Raised in the 1980's by Wolves and Bears respectively, Rob Banks Beats and Maarius81 always shared a common bond.

As was the tradition in both Bear and Wolf communities in those days, human wards were set free in the nearest big city on their tenth birthday.

As each of them was released, in the years of 1990 and 1991, they were exposed individually to the colorful graffiti, scratch DJing, Break dancing, MCing and captivating loops and break beats that symbolized hip-hop.

A lucid dream, that he still refuses to discuss, is said to have been the catalyst to Rob Banks Beats’ unique style of production. He started down a path of beat making on September 7, 1996, inspired by just about every rap song the early to mid-90’s had to offer, as well as subliminal noises, such as the familial wolf call he learned and mastered at the tender and impressionable age of five.

Maarius, on the other hand, had long been writing poetry. But on July 9, 1997 he began incorporating that poetry, along with grunts and growls picked up from his bear family, into complex rhyme patterns designed to be presented over those very break beats that had introduced him to the urban world in 1991.

The two joined forces in July or maybe September of 1999 and spent the next 12 years evolving and refining their combined sound. A sound now known to the world as Sword of a Giant (or Sort of a Giant in New Zealand due to copyright issues).

Location:

Seattle