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Whether we like it or not, in the state it’s in, Hip Hop as a whole is a genre chock-full of labels. I’m not talking about the mobs of artists trying to start up their own record labels, I mean the labels defining rappers as rappers. You can fall into a number of categories – Gangster Rap, Conscious Rap, Boom Bap Rap, West Coast Rap, East Coast Rap, Underground Rap, Pop Rap whatever, whatever, whatever. But with the thousands of aspiring rappers wrestling it out in the industry just trying to get noticed, let alone jack that number 1 spot, it seems that only GOOD rap is being permitted entrance into the ring.
Shadrach Kabango is one of those good rappers who creates good music and he’s absolutely good with that. In this day and age, fans have an extremely short attention span and usually allow rappers a very tiny window to deliver a great hook, line and sinker – pun intended. Playing the field with Canadian roots puts him immediately against the odds but that doesn’t seem to bother him. He quite likes it up north, in fact he moved out to Vancouver just a couple years ago to record much of his 2010 album, T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), of which he beat out a dude named Aubrey “Drake” |
Graham to earn Rap Recording of the Year at the 2011 Junos. Living and touring a lot throughout Canada you’d think his fan base would be strictly regional but his last couple LPs continue to garner him a following that blurs hip hop lines.
Getting to chop it up with him you’ll notice a humility with Shad, he’s got a wise understanding of the game and doesn’t care about the labels that float around the genre he inhabits. Maybe most importantly, Shad’s got a sense of humour. He’s not taking anything seriously from outside criticisms; and maybe that’s why there’s been none as of late. Like the Talibs, the Commons or Mos Defs of the world, there’s a strong relatability factor that’s evident in his musical palette and he’s not afraid to cite these influences in his lyrics or his interviews. He saw range in these types of rappers and so his material bears a tone that can go from introspective to uplifting to witty to aggressive to humourous all in a particularly poignant way. It’s fun, it’s head snapping, and it remains relevant from the YVR to the YYZ and on and beyond. Word to Kweli, Shad is our nation’s new “everything man”. |
View our featured episode with Shad below.
I’ve got to thank some great people, namely agencies Lotus Leaf and Beyond, for allowing us the chance to politick with the man in Vancouver at Fortune Sound Club and then fly out the following week to take part in the Scion x Exclaim Magazine VIP event in Toronto.
words & interview by Justin C. Lintag
footage by Kenn Navarra & Green Couch Sessions, Justin C. Lintag
video edit by Mario Soriano