Red Ants

Lyrically speaking, Canadian hip-hoppers the Red Ants champion the underdog. Versatile but rigid, frontman MC Modulok combines his overconfidence with paranoia, cynicism, and an abstract intellect to advance the group's complex, progressive image. The Red Ants were founded in 2002 on Toronto's East Side by Modulok and fellow aspiring rapper Predaking, both of whom were friends since high school and former partners who created the local hip-hop publication Twisted Linguistiks. The two eventually came to meet producer and third Red Ants member Vincent Price, whose machine-grinding, Bomb Squad-influenced beats immediately connected with Modulok and Predaking. Unluckily, after several run-ins with the law, Predaking landed in prison in 2004, forcing the other two to proceed as an MC/producer pair. Released in 2005, the now duo's debut album, Phobos Deimos, found a big audience with college radio and other independent stations. In the years afterwards they followed the album's moderate underground success with tours throughout North America and Europe, and then returned with their sophomore LP, Omega Point, in 2008.