Dragon Fli Empire formed in May 2002. They released the original version of their debut album
Conquest locally in the summer of 2002 as a limited edition CD-R. The song "Mount Pleasant", a track about observations while riding
Calgary Transit received airplay on
CJSW-FM,
CKUA and
CBC Radio 3. An official version of
Conquest was pressed and independently released in August 2004. The album was re-mastered and three tracks from the CD-R version were replaced with newer ones, including the DFE theme song "D-E-F". Their second album,
Invasion, was independently released in May 2005. Reaching number five on the
!earshot Canadian campus radio charts, it showcased a progression in the group's sound, and featured the tracks "Headphones", "Our Way", "Invasion" and "Tight Spot". The group collaborated with several other Canadian indie hip hop artists on the album, including Ndidi Cascade, More or Les, Epic, Mindbender and
Touch and Nato plus live musicians like Kirby Small and
Tariq. In 2007, an album featuring tracks from
Invasion and
Conquest (
Inquest) was released in Japan through
P-Vine Records. The same year, a 12" vinyl release of the
Invasion song "Roc the Crowd" featuring
Ohmega Watts was released worldwide on Calgary-based label Bigfoot Records. DFE released an EP entitled
Intermission in May 2008 prior to their third full-length album
Redefine. The EP reached number three on the
!earshot and
Chart Attack hip hop charts.
Intermission also reached number three on
The R3-30 on
CBC Radio 3. Two tracks from
Intermission were nominated for Radio 3's 2008 Bucky Awards. The group's third full-length album,
Redefine released in Japan on
P-Vine Records in October 2008 and in North America on Makebelieve Records in January 2009.
Redefine featured collaborations with a number of high-profile artists including
Cadence Weapon,
Masta Ace,
Ohmega Watts,
Josh Martinez,
Moka Only and
Raashan Ahmad. It reached number one for two weeks on the
!earshot and
Chart Attack hip hop charts, and was number three for several weeks on the
CMJ hip hop charts. The video for "Outside Inn" was the group's first to receive rotation on
MuchMusic and
MuchVibe.
Redefine was also nominated for Best Rap / Hip Hop Recording at the 2009
Western Canadian Music Awards. The
Ride On EP vinyl was released via Finnish label Traveller Records in September 2009, featuring four songs from
Redefine. Dragon Fli Empire was the first hip hop group featured on the annual
MUCH does Calgary talent showcase on MuchMusic in 2005. They have also appeared on CBC-TV's
ZeD and
The National. The group has toured across Canada, Europe and parts of the U.S., and played festivals like
Shambhala, Montreal's Under Pressure, Ottawa's Alberta Scene and Yellowknife's
Folk on the Rocks. DFE has also played select dates of
Warped Tour and
Rock the Bells as well as showcasing locally at
JunoFest,
Sled Island, the
Calgary International Spoken Word Festival and the
Calgary Folk Music Festival. Their music has been featured on the
MTV Canada series
Peak Season as well as the
OLN/
National Geographic Adventure travel show
Word Travels. ==Discography==