Checkmate is a Canadian rapper from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

,"Checkmate: Welcome to the Game". ''

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

'', December 20, 2001. best known as one of the collaborating artists on

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 te ...

' influential 1998 single "

Northern Touch "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, wh ...

". He was also a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nominee for Rap Recording of the Year for his single "R.A.W." at the

Juno Awards of 2003 The Juno Awards of 2003 were presented in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 6 April 2003. The primary awards ceremony was hosted that evening by Shania Twain at the Corel Centre (now Canadian Tire Centre) and televised on CTV television network, CTV. ...

History

Checkmate recorded over 200 underground tracks before appearing on "Northern Touch", including the singles "Signs of War", "The Longshot" and "Bait & Switch (Money & Music)". He then compiled some of those songs for the 2001 album ''Welcome to the Game'', which was released on Double Up Records. "R.A.W." was released as a standalone non-album single the following year, and garnered Checkmate his Juno Award nomination in 2003. He has made several solo recordings after "R.A.W.", and was a featured collaborator on other artists' singles. Checkmate produced the compilation "Game Related" and released it through Natural Game Records in 2005. In 2008, Checkmate released the "African Kings" album in collaboration with Concise The Black Knight as the Defenders of the Faith. Both projects were re-released on Spotify. In 2011, the Defenders released the mixtape 'The G'z Next Door 2' hosted by DJ Dow Jones exclusively on

Datpiff DatPiff is an online audio distribution platform that was launched in 2005. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The site was founded in the spring of 2005 by Marcus Frasier. It is owned by Media ...

. His 2019 album entitled: "Hustle Game 101". The project featured guest appearances by

Jay Worthy LNDN DRGS (disemvoweling of "London Drugs") is a duo made up of Jay Worthy and producer Sean House. As of 2019, they have been primarily releasing projects through their GDF Records imprint. History Jay made his debut appearance in 2016 at ...

JD Era JD Era (born April 15, 1985) is a Canadian rapper and lyricist. He has worked with artists such as Nas, Gza, Kardinal Offishall, The Clipse, and has also cut several tracks with longtime friend Drake. In 2008 he won Best Rap at the Toronto Inde ...

and was hosted by Vago. He continues to release singles on Spotify. In 2021, Checkmate released his 4th Solo album 'Aviator Game' to all platforms through Natural Game Records / Vanguards Music. The project included guest appearances from Concise,

Snak the Ripper Snak the Ripper is a Canadian rapper from British Columbia. Affiliations Snak the Ripper is one of the founding members of the Stompdown Killaz hip hop collective (SDK). As of 2018 Snak is no longer affiliated with SDK. In 2010, he became a ...

, Bishop Brigante,

Moka Only Daniel Denton (born November 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Moka Only, is a Canadian underground hip hop artist. He has won 3 JUNO Awards, 5 MuchMusic Video Awards, and has been nominated for 11 Western Canadian Music Awards. Origina ...

, Tre Nyce and Tiago Vasquez. The album was executively produced by DJ Kemo of the

. He participated in the Northern Touch All-Stars' set at the

CBC Music Festival CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

in 2018, performing his solo singles "R.A.W." and "These Days & Times" and in the group's performance of "Northern Touch". He also appeared with the Northern Touch All-Stars when the group presented the Rap Recording of the Year award at the

Juno Awards of 2018 The Juno Awards of 2018, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia during the weekend of 24–25 March 2018. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Rogers Arena. Vancouver previously hosted the Juno ...

and performed a rendition of "Northern Touch" in lieu of the acceptance speech by absent winner

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

."Surprises abound in upbeat Juno Awards show in Vancouver". ''

Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' is one of two newspapers in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. When founded in 1900 it appeared only once a week, and its progress to Monday through Friday publication occurred in fits and starts; it was issued twice a week for a ...

'', March 26, 2018.

References

{{reflist Canadian male rappers Black Canadian musicians Musicians from Vancouver Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Canadian rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians