In a matter of years a young rapper from London, ON known as Shadrach Kabango has become a member of Canada’s Hip Hop royalty. Shad has been in the midst of sea of praise for each of his three albums, not to mention all the nominations and award wins including a 2011 Juno Award. No, he didn’t do it with flashy cars, video girls, and bling – he did it with sincere, yet clever lyrics and a just enough artistic flair to win over the masses.

Shad’s career got a $17,000 kick-start when Kitchener’s 91.5 FM hosted their annual talent competition, Rhythm of the Future, and selected the burgeoning rapper as their winner. The winnings funded his debut release, When This Is Over, which not only put him on the Canadian hip-hop map with opening slots for Common and Lupe Fiasco, but landed him a record deal with Black Box Recordings. It was with Shad’s follow-up The Old Prince that Canada started to embrace the new hip-hop hero. The release led to Shad’s first Polaris Music Prize nomination in 2008, along with a nomination and Indie Award win for Favourite Urban Artist/Group in 2009.

Fast forward to mid-2010 after over 3 national tours and a 50-date stint on Vans Warped Tour to Shad’s highly anticipated release TSOL. Upon release The Globe and Mail said, “Shad embodies hip hop’s late-eighties/early-nineties golden-age aesthetic so effortlessly that, much like Sharon Jones’s sweaty soul revivalism, his songs can sound like unearthed classics”, along with countless other top-notch reviews for the now seasoned rapper. TSOL is easily Shad’s best work yet garnering recognition again with a Polaris Music Prize nomination along with a startling Juno Award win for Best Rap Recording of the Year over shoe-in nominee Drake. 

Needless to say, don’t go thinking that Shad has peaked yet. He’s got more on the way as he continues to breathe fresh life into hip hop’s exciting future.