Knee Deep Records (also known as Kneedeep Records) was a Canadian independent record label, specializing in hip hop music.
Based in Toronto, Ontario, Knee Deep was originally a home recording studio. [1] The label was founded in 1995 by record producer Day and rapper Choclair. The label's first 12" single—"Father Time" by Saukrates b/w "Twenty One Years" by Choclair—is considered an underground hip hop classic. [2] [3] In 1996, the label released Kardinal Offishall's first single, "Naughty Dread", which received a Juno Award nomination for Best Rap Recording in 1997; Choclair won the award for his EP, What It Takes . [3] After the label was shut down in the early 2000s, Day and Choclair founded Greenhouse Music in 2003.
The Canadian hip hop scene was established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much slower than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the early 2000s.
"Northern Touch" is a Canadian hip hop single, which was released in 1998 by Rascalz in collaboration with Checkmate, Kardinal Offishall, Thrust and Choclair. It is one of the most important individual songs in the history of Canadian hip hop, which almost singlehandedly transformed the genre from a largely ignored underground movement into a viable commercial endeavour.
Jason Drew Harrow, better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall, is a Canadian rapper and record producer. Often credited as Canada's "hip hop ambassador", he has been regarded as one of the country's most prominent hip hop producers during the 2000s and is distinctive for his reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip hop.
Kareem Blake, better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He was one of the most successful rappers in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Choclair has been nominated for six Juno Awards, winning four.
Luke Boyd, better known by his stage name Classified, is a Canadian rapper and record producer from Enfield, Nova Scotia.
Rascalz are a Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver, British Columbia. The group played a crucial role in the artistic and commercial development of Canadian hip hop as well as specifically for the Westcoast scene in Vancouver popularizing the term “Van City”. The group consists of emcees Red1 and Misfit, and record producer DJ Kemo. Breakdancers Zebroc and Dedos were also part of the group.
Karl Amani Wailoo, better known by his stage name Saukrates, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and record producer. He is the co-founder of Capitol Hill Music, and lead singer of the hip-hop/R&B group Big Black Lincoln. He is also a member of Redman's Gilla House collective.
Ice Cold is the debut studio album of Canadian rapper Choclair, released November 2, 1999 in Canada and March 14, 2000 in the United States. It was released on major label Virgin/Priority Records. The album's early success was driven by the first single, "Let's Ride", which reached #37 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and #38 on the Canadian RPM Singles Chart. The second single, "Rubbin'", features Saukrates.
Capitol Hill Music is a Canadian independent record label, specializing in hip-hop and R&B music.
Tone Mason is a Canadian hip-hop and R&B production team from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Mellenius, Don D, and formerly, Aloysius Brown. They have contributed their music to MuchMusic & MuchVibe, Barbershop: The Next Cut, BET, EA Sports, Russell Peters' Red, White and Brown and many more.
Christopher France, better known by his stage name Thrust, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. He is most known for his appearance on the Rascalz' 1998 single "Northern Touch," which also features Kardinal Offishall, Choclair, and Checkmate. He was also featured on the pop band soulDecision's biggest hit "Faded". Thrust has taught an Artist Series at the Harris Institute of Music in Toronto.
Sheldon Pitt, better known by his stage name Solitair, is a Canadian rapper and record producer from Toronto, Ontario. He is a founding member of the now defunct Black Jays record label and production team. Solitair has been producing hip hop and R&B for nearly 20 years, and has produced for Nina Sky, Glenn Lewis, Cham, Maestro, Rascalz, Kardinal Offishall, Ivana Santilli, Jully Black, Choclair, and Sugar Jones among others.
Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 is the second studio album by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall. It was released on MCA Records, his first album for a major label. It is a recompilation album, which includes older songs and demos that he used to get signed. The lead single, "BaKardi Slang", became his first single to appear on a Billboard chart. The second single, "Ol' Time Killin'", was a minor hit. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics.
Cash Crop is an album by the Canadian hip hop group Rascalz, released in 1997 on ViK. Recordings. The album is the group's most successful record to date and was certified gold by CRIA with sales of over 50,000 copies across Canada.
Da Grassroots is a Canadian hip-hop production team from Toronto, Ontario, composed of Mr. Attic, Mr. Murray, and Swiff. The Juno Award-winning group contributed to the development of Toronto hip-hop throughout the 1990s, highlighted by the release of their debut album Passage Through Time in 1999.
Roger Perryman, better known as Mr. Attic, is a Canadian hip-hop producer from Toronto, Ontario. He is a member of Juno Award-winning production team, Da Grassroots.
"Naughty Dread" is a hip-hop song by Kardinal Offishall. It is his debut single, released in 1996 on Knee Deep Records, before being featured on the Rap Essentials Volume One compilation album. The song contains a sample of "Natty Dread" by Bob Marley & The Wailers. It earned him a Juno Award nomination for Best Rap Recording in 1997.
What It Takes is an EP by Canadian rapper Choclair, released independently in 1997 on Knee Deep Records. It spawned the 12" single "What It Takes Remix", and a music video of the title track was released in 1996. The EP won the award for Best Rap Recording at the 1997 Juno Awards.
Ritchie Acheampong, better known as Rich Kidd, is a Canadian hip hop recording artist, record producer and film/video director from Toronto, Ontario. He is a two-time nominee for the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year as a solo artist, garnering nominations at the Juno Awards of 2013 for The Closers and at the Juno Awards of 2014 for In My Opinion. In 2013, he formed the project Naturally Born Strangers with collaborators Tona and Adam Bomb. That group's debut release, The Legends League Presents: Naturally Born Strangers, won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2015.
Frankenstein is the stage name of Frank Fallico, a former Canadian rapper and record producer. He is most noted as a two-time Juno Award nominee for Rap Recording of the Year, receiving nods at the Juno Awards of 1998 for his single "The Rain Is Gone" and at the Juno Awards of 1999 for his album Frankenstein UV.