Moka Only (hip-hop, alias of Daniel Denton)

Daniel Denton (born November 14, 1973), better known by his stage names Moka Only and Ron Contour, is a Canadian rapper, singer and record producer. He has released music through Legendary Entertainment, Battle Axe Records and Urbnet Records. He is originally from Langford, British Columbia. As a teen, he did freestyles, graffiti and breaking. In 1989, he joined the rap group Sound Advice with Juice Dub (Rennie Foster), DJ Degree One, and DJ Tee Double. In 1991, he formed a new group named Split Sphere with Prevail. In the early 1990s he lived in San Diego until he moved to Vancouver. In June 1995, he released his debut album titled Upcoast Relix. He continued making tapes independently through the late 1990s and was a pioneer of DIY hand to hand distribution in Canadian hip-hop. In 1997, he released a split EP with Sixtoo titled The Crystal Senate. He released four more solo albums from 1996-1998, Dusty Bumps, Durable Mammal, Fall Collection and Monsterpiece. Much of his earlier work was produced by a variety of different people. Most notably Deceo Ellipsis, who entirely produced the albums Apenuts (1998), Mount Unpleasant (1999), Mr. Behavior (1999) and Flowtorch (2000). In the late 1990s to early 2000s, he was in the music collective City Planners with producers Sichuan and Sweet G, and rappers Jeff Spec and Ishkan. He paired with Ishkan to create Nowfolk, releasing Style Gangstas in 1999. Also in 1999, he was featured on the songs "Crypik Souls Crew" and "Crazy Cause I Believe (Early Morning Sunshine)" by LEN from their breakthrough album You Can't Stop the Bum Rush. He also made cameo appearances in the music videos for "Feelin’ Alright" and "Steal My Sunshine". In 2000 he attained a personal studio and released his first fully self-produced album Beauty is a Free Road in June, followed by Road Life in August. He received funds for the studio from performing live shows and, predominantly, a publishing deal with EMI. In 2001, he partnered with Legendary Entertainment to reissue many of his early independent releases on CD. On April 3, 2001, he released Lime Green, his first album with Battle Axe Records. Also in 2001, he released the solo album Moka Only is… Ron Contour and the collaboration album Code Name: Scorpion with Prevail and Abstract Rude. Later in 2001, he was featured on the Swollen Members song "Fuel Injected", which won four MuchMusic Video Awards. He also appeared on the group's next single "Bring It Home", which peaked at #3 on the Canadian singles chart. Both singles reached #1 on the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown. The album Bad Dreams peaked at #34 on the Canadian albums chart, and placed on multiple Canadian year-end charts in 2002. The album also achieved Platinum status by the CRIA, and won Rap Recording of the Year at the 2002 Juno Awards. After this success, he joined the group for a number of songs on their next album. In 2002, Swollen Members released Monsters in the Closet, a collection of B-sides, unreleased tracks and three newly produced songs. Two of the new songs "Breath" (featuring Nelly Furtado) and "Steppin’ Thru" reached #1 on the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown. "Breath" also won a MuchMusic Video Award for Best Rap Video. The album debuted at #7 on the Canadian albums chart, and placed on multiple Canadian year-end charts in 2002. The album also earned a Gold certification from the CRIA, and won Rap Recording of the Year at the 2003 Juno Awards. Just weeks prior to Monsters in the Closet, Moka released the solo album Flood, though it was overlooked in favor of the group's album. On June 3, 2003, he released the album Lowdown Suite, which suffered a similar fate as his previous solo effort. The group's next album Heavy was released later in the year and included Moka on every song, for the first time. The album debuted at #14 on the Canadian albums chart. The song "Watch This" peaked at #21 on the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown. Also in 2003, he featured on the song "Better Days" from the album Natural Progression by Sweatshop Union, which peaked at #23 on the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown in August of 2004. All three albums were nominated for Western Canadian Music Awards in 2004, Natural Progression, Lowdown Suite, and Heavy, which won the award. After this he left Swollen Members and returned his focus mostly to solo work. On August 16, 2005, he released his final album with Battle Axe Records titled The Desired Effect, which he once referred to as "The Not So Desired Effect" due to issues with Nettwerk. The song "Once Again" (featuring Madchild) peaked at #13 on the MuchMusic Top 30 Countdown. In October of 2005, he released Dirty Jazz, a Japan exclusive CD, with new tracks and a few from the previous album. On September 29, 2006, 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". Just a month later he released The Station Agent, an album that mainly showcases Moka's beat production. In 2007 he released Vermilion, his first album with Urbnet Records, which includes more songs that were initially intended for The Desired Effect. Also in 2007, he started the Airport series with a spring themed album, and the Martian Xmas series with three winter-themed albums. He continued the Airport series, releasing annually for six years. The Martian Xmas series is ongoing and has totaled 22 releases. In 2008, he released the albums Clap Trap and Carrots and Eggs on Urbnet Records. He worked with many different labels during this time period, but by the early 2010s the majority of his albums were released by Urbnet Records. The albums Vermilion (2007), Dog River (2007), Carrots and Eggs (2008), Airport 6 (2012) and Sex Money Moka (2014) each received nominations for Western Canadian Music Awards. In 2016, he released 12 full-length albums, one in each month. The albums were released digitally and as a limited edition, two part cassette collection. Two of the albums, named Magnesium Opium and The Winter From 2001, were released as Nowfolk with Ishkan. The recordings were recovered from Moka's ADAT system, which was damaged in June 2003. In 2017, he released the album Concert for One. He was nominated again by Western Canadian Music Awards for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year in 2018 and 2020. In 2024, Nowfolk digitally released the 2002 album The Moon, which went out of print on CD by 2004. In addition to making music, he painted the cover artwork for his albums In and of Itself, AMALAMA and Spooky Beats n' Other Treats; EP's The Mothership and Beaming; and the single "Heart at Home". Moka has collaborated with a number of artists including Awol One, Billy Woods, Birdapres, Bootie Brown, Buck 65, Dan-e-o, Del the Funky Homosapien, Dragon Fli Empire, Gabriel Teodros, Grand Puba, Kirby Dominant, Kool Keith, k-os, MF Doom, Muneshine, Myka 9, Opio, Planet Asia, Plug 2, Sadat X, and Sunspot Jonz. In 2009, he was featured on the song "Quit While You’re Ahead" with fellow Canadians Classified, Maestro Fresh Wes and Choclair. He released a collaboration album with a different producer each year from 2010-2012, Saffron in 2010 with Factor Chandelier, Crickets in 2011 with Chief, and Bridges in 2012 with Ayatollah. He also released Zzbra: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack in 2012, a collaboration with production team The Draft Dodgers and rapper Evil Ebenezer. Other producers he has collaborated with include The Alchemist, Chin Injeti, J Dilla, J. Rawls, KutMasta Kurt, Oh No, and Potatohead People. He is the only Canadian musician to collaborate with J Dilla before his passing. He has also released multiple songs with Dilla's younger brother, Illa J. He has produced songs for other artists including Lil B, and Snak the Ripper. In 2018, he produced the album The Supreme Paradigm Act I: The Grand Scheme for WISECRVCKER with guest appearances from 2Mex, Blueprint, Celph Titled, Deacon the Villain, El Da Sensei, Eligh, The Grouch, Ill Bill, Lord Jamar, Rakaa,