, Shaggy, Planet Asia, Rich Kidd, Moka Only, Declaime, Tone Mason, K-OS, Jeru The Damaja, Swollen Members, Jully Black and Mobb Deep are among the most notable on the list.

Another unique feature of this highly-touted crew is that they are one of hip-hop’s finest representations of multiculturalism. Made up of Jamaican, Trinidadian, Guyanese, Japanese, Indian, Spanish and Nova Scotian descent, Monolith members have won awards, earned numerous nominations, charted, received major commercial radio rotation and have been distributed internationally by major labels. With a full-length album in the works and a multitude of solo and collaborative projects set for release in the near future, Monolith continues to add to their impressive legacy as one of the world’s most talented rap crews.


The Monol1th

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