” Rest In Power “

Vancouver Hip Hop pioneer INCREDIBLE EASE passed away last month after a lengthy bout with cancer….Some of you are aware of him from the handful of singles he dropped in the mid-late 90s (All Praises Due still gets burn in the system), but I recently listened to a shelved album by his crew EQ (Swellsville) that instantly raised my Hip Hop antenna….

REST IN POWER – YOUR MUSIC LIVES ON….

Ease & Quaze are responsible for Vancity’s first Hip-Hop classic with 1990’s “They Can’t Cope”, which is the b-side to EQ’s debut 12″ “Put Yo Body In It”. Swellsville was supposed to be the album that followed, but due to industry rule #4080 it never saw the light of day. A handful of cassettes made it to the group but that was it. If you never got your hands on one of those tapes, which is pretty much everybody on the planet, then you never had a chance to hear Swellsville. It is a familiar story, but an all too real one that kept the world from hearing an ill fucking album that should at very least be recognized as a Canadian classic. Maestro Fresh Wes and Main Source aside, I put Swellsville up against anything released in the early 90’s – Dream Warriors, Devon, MCJ & Cool G, Kish, Ground Control, Organized Rhyme or any of the other rappers I saw on Much Music’s Soul In The City “Rap” specials back in the day. The production on Swellsville can give Maestro and Main Source a run for their money too. Straight up. The beats are hard as hell.

TRACKLIST-

EQ
Swellsville

1. Come Alive
2. Step Up
3. Play The Back
4. Help A Bruva Out
5. Late 4 The Studio
6. Bring It On
7. Serious
8. Inner Thoughts
9. Swellsville
10. Funky Oasis
11. Hostile
12. Freestyle
13. Let It Be Known
14. Come Alive (King Otto Remix)

EQ
“They Can’t Cope”

1. Mellow Mix
2. Video Mix

DOWNLOAD- VIA NATION OF MILLIONS.