Heavyweight Dub Champion was founded in
Colorado in the Spring of 1997 by
Resurrector and Patch after the demise of
Roots Revolt, a
Boulder, Colorado Reggae/
Hip hop band from 1995–1997 of which they and others in HDC were members. a poster by Jher 451 and sticker of their "protector" logo. As described by
Denver's
Westword Magazine, "Structurally, the record moves from the announcement of the battle to the rallying calls of the Last Champion's chosen army – followers who unite to liberate individuals and the Earth – to the eventual announcement of the Last Champion as a victor in the championship against predators who have put a stranglehold on humanity's innate desire to creatively seek truth, beauty, pleasure and power."
Pop Matters describes the album as using "socially conscience and spiritual weapons of words to tell a story whose central plot leads to a philosophical and spiritual revival and a genuine awakening of the human spirit ... (with) an apocalyptic and epic cinematic soundtrack." Reviewed by Derek Beres in the
Huffington Post, he calls the album "A conversion, the ending of an era, a new dawn". He goes on, "Their hope might feel bitter to the taste, but only because they are correctly reflecting reality. By the glean of their astute and painstaking cultural observations, we are invited to join into their dance. It may require we pound our fists and wave our heads—their trance is fitful, not wistful ... this band does achieve greatness."
Music Connection Magazine describes the album as "A consortium of prophets heralding our doomed planet." A song from this album titled "Return of the Champion" was featured as one of the many
pre-loaded songs in the then popular Sandisk's
Sansa E200R series (
Rhapsody version).
Collaborations In 2006, prominent West Coast Breaks DJ
Bassnectar remixed
Arrival from then not yet released
Rise album. It features vocals from
KRS-One, A.P.O.S.T.L.E. and Stero-Lion. The track was included on
Bassnectar's
Om Records release
Yo EP as well as his double full length
Mesmerizing the Ultra released by Organic Records. In 2008, New Zealand native
Freq Nasty remixed
Snared featuring vocals from Stero-Lion for an album benefiting his
Water Of Life campaign for giveback.net- a project to bring water to communities in Ethiopia. Both HDC and
Freq Nasty performed at 2008 Harmony Festival which backed the project. The album also includes tracks from
Damian Marley,
Cheb i Sabbah, and others. In an interview, Resurrector described the band's intention behind doing the project, "our collaboration with
FreQ Nasty is an example of musical power in action, as a means to bring life and abundance to a people and a region. With Heavyweight Dub Champion, we focus our musical energies on bringing life and abundance to the human spirit from within ... The power of music can generate real momentum that leads to action in all sorts of ways and contributing our musical energy and experience to the "Water of Life" is just a very small step towards using it as a positive Earth-changing force." In 2011,
dubstep artist
Liquid Stranger released two Heavyweight Dub Champion collaborations on his Interchill release "Arcane Terrain". In 2011,
Resurrector did an all analog "redub" of
Kraddy's "Into The Labyrinth" EP released in 2013. ==Live performances==