LEN

In Toronto, siblings Marc "The Burger Pimp" Costanzo and Sharon launched the alternative outfit Len in 1991, drawing from Marc's early basement recordings and Sharon's vocal contributions. An emerging affinity for hip-hop gradually shaped the band's direction across one EP and two independent full-length releases issued between 1992 and 1996, among them the 1996 album Get Your Legs Broke. Additional musicians joined over time, among them D Rock, DJ Moves, and Planet Pea. Widespread attention arrived when the buoyant, relaxed pop track "Steal My Sunshine" appeared on the soundtrack for the 1999 movie Go, paving the way for Len's major-label debut You Can't Stop the Bum Rush later that same year. Although "Steal My Sunshine" reached the Top Ten, follow-up success proved elusive even after the band issued the singles "Feelin' Alright" and "Kids in America" across 1999 and 2000. Len moved to Dreamworks and completed another album, yet the label collapsed; the bulk of those recordings finally surfaced in 2005 under the title The Diary of the Madmen. The group dissolved shortly afterward, though Marc and Sharon reconvened to produce one further Len project, 2012's It's Easy If You Try.