These days a popular sound has a very limited shelf-life. Unfortunately, most people are quick to frown upon anything different (although in most cases musical quality has nothing to do with what they choose to support). While traditional methods have stood the test of time, there will always be a need for evolution. As in nature, only the strong survive; in Hip Hop, those who are able to creatively change along side the changing demands of the public (while keeping their own unique identity) remain the strongest.

Muneshine has been involved in Hip Hop since the mid 90's.

In the beginning it was the music of Public Enemy, Ice Cube, and Erib B. & Rakim that found

its way into Muneshine's tape deck. He was drawn to the honesty and reality of the music, and in turn it gave him a whole new outlook on his own situation. Although he grew up in rural Saskatchewan (Canada), it was Hip Hop that gave Muneshine a creative outlet, and eventually his definition.

In 1997, Muneshine realized that listening to Hip Hop, and writing rhymes wasn't enough. Shortly after graduating from high school, he chose to expand his horizons, and teach himself how to DJ. He purchased the highly regarded (low quality) Gemini DJ Starter Kit, and got to it. Growing up in a small community, Hip Hop vinyl was hard to come by, but slowly his collection grew. Through the challenge of finding the Hip Hop records he was after, subconsciously Muneshine learned the art of digging.

After a few years of honing his DJ'ing and rhyming skills further, Muneshine decided it was time to take the next step. He started saving his minimum wage earnings in plans of purchasing the Akai MPC 2000. He knew the moment he hooked it up that this was it, this was what all his previous exploits had built up to. He was instantly hooked on production, and found the process natural.

Through use of the internet, Muneshine was able to look beyond his local music scene, and start networking with other artists in his position. It was through this connection that Muneshine met three emcees from Portland, Oregan known (although not at the time) as Lightheaded.

After fully producing the group's debut album, "Pure Thoughts", Muneshine knew he was onto something. As soon as the album hit shelves, the rave reviews of this Canadian new-comer started to pile up.

Off the success of "Pure Thoughts", Muneshine started getting requests for collaboration from around the globe. Among many of the projects he took on in that period, one stood out above the rest. In the summer of 2002, Muneshine was contacted by emcee Sycorax One (now known simply as Raks One) from New York, U.S.A..Once their first song reached completion ("Heroshima" from their debut album "A Vision and a Plan"), they both realized that they had tapped into an amazing chemistry, and decided from that point on their work together would be listed as Phocus, and they instantly started working on more songs.

Around the same time, Muneshine's emcee work had put him in touch with a small group of producers from around the world who were at the same point in their careers as he was. With the help of Dminor (vocalist/producer from California, U.S.A.), Muneshine formed what has come to be known as Wax Reform, a collection of extremely driven and talented producers. The first producers to become official members were Presto (Zaandam, Holland), Illmind (New Jersey, U.S.A.) and M-Phazes (Gold Coast, Australia). They formed with the common goal to raise the bar creatively, and attempt to bring the soul back to Hip Hop music.

Muneshine had also started working with emcee Supastition (North Carolina, U.S.A.), and was immediately blown away by his raw delivery and pure ambition. Muneshine put him in touch with the rest of Wax Reform, and not long after that he was officially voted into the crew as their first representative behind the mic.

As things progressed with Phocus, Raks One was also inducted into the crew.

In the fall of 2003, Muneshine made another big decision, and applied to Canada's finest Audio Engineering School, in London, Ontario. With plans of being a self contained unit, he decided learning the technical ins and outs of music production and recording would do nothing but benefit himself, and Wax Reform. Over the next year Muneshine did just that, and in the fall of 2004 he walked away with an honors degree in Audio Engineering.

That fall, Muneshine and Raks One (Phocus) released their debut album, "A Vision and a Plan" with Japanese record label Handcuts Records. The album featured Dminor, Supastition, and Illmind of Wax Reform.

Around the same time of the release, Muneshine started working on his own solo album, as an emcee. During the previous few years the majority of his focus was on building his production skill, but the love of ripping the mic was never lost. With a few tracks in the books, Muneshine reached out to two of his mentors, the legendary Pete Rock, and DJ Spinna about collaborating with him on this new project. With the help of his label in Japan (Handcuts Records), this dream became a reality.

Muneshine recently released his debut solo album, "Opportunity Knocks". He is currently working on the follow up to Phocus' debut, "Threshold", his new mixtape, “Flawless”, and countless appearances, and production collaborations with artists from around the globe.

For more information on Muneshine, and his crew, Wax Reform, be sure to visit: http://www.muneshine.com and http://www.waxreform.com .