Celebrated hip-hop icon Shad is just coming off the high of a tour supporting his new release Start Anew. Twenty years into his influential career, the Toronto-based rapper is packing out rooms and moving people to the groove of his bars. From his ground-breaking debut album When This Is Over (2005), Shadrach Kabango’s been a household name. Two time Rapper of the Year by The National Post, a Juno award win, and even a tenure at CBC Radio under his belt, Shad’s done it all. Now after two decades in the industry, for his seventh studio album, Shad is looking at the world— the challenges and tensions shaping it— and has come out saying “we need to let go of old ways, old systems.”

“The theme for the album was more inspired by what I was seeing when I looked out at our world, less by anything I was personally experiencing or where I felt I was at creatively. I was looking at all of the tensions and challenges in our society right now and this idea kept coming up for me that maybe a lot of problems right now have something to do with our resistance to change,” said Shad.

Shad isn’t one to shy away from asking his audience to step outside their comfort zone. Tracks like “I’ll Never Understand” found him exploring his people’s pasts with introspective poetry from his mother. His past record *TAO* (2021), a double entendre on a way of naturalism and *The Abolition of Man*, is a reflection on how the industrial nature of the society has created a disconnect between nature and us.

On ***Start Anew***, he’s imploring his audience to do the same. “The idea struck me as especially poignant because it's just a fundamental human problem. It's timely but it's also evergreen,” said Shad. “Change is always hard. We cling to what we know, even if it's not serving us. Because we still prefer it to the unknown. Anyhow, that's what "starting anew" meant to me as I was working on the album. Creatively, I actually wanted to do something more simple than almost ever, after my last few albums where I feel like I experimented quite a lot,” he continued.

“Rain” is a personal highlight, we find Shad talking about sharing creativity instead of containing it. “That concept and message is one that struck me just before I made my first album. This story/image started forming in my brain of someone with an ocean inside of themselves that was threatening to drown them from the inside out if they didn't let that ocean get evaporated by the sun and rain down on the soil. There's some lines at the start of the second verse where I'm basically telling that story.” In the music video—filmed on the territory of Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in— he’s surrounded by nature and its beautiful imagery.

“Very serendipitous to get to shoot the video for a song with all this naturalistic imagery in such a unique and naturalistic landscape! The environment, the lightness of it, even the way it just came together because of me and Sam happened to be in this place at the same time and we took advantage of the opportunity to make something. It all feels reflective of the song to me,” said Shad.

Beyond his music, Shad has been a cornerstone in the community since he came around the scene. For Shad, his community has definitely grown. He reflected on where he started, “the music community was just so much smaller--and also harder to connect to. You had to be physically in the spaces. There's two tracks on my first album where I came up with the beat on guitar because I literally just hardly knew anyone who made real hip-hop beats.” Now, he’s built a network in his community, people he can rely on and friends who have been along for the ride, truly a reflection on hip hop in its core.

“Fairly early on, I realized that when adults ask ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ you're supposed to pick one thing to answer but you actually don't have to,” he said. Shad has worn many hats throughout his career—educator, artist and cultural commentator. He isn’t just a musician, just recently he was teaching a course at UAlberta. Shad keeps creating, not just music, but culture. “I kind of intuited early on that I'm actually just better when I have a couple different things on my plate. Which is strange because I also kind of hate doing things. Or maybe that's precisely why I need to be busy. It actually keeps me creating instead of slowing to halt,” he continued.

*Shad, Live at Commonwealth Bar & Stage. Photo by Daman Singh*

This community isn’t just his own, it's the fans as well. His live shows are a prime exhibit of why Shad’s still a household name. Seeing him up on a stage with a packed crowd singing along word for word to his entire set is nothing more than proof of his success. On what success means to him, Shad said “success is very much about making the thing I committed to make. And doing it to the best of ability with my best intentions.” All of it makes sense when you see him up on a stage, the smiles in the room, especially when you see your friends happier than ever.

“In the live environment, it's all about the feeling of joy and hope that comes with any fun collective experience. And then with live music more specifically I'm also always hoping it sparks inspiration. By which I mean that when people hear my voice it somehow causes them to hear their own,” he reflected. This hope for inspiration is what has kept Shad’s shows feeling so good. He’s doing it all for the people that listen to him—including his openers—putting special emphasis on local musicianship. “It feels special to me on this tour to share the stages with dope performers who are genuinely connected to my music,” he said.

Twenty years in and it’s all about the same principles, community and putting your heart on his sleeve. Shad’s work is a cultural moment now just as it was when he first came on the scene, and it’s such a joy to be witnessing it.

Shad Is Back On The Court