Canoe JAM! - Shad Releases Sophomore CD
Shadrach Kabango was but an infant when his family brought the Kenyan native to Canada. And while London, Ont., has been the hip-hop up-and-comer's home ever since, the man now known simply as Shad has not forgotten his roots.
"It informs my perspective on life," Kabango says of his background. "My parents had to make a lot of sacrifices, and that hardship is always in my mind."
And on his lips. The Old Prince, the sophomore release from Shad, is essentially a narrative tale of soul searching that at each turn questions and strives to put in perspective what we all want out of life.
Spoiler alert: Ultimately, Shad concludes in the album's mellow closing track, "What we all want should look a little more like love."
Yes, it's been said before. And there is nothing revolutionary about Shad's rhymes and the beats behind them. But Shad's "quest for glory" is no less inspiring for it. The Old Prince is a savvy collection of well-crafted hip-hop originals, cleverly tied together thematically and through narration courtesey Kabango's parents.
It is, in many ways, a guidebook -- not only to how to make a great album, but also to how to make the most of your lot. When Shad inevitably slips into hip-hop braggadocio, he is apologetic for it, preferring instead to coach us on how to make money through the right scam, and how to save money by taking your date to McDonald's and keeping that Mach 3 razor instead of investing in the Mach 4.
(If you buy only one CD by a hip-hop motivational speaker this year, make if The Old Prince. And yes, that old prince is Shad.)
The above-mentioned advice can be found in the wry The Old Prince Still Lives at Home, a track Shad finishes a cappella because, he explains, he could not afford the beats for an entire song.
Again, clever. (Fear not, though, Shad will be accompanied by a live band at tomorrow's show, so beats will be plentiful.)
"It all makes it a little easier to digest," Kabango says of such humorous touches. "But it's also natural. That's life. There are heavier moments and there are lighter moments. It's important to me to reflect that."
That sort of practicality has been a hallmark of Shad's career to date. He recorded his bare-bones debut album, When This is Over, only after copping funding through an unsigned talent competition sponsored by a local radio station. And did not forsake his university business admin studies to do it. On this day, as he talks to media about the seemingly limitless possibilities that await his first major label release, he is setting aside time to study to complete a philosophy paper for his graduate studies at Simon Fraser University.
Hip-hop stardom might beckon, but this old prince is a wise one.
After all, for now at least, we're talking Canadian hip-hop stardom.
"The hardest thing about Canada is just the amount of people," Kabango notes. "There just aren't the people like there are in the U.S. You can't expect to be playing to a straight up hip-hop audience right across the country. That audience is just not there in a lot of places. But you have to go into it knowing that you have to keep your expectations realistic."
And, some in the industry might point out, you consequently have to throw some pop and rock in with your hip-hop.
"I understand why someone might do that," Kabango says, "but ultimately you can only do what comes naturally to you. Someone like K-Os can do it because he's obviously into so many different things. I'm into a lot of things too, but I don't want to force it. If you try to force it, you do more harm than good."
By ALLAN WIGNEY -- Sun Media
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2007/10/24/4600509-sun.html
Wednesday, October 24, 2007