Artist Watch: Shad aka Shadrach Kabango

Shad has emerged as one of Canada’s most gifted young hip-hop artists and, with his new album The Old Prince, he’s made a fresh, ingenious record. Based out of London, Ontario but currently pursuing graduate studies in Vancouver, Shad turned heads at a 2004 radio competition, winning $17,500 towards his 2005 debut, When This is Over. The independently released record showcased a budding talent with a warm flow who alternated between endearingly silly and conscious rhymes. Brandishing an acoustic guitar with a DJ and a live band, there’s something automatically unique about the old-school flavour Shad brings to contemporary hip-hop and he’s made an astonishing artistic leap with The Old Prince.