For almost two decades Canadian hip-hop artist Prevail has carved out a legacy with his Juno-Award winning hip-hop group Swollen Members.
Lately, however, Prevail has begun to shift his attention to a new hip-hop group, called Alpha Omega. The group is a collaboration with his first-born nephew, who goes by the stage name Neph.
“We’ve been having a blast making tunes,” Prevail told the News Bulletin.
Tonight (Nov. 20) Alpha Omega will be showcasing its sound at the Queen’s. The performance in the Harbour City is one of the final stops on a tour that has taken the group through Alberta and British Columbia.
“We love Nanaimo, obviously being an Island boy myself,” Prevail said. “We have an appreciation and a fondness for the Harbour City. I love playing the Queen’s. It has such an amazing vibe and it is pretty nostalgic for me.”
Alpha Omega's first single Northern Lights pays tribute to the Canadian landscape.
The Victoria-raised artist said he has enjoyed being able to collaborate and act as a mentor to his nephew.
“It’s cool to have that creative dynamic as well. We knew going into it that we would have that vibe, but we’ve just meshed really amazingly on the creative and recording vibe,” Prevail said. “I think that I am trying to help him lay some roadwork and some templates so that he can expand upon himself as well.”
Prevail explained that Alpha Omega will have a slightly different sound than Swollen Members.
“It’s really high energy, but quite brooding at the same time,” Prevail said. “I am flipping some new styles and trying some new stuff.”
The newly formed hip-hop group is currently working towards the release of their first record, which is set to come out early next year.
“It’s an exciting time as far as the creative avenue goes,” Prevail said. “We’re starting to carve out a sound of our own, which is pretty unique in this day in age in underground hip-hop.”
On Oct. 31, Alpha Omega released their first single, Northern Passage, on YouTube.
“I try to mention a lot of the symbolism that we have, especially on the West Coast, with the Thunderbird and referencing certain parts of Canada that I think have historic and nostalgic value for a lot of us,” Prevail said. “That song, Northern Passage, is really an ode to Canada and a way for me to paint the landscape from coast to coast, but still be able to do it cryptically.”
While the Juno-award winning hip-hop artist has been focusing his time on Alpha Omega and other projects, such as running an online publication called PrevailPrevail.com, he explained he is still very much a part of Swollen Members.
“We’ve [Swollen Members] clawed back for the last three or four years to get ourselves back to a point of respectability,” Prevail said. “Not only in the industry side of things and our fan base, but really to ourselves as well to prove that we still have the focus and the work ethic.”
Alpha Omega performs alongside Kyprios from Sweatshop Union at the Queen’s at 7 p.m.
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