Saukrates

Saukrates aka Big Sox (born Amani Wailoo on December 20, 1977 in Toronto, Ontario), is a Canadian hip-hop artist and producer of Guyanese heritage. Along with Kardinal Offishall, he is one of the most well-recognized Canadian hip hop artists. He is part of Capitol Hill Music, and frontman of the five-man hip hop group Big Black Lincoln. He is also a member of Redman’s Gilla House group.
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’ album 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 on Capitol Hill. 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. He appears on two tracks of Redman’s latest album Red Gone Wild, released in March 2007. Additionally he appears on the first single from Method Man & Redman’s new album, Blackout 2.
He completed a third album, Bad Addiction, in 2004, but has faced difficulty securing widespread release on a major label. In the meantime he has produced material for Big Black Lincoln and R&B singer Andreena Mill.