Saukrates

Saukrates aka Big Sox (born Amani Wailoo on December 20, 1977 in Toronto, Ontario), is a Canadian Hip-Hop artist/producer. Along with Kardinal Offishall, he is usually considered to be the most skilled rapper from Canada. He is part of Capitol Hill Music, and frontman of the five-man hip hop group Big Black Lincoln. In 1994, his first track was titled "Still Caught Up", which earned a nomination for Best Rap Recording at the 1996 Juno Awards. He was also nominated for another Juno of the same award in 2000 for "Money Or Love". In 2001, Saukrates produced the track "Uh-Huh" for Redman's Malpractice album, and appeared on a track called "Enjoy Da Ride". He also did a track called "Fine Line" for the soundtrack to Method Man and Redman's How High movie. In 2002, Saukrates teamed up with fellow Canadian producer Agile from BrassMunk to produce the track "Heaven" for Nas' God's Son and it featured Jully Black. Canadian hip hop artists have had a hard time getting established south of the border, and Saukrates is no exception. In 1996, he was signed to Warner Bros. Records. Unfortunately for Saukrates, Warner dropped him in 1998, which was one year before his debut album The Underground Tapes was released to critical acclaim. By the year 2000, Saukrates reached another big deal with Def Jam and Gilla House Records (owned by Redman). Eventually, Saukrates was dropped by Def Jam because he was no longer considered a priority, however he remained with Gilla House. As of 2006, Saukrates is still looking to sign with a major record label. On November 19, 2006, he performed "Promiscuous" with Nelly Furtado at halftime show of the 94th Grey Cup (the CFL championship game). Two days later, Saukrates beat-boxed during her performance of "Say It Right" at the 2006 American Music Awards in Los Angeles. On February 23, 2007, he appeared on the daytime drama One Life to Live with Nelly Furtado, performing "Promiscuous". Saukrates is also touring with Nelly Furtado on her Get Loose Tour, singing as a backing vocalist and supporting act. Saukrates appears on two tracks of Redman's new album Red Gone Wild, released March 2007.