Moka Only | |
|---|---|
 Moka Only in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Denton |
| Also known as | Moka, Moka O, Moke, Ron Contour, Ron Con, Dokta Swatch, Flow Torch, Torch, Tank Gawd, Kareem Serene, Durable Mammal, Gargoyle, The Most Prolific |
| Born | November 14, 1973 |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Rapstar Records (1995-1999), Legendary Entertainment (2000-2001; 2007-2010), Battle Axe Records (2001-2005), URBNET Records (2007-present) |
| Website | https://urbnet.com/moka-only |
Daniel Denton (born November 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Moka Only, is a Canadian hip-hop artist and producer. He has released music through Rapstar Records, Legendary Entertainment, Battle Axe Records & (currently) with URBNET Records.
Contents
- Discography
- Collaborative work
- Awards
- Juno Awards
- MuchMusic Video Awards
- Western Canadian Music Awards
- Other Awards
- References
He is originally from Victoria, British Columbia, though in the early 1990s he lived in Vancouver. [1] In 1995, along with Madchild and Prevail, the trio formed the hip hop group Swollen Members, Moka conceiving the name. [2] Though he left soon after to work on his own music (eventually re-joining shortly in the early 2000s). In June of 1995, he released his debut project titled Upcoast Relix with Rapstar Records. He continued making tapes under this label through the late 90’s and is known as a pioneer of DIY hand to hand distribution. In 2001, he partnered with Legendary Entertainment to reissue them on CD.
In 1999 he started building a personal studio and a year later he released his first fully self-produced project Beauty is a Free Road. He went on to self-produce many more projects, nonetheless, he still worked with a number of talented producers such as J Dilla, The Alchemist, Madlib and Ayatollah. Though not exclusively used, he prefers analog equipment over digital, and has a large personal collection of keyboards and other musical instruments. [3] Aside from his own projects, he has produced for other artists as well like Gabriel Teodros, Lil B, & Lord Diamonds. [4]
Also in 1999, he was featured on the song “Crypik Souls Crew” by LEN from their album You Can't Stop the Bum Rush . He also made a cameo appearance in the music video for the groups hit song "Steal My Sunshine”. Later in 1999, he paired with fellow B.C native Ishkan to create Nowfolk. Their first album together named Style Gangsters released in 1999, followed by The Moon in 2002. The duo recorded two more albums from 2001-2003 named Magnesium Opium & The Winter. From 2001. However, in June of 2003 Moka’s ADAT system was destroyed, effectively halting the projects release until 2016. [5]
On April 3, 2001 he released Lime Green, his first album with Battle Axe Records, the same label as Swollen Members. Later in 2001, he returned to the group on the song “Fuel Injected”, which catapulted them from underground to Canadian mainstream. The next single “Bring It Home” reached #3 on the Canadian Singles Chart and helped the album Bad Dreams achieve Platinum status in Canada. [6] In 2002, Swollen Members released Monsters in the Closet, a collection of B-sides, unreleased tracks and 3 newly produced songs. The album earned a Gold certification and peaked at #7 in Canada. [7] The groups next album Heavy includes Moka on every song, for the first and only time. The album reached #14 on the Canadian albums chart. After this he returned his focus mostly to solo work.
On August 16, 2005 he released The Desired Effect, an album he would later describe as “The Not So Desired Effect”. Due to issues with the label Nettwerk his vision was not met. In October of the same year he released an alternate version titled Dirty Jazz, a Japan exclusive CD, with new tracks and a few from the previous album. A year later, Desired Effect was unveiled. In his own words, “THIS is what I really wanted The Desired Effect to be.. raw, continuous and to the point”. Finally, in 2007 he released Vermillion, which includes more songs that were initially intended for The Desired Effect. [8]
In 2007, Moka started the Airport series, with a spring themed album. In the same year he released three winter-themed albums titled Martian Xmas. He continued the Airport series, releasing annually, for six years. The Martian Xmas series is ongoing and has totaled 21 releases. [9] From 2007-2012 he released music through a number of different record labels. Mostly URBNET Records, which became his primary label by the early 2010’s. He has collaborated with a number of artists including Sweatshop Union [10] , MF Doom, Del the Funky Homosapien and Kool Keith. Denton has also released music under different aliases, most notably Ron Contour. In addition to making music, he painted the cover artwork for his albums In and of Itself, AMALAMA & Spooky Beats n’ Other Treats. [11]