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Canadian rapper and broadcaster (born 1982) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shadrach Kabango (born July 18, 1982), known professionally as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian rapper and broadcaster. Beginning his career in 2005, has released seven studio albums and three extended plays. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and five of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist in the prize's history.[1] In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time.[2][3] Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016, and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.[4]
Shad | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Shadrach Kabango |
| Also known as | Shad K Your Boy Tony Braxton |
| Born | July 18, 1982 Kenya |
| Origin | London, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Alternative hip hop |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | shadk |
Born in Kenya to Rwandan parents, Shad was raised in London, Ontario.[5] His mother worked as a lab technologist in a London hospital and his father was a machinist.[6] He attended London Central Secondary School.
While an undergraduate student at Wilfrid Laurier University, Shad won $17,500 from 91.5 The Beat's Rhythm of the Future talent competition.[7] He was entered in the radio contest by his sister.[8] The prize money was used to finance his self-released debut album When This Is Over (2005). The album was recognized for Shad's honest lyrics[9] and focus on social causes—for example, the track "I'll Never Understand" examines the Rwandan genocide and includes poetry written by his mother Bernadette Kabango.[10]
In 2007, Shad was signed by Black Box Recordings for a three-album deal and released his second album, The Old Prince.[11] The album was supported by four singles, most prominently "The Old Prince Still Lives at Home", with its accompanying viral music video.[12] In 2008, The Old Prince received a Juno Award nomination for Rap Recording of the Year and was a short-list nominee for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize.[13] The music video for the single "The Old Prince Still Lives at Home" was nominated for two MuchMusic Video Awards in 2008.[14]
Shad released his third album, TSOL, in 2010. TSOL was a short-list nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize, the video for the song "Rose Garden" received a nomination for a 2011 MuchMusic Video Award, and the album won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards.[15] On beating out Canadian compatriot Drake for the Juno, Shad said in an interview: "I did not think for a second that I would win. Not for one second. He's massive. He's massive in the States, he's massive in Canada."[16]
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In 2012, Shad released the EP "Melancholy and the Infinite Shadness"[17] and in June 2013, he released a collaborative EP with Skratch Bastid entitled The Spring Up.[18] Shad's fourth album,[19] Flying Colours, was released on October 15, 2013.[20] This album was nominated for the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2014, and was a short-list nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.[21] In December 2014, Shad released a collaborative EP with DJ T. LO entitled "Boarding Pass".[22]
In 2016, he released a 90s-influenced soft-rock album, Adult Contempt, under the pseudonym Your Boy Tony Braxton.[23] The alter ego was based on "the idea of a dude named Tony Braxton who likes to sing (but obviously isn't as good as the famous Toni Braxton)."[24] Musically, the album was inspired by Michael Penn, Terence Trent D'arby, The Cure, Bryan Adams, and Janet Jackson.[25]
In the same year, Shad collaborated with Tanya Tagaq on "Centre", a track from her album Retribution, and also recorded for Homeboy Sandman, Skratch Bastid, and A Tribe Called Red (on We Are the Halluci Nation).
In July 2018, Shad released the lead single, "The Fool Pt 1 (Get It Got It Good)" from his new album, A Short Story About a War. Two follow-up singles, "The Fool Pt. 3 (Frame of Mind)" and "The Stone Throwers (Gone in a Blink)", were released in prior to the album's release.[26] The album was released in October 2018 on Secret City Records and included collaborations with Lido Pimienta, Kaytranada, Ian Kamau, Eternia, and Yukon Blonde. A Short Story About a War is a concept album, which explores the same war from multiple perspectives.[27] The album was short-listed for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize, marking Shad's 4th Polaris short-list nomination.[28]
In April 2020, Shad indicated he was working on finishing a new album.[29] He also was featured on Tobi's "24 (Toronto Remix)" and its corresponding music video, along with Haviah Mighty, Jazz Cartier, and Ejji Smith.[30]
In April 2021, Shad released the single "Out of Touch", featuring pHoenix Pagliacci, followed by the single "Work", featuring Skratch Bastid, the next month.[31][32] In June 2021, Shad announced his new album, TAO , would be released October 1, 2021.[33] He also released the song "Storm", which featured pHoenix Pagliacci and George Elliott Clarke.[33] On July 14, 2022, TAO was short-listed for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize.[1]
In March 2015, it was announced that Shad would replace Jian Ghomeshi as host of CBC Radio One's Q.[4] In August 2016, the CBC announced that he would be replaced by Tom Power.[34][35]
In the four-part documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution, Shad interviewed multiple noted hip-hop and rap artists to explore the origins of this music genre. This documentary was featured in 2016 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and shown on HBO Canada[36] On December 2, 2016 Netflix released the series internationally. The series went on to be one of the 2016 Peabody Award winners[37] and won an International Emmy Award for Best Arts Programming in 2017.[38] On October 19, 2018 Netflix released a second season of the series and a third season was released on September 6, 2019.[39] Hip Hop Evolution's fourth season was released on January 17, 2020.[40]
Shad is described as a "conscious" and "reflective" rapper,[8][41] known for his witty lyrics on heartfelt subjects.[42] Shad has stated that he was influenced by the artists that he listened to in high school, such as Common, Lauryn Hill, Eminem, The Roots, Notorious B.I.G., and Outkast.[43][44]
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Shad is bilingual, speaking English and French. He holds a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University[44] and a master's degree in liberal studies from Simon Fraser University.[45] Shad and his wife married in 2016; they have two daughters.[46]
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