Dragon Fli Empire

Last updated
Dragon Fli Empire
Dfesigns.jpg
from left to right: DJ Cosm and Teekay.
Background information
Origin Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Genres Canadian hip hop
Years active2002 (2002)–present
LabelsMakebelieve Records
P-Vine (Japan)
Traveller Records
Bigfoot Records
MembersTeekay
DJ Cosm
Website dragonfliempire.com

Dragon Fli Empire (abbreviated DFE) is a Canadian hip hop duo formed in 2002 from Calgary, comprising Tarik Robinson, also known as Teekay (MC/producer), and Adam Hicks, also known as DJ Cosm (DJ/producer).

Contents

DFE's first album, Conquest , was released in August 2004. It was followed by Invasion in 2005, Intermission EP in 2008 and Redefine in 2009. Their music is inspired by classic hip hop beats like those of Pete Rock, Large Professor and Prince Paul.

History

Dragon Fli Empire formed in May 2002. They released the original version of their debut album Conquest locally in the summer of 2002 as a limited edition CD-R.

The song "Mount Pleasant", a track about observations while riding Calgary Transit received airplay on CJSW-FM, CKUA and CBC Radio 3. [1] An official version of Conquest was pressed and independently released in August 2004. The album was re-mastered and three tracks from the CD-R version were replaced with newer ones, including the DFE theme song "D-E-F".

Their second album, Invasion, was independently released in May 2005. Reaching number five on the !earshot Canadian campus radio charts, [2] it showcased a progression in the group's sound, and featured the tracks "Headphones", "Our Way", "Invasion" and "Tight Spot". The group collaborated with several other Canadian indie hip hop artists on the album, including Ndidi Cascade, More or Les, Epic, Mindbender and Touch and Nato plus live musicians like Kirby Small and Tariq.

In 2007, an album featuring tracks from Invasion and Conquest (Inquest) was released in Japan through P-Vine Records. The same year, a 12" vinyl release of the Invasion song "Roc the Crowd" featuring Ohmega Watts was released worldwide on Calgary-based label Bigfoot Records.

DFE released an EP entitled Intermission in May 2008 prior to their third full-length album Redefine. The EP reached number three on the !earshot and Chart Attack hip hop charts. Intermission also reached number three on The R3-30 on CBC Radio 3. Two tracks from Intermission were nominated for Radio 3's 2008 Bucky Awards.

The group's third full-length album, Redefine released in Japan on P-Vine Records in October 2008 and in North America on Makebelieve Records in January 2009. Redefine featured collaborations with a number of high-profile artists including Cadence Weapon, Masta Ace, Ohmega Watts, Josh Martinez, Moka Only and Raashan Ahmad. It reached number one for two weeks on the !earshot and Chart Attack hip hop charts, and was number three for several weeks on the CMJ hip hop charts. The video for "Outside Inn" was the group's first to receive rotation on MuchMusic and MuchVibe. Redefine was also nominated for Best Rap / Hip Hop Recording at the 2009 Western Canadian Music Awards.

The Ride On EP vinyl was released via Finnish label Traveller Records in September 2009, featuring four songs from Redefine.

Dragon Fli Empire was the first hip hop group featured on the annual MUCH does Calgary talent showcase on MuchMusic in 2005. They have also appeared on CBC-TV's ZeD and The National . The group has toured across Canada, Europe and parts of the U.S., and played festivals like Shambhala, [3] Montreal's Under Pressure, Ottawa's Alberta Scene and Yellowknife's Folk on the Rocks. DFE has also played select dates of Warped Tour and Rock the Bells as well as showcasing locally at JunoFest, Sled Island, the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival and the Calgary Folk Music Festival.

Their music has been featured on the MTV Canada series Peak Season [4] as well as the OLN/National Geographic Adventure travel show Word Travels. [5]

Discography

Japanese discography

Vinyl discography

Compilation appearances

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<i>Conquest</i> (Dragon Fli Empire album) 2004 studio album by Dragon Fli Empire

Conquest is the first album by the Canadian hip hop duo Dragon Fli Empire, released in 2004 on Makebelieve Records. Although the 2004 release is officially considered DFE's first album, there was a locally circulated CD-R version released in June 2002. The 2004 version replaced three tracks from the CD-R version with new ones: "D-E-F", "From Under" and "Beauty Full 2.0". The album is most notable for the popular track "Mount Pleasant", a song about Teekay's observations while riding Calgary Transit.

<i>Invasion</i> (Dragon Fli Empire album) 2005 studio album by Dragon Fli Empire

Invasion is the second album by Canadian hip hop duo Dragon Fli Empire, released in 2005 on Makebelieve Records. It was viewed as a progression in the duo's sound and features guest artists from Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Tacoma and Portland. Several tracks were included in different CD compilations. The track "Roc the Crowd" was released as a 12" vinyl single on Bigfoot Records in 2007.

<i>Intermission EP</i> 2008 EP by Dragon Fli Empire

Intermission EP is a "between albums" disc by Canadian hip hop duo Dragon Fli Empire, released in 2008 on Makebelieve Records. As the first offering of new music from the group since 2005, the EP was designed to renew interest in the group before the release of their third full-length album Redefine. It proved to very popular on Canadian campus radio, reaching number three on the Earshot and Chart Attack hip hop charts. Two tracks from Intermission were nominated for Radio 3's 2008 Bucky Awards—"CGY" for Most Canadian Song and "Outside Inn" for Best Collaboration. DFE used outside production from Moka Only, Nohow and Metawon on the EP.

<i>Redefine</i> (Dragon Fli Empire album) 2009 studio album by Dragon Fli Empire

Redefine is the third full-length album by Canadian hip hop duo Dragon Fli Empire, released in North America on Makebelieve Records in early 2009. Teekay has explained the album title by saying: "We 'redefine' by using our creativity to bust free from any boxes placed on what we can accomplish."

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References

  1. ↑ Calgary, The (2009-01-10). "Ambassadors of Calgary hip-hop". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  2. ↑ "!earshot : charts : Hip Hop : Mar 27, 2007". Earshot-online.com. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
  3. ↑ Archived April 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:30:00 GMT (2009-11-10). "Music From Peak Season | Episode 5 | MTV.ca | News". MTV.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2012-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ "Word Travels - Music". Wordtravels.tv. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
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