Most Americans are in the dark about the hip-hop scene, and maybe just the music scene period, in the United States’ great northern neighbor. Well, please, allow me to shine some light.

Rob the Viking, Madchild, and Prevail make up Canadian supergroup, Swollen Members. Their debut album, Balance, was released in 1999 on Battle Axe Records. It received incredible reviews, even though it took some critics as long as two years to get their hands on a copy. Featuring guest appearances from Evidence (of Dilated Peoples), Mix Master Mike, Del, and Everlast, they definitely have gotten off on the right foot.

Two years later, Bad Dreams, is released. It hosts several notable musicians, Chali 2Na (of Jurassic 5), Planet Asia, and The Alchemist. Listeners and critics agree the album’s highlights, including ”Full Contact” and “Ventilate” makes Bad Dreams “a great follow up to Balance.”

Monsters in the Closet is a collection of new and old remixes, revamps, and rebuffs. URB magazine gave the album optimistic reviews, while some fans were a little disappointed by the Members 2002 release.

Swollen Members were under a lot of pressure in the studio for the past four years. Black Magic was released in September and everyone has been praising the group’s comeback.

With an obvious fascination with the darkside (Bad Dreams to Monsters in the Closet to Black Magic), Swollen Members have used every facet of their imagination for inspiration. Whether it be Madchild’s obsession with gangsta movies (i.e. City of God and Carlito’s Way) or his musical influences of Willie Nelson, James Taylor, and Bob Marley; or Prevail’s philosophical interest into books like The Alchemist and Catcher in the Rye or his admiration for the legendary Fishbone; or the Viking’s love for snowboarding and Orwell’s 1984; Swollen Members aren’t even close to ordinary. They can’t be, they’re Canadian.