Born in Toronto, Canada, Dan-e-o won a contest on the television dance show, Electric Circus, at the age of 13 and went on to become a consistent winner of rap battles and talent show contests. His recording career was officially launched in 1996 when his first single "Dear Hip Hop" was featured on Beat Factory/EMI's, RapEssentials Volume One compilation. The track is now considered by many to be a Canadian hip-hop classic. Dan-e-o helped to establish his crew, Monolith in 1997 by co-founding One Rock Records and independently releasing the EP, The Long Awaited... the following year. With two videos, "At The T.O.P." and "Plan Eh", this project helped put Dan-e-o and the 12-member Monolith crew permanently on the hip-hop map. in This Down 2 Earth episode we get down 2 Earth about Dan -e -o latest album release vigilant