Rascalz

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. History Formed in 1991, the group released an independent album for Calabash Records in 1992. The album, Really Livin, was recorded under the name of Ragga Muffin Rascals, and a reworked major label recording was released the following year in 1993 by Sony Music Canada. Both versions of the album received Juno Award nominations for Best Rap Recording, the Calabash Records version at the Juno Awards of 1993 and the Sony version at the Juno Awards of 1995. In 1994, the group started Figure IV Records. The Rascalz are not Vancouver's first rap group, and have quoted acts such as EQ, Craig Crush and Mike D'Zire as influences. The group moved to BMG Canada in 1997 to record Cash Crop. Juno Award protest Cash Crop was nominated for Best Rap Recording at the Juno Awards of 1998. Due to Canadian hip hop's limited commercial visibility in the era, however, the rap award had never been presented during the main Juno ceremony, instead being relegated to the untelevised technical awards ceremony during the previous evening. This fact had previously been criticized for creating a barrier to the commercial visibility of Canadian hip hop.