Checkmate

Checkmate is the stage name of Lyle Bismark, a Canadian rapper from Vancouver, British Columbia. Best known as one of the collaborating artists on Rascalz' influential 1998 single "Northern Touch", he was also a Juno Award nominee for Rap Recording of the Year for his single "R.A.W." at the Juno Awards of 2003.
He recorded over 200 underground tracks before appearing on "Northern Touch", including the singles "Signs of War", "The Longshot" and "Bait & Switch". He then compiled some of those songs for the 2001 album Welcome to the Game, which was released on Double Up Records. "R.A.W." was released as a standalone non-album single the following year, and garnered Checkmate his Juno Award nomination in 2003.
He has made several solo recordings after "R.A.W.", and was a featured collaborator on other artists' singles. Checkmate produced the compilation "Game Related" and released it through Natural Game Records in 2005. In 2008, Checkmate released the "African Kings" album in collaboration with Concise The Black Knight as the Defenders of the Faith. Both projects were re-released on to Spotify recently.