Over the Edge + February 2, 2011 arts & entertainment 11 Say What You Like, Just Spell His Name Right Shad comes to PG for Coldsnap Festival DARCIE SMITH ARTS EDITOR On Thursday, January 27, 2011, Canadian rapper Shad (born Shadrach Kabango) played at the Ramada Hotel downtown for a Coldsnap Music Festival performance. Before the performance, Over the Edge was able to interview Shad and ask him a few questions. DARCIE SMITH DS: What are some of your highlights from 2010? SK: | went to Europe for the first time, which was cool. Territories. | also went to the North West DS: What are you looking forward to in 2011? SK: Making more music and enjoying the summer in Vancouver. DS: So you go to Simon Fraser University. What are you taking? SK: I’m taking graduate level studies, mainly philosophy related. DS: What are your goals in music? SK: Really just to make good music, put on great shows and to get better and better at what | do and be able to really communicate something meaningful and interesting through music. DS: What artists would you say have influenced you the most? SK: | would say Common, Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, and The Roots. DS: What areas, if any, would you like to see growth or improvement in? JOHN HALL Without a doubt, Shad is Canada’s most talented rapper. SK: Everything. | think | could get further in every way, as a performer and in terms of recording. There are different levels to reach and | think that you can just keep going. | heard someone Say once that your greatest move for improvement is in your weakness. When you have an inclination towards something, hard work can go a long way and you can reach new levels. DS: There are some strong allusions to faith in your music. Do you ascribe to any religion, and how does it affect your songwriting? SK: You could probably characterize me as a Christian. | think that whenever you believe in anything - and really, everyone believes in something - it will be translated into your music. With hip-hop, there is a more straightforward poeticism to it than what you find in other music. When you present yourself in hip-hop, it’s more direct and straightforward. When | write songs I’m usually either sorting through something or presenting myself in a creative fashion. It factors into my music a lot. If my faith is what | go to to navigate through life, it will show in my music and how | present myself. DS: What is the theological experience behind “Rose Garden?” SK: | can’t say that it really relates to a specific life experience or philosophical experience. You'll definitely find there are some references to spirituality for sure. The song is light and fun but lyrically it does talk about some real things and basically revolves around a need to get up and face the day no matter what. | do think my faith is a tool that helps me do that every day. The song is not really rooted in one kind of experience. JOHN HALL Shad had no problem interacting with the audience during his performance. DS: What influences you the most in your songwriting? SK: | think it comes from two places. For one, making music is fun; that’s why | do it. Secondly, it’s fun but it’s also profound. It’s about communicating something profound. If it was easy to communicate, you’d just say it. There are two dimensions to my song writing: to have fun with music, and to have people enjoy themselves to music. Secondly, | like translating something about who | am, what | am experiencing, what | am seeing. | use words and music together to be a vehicle for that. DS: Do you have any other upcoming shows? SK: Nothing really. I’m not doing too much in February other than focusing on school and doing some writing while I’m here. |’ll get back to playing in March or April. DS: Will there be a new Shad album in the near future? SK: | can’t promise if there will be, but I’m always writing. I’m feeling pretty good about getting back into the studio maybe in the summer, but | can’t promise anything. DS: Will you be doing any collaborations with other artists? SK: There’s some stuff. I’m recording a verse for an artist named Blitz the Ambassador from Ghana, and working on a song with Eternia, a Canadian rapper. DS: Do you have a favourite song to perform live, and why? SK: No. Well. . . “Rose Garden” always gets me going, but | don’t really have a favourite.