Interview with Shad
[uncredited photo via MySpace]
Canadian Hip Hop artist Shadrach Kabango, better known as Shad, will be rolling into Minneapolis on the second of August as part of this year’s Warped Tour. His masterpiece The Old Prince also just recently saw its U.S. release on Black Box Recordings, and if there is any justice in the world it will take the country by storm. Culture Bully’s Jon Behm recently caught up with Shad in order to gain some insight as to what the emcee is doing, what his future plans are, and what’s going on with Canadian Hip Hop.
Jon Behm: Where did you come up with the idea of “The Old Prince” and how does that album reflect your own ethos as an artist?
Shad: The idea of The Old Prince started forming about six months before I started recording. It was just this image/idea that resonated with me and I felt it related to what I was writing about and what I was living and seeing around me at the time… just the idea of becoming the people we’re meant to be and the struggle to get there.
JB: The video from The Old Prince‘s title track is one of my all time favorites. How did the idea for using the Fresh Prince intro come about?
S: Thanks man. The directors pitched the idea and I thought it would be fun to do. The directors are a couple friends of mine so they know me and they know my music well… they thought the sort of old-school vibe of the track, plus playing on The Old Prince/Fresh Prince titles, plus doing the sequence of the intro backwards so its like fresh prince moving back home kinda tied in with the lyrics. Made sense in a lot of ways but really it was just a cool idea and something fun to shoot at the end of the day.
JB: It’s now been a couple years since The Old Prince was recorded, but it’s just recently been re-released in the U.S. Are you still mainly focused on promoting that record or are you moving on to new projects? If so, what do you have in the works?
S: I’m planning on recording something new in the fall. We got the opportunity to play the Warped Tour this year so that opened up the opportunity to release this album here. Otherwise I’m looking forward to working on the next project.
JB: How are things currently going touring as part of the Warped Tour? (And have you run into our local hip hop hero, P.O.S.?)
S: So far its been alright. Some shows have been better than others… it’s not easy playing to new audiences, especially when they’re not big hip hop fans for the most part, but it’s a good challenge. Overall, it’s a dope opportunity and crowds have been cool and open-minded. As for the homie P.O.S., I’ve run into him a couple times. Seems like a very chill brother… and I heard hes been tearing up the stages thus far..
JB: I noticed you just recorded some freestyle in the back of the tour bus, is that sort of thing something you are doing a lot of?
S: Yeah, we got a lot of time to kill on the road! Inevitably we start freestyling at some point in the day.
JB: As a rapper whose material often contains a lot of social/political/religious themes, what place do you feel that hip hop has in awareness and/or social action?
S: Think there’s room in this genre to express just about anything. I’m excited to see where people take it in the future. For me, hip hop has been helpful for sorting through some of difficult things that I’m thinking and feeling. Deep things, often social/political/spiritual things. Using rhyme and rhythm and melody to get that stuff out and make some sense of it. On just a personal level, hip hop has been great for me in that sense and I’m thankful for that. Fortunately it can go beyond that too when you put that music out there; the same way it helps me sort through things, listeners can hopefully gain something from the music too. So all that to say yeah I think hip hop definitely has a place as far as awareness and social action goes, for the artist and for the listener.
JB: Has growing up in London, Ontario had a major impact on your development as an artist?
S: I think it’s affected my music. We grew up listening to a lot of different stuff in London because we were just excited about music there… we would get some of our music from Detroit radio stations because London’s a couple hours from there. A lot from Much Music which was like our MTV. Overall, it’s my hometown so it’s just a big part of who I am.
JB: What’s going on with Canadian rap? Is there a cohesive movement up there, or more regional stuff going on? Is there a distinct, say “Toronto Sound” as opposed to Vancouver artists, much like the geographical differences in Hip Hop in the U.S. (i.e. Dirty South, West Coast, East Coast, etc.)?
S: There’s definitely some regional differences. Toronto is close to Detroit and New York so there’s more of that kind of vibe going on there. I find out West there’s more of an underground kind of vibe in towns like Victoria and Calgary. A lot of our hip hop artists that have found an audience have a range of influences. Kardinal’s got some West Indian Flavor. K’naan uses a lot of African rhythms and sounds, k-os fuses a range of sounds together, etc… so that’s something that can be said for Canadian hip hop too.
JB: Are you still currently studying towards your MBA? What plans do you have towards that and do you think you will ever hang up your hip hop spurs in favor of a desk job? If so, how can I convince you not to do it?
S: Ha ha. I’m doing a masters in liberal studies which is as unemployable as they come as far as graduate degrees, so hopefully I can keep rapping for a little while. I hope to keep making music as long as I feel I have something worth putting out.
JB: Any further reflections from the road across the country?
S: Man… it’s been great seeing the country! Got time to chill in San Francisco, Laguna Beach… today we’re in Memphis digesting mass amounts of BBQ as we speak. Its been an awesome opportunity to connect with people and see the country!