TSOL
Shad
TSOL
Watching Shad bounce around through alleys - big smile glued to his face and bright teal shoes dominating the frame - in the video for "Rose Garden," the lead single from TSOL, I can't help but think of Pharcyde. And De La Soul. And Murs. The happy rappers who, armed with their extremely developed styles, made classic hip-hop albums that should've been bigger than any Black Eyed Pea (with a pee stain). A Canadian emcee who was recently nominated for the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, Shad was born in Kenya, a place he seems to have much affection for to this day. Making his name in 2007 with the underground classic The Old Prince (also a Polaris nominee), Shad has slowly been building his fan base since the release of his 2005 debut, When This Is Over (also solid). So, yes, you could say that Shad is the best kept secret in hip-hop right now, at least as far as the U.S. circles go. In fact, I insist that it be said.
TSOL, my favorite-yet record from the often perky emcee, features organic, cohesive production from a number of his friends, including DJ T Lo, Ric Notes, Relic, Rich Kidd and Shad himself. A number of surprising guests pop up as well, including Broken Social Scene, Lisa Lobsinger, Justin Nozuka, Relic the Oddity and Lady Londa. (If you're unfamiliar with the above mentioned artists, it may be due to the fact that many of them are semi-obscure Canadian indie rockers.) The result is a very quickly passing 13-track, 11-song (plus bonus track) hip-hop record full of timeless beats, amazing rhyme patterns and clever writing. The often-incredible punchlines avoid the cheap novelty factor of artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West, instead letting Shad's long-brewing style shine.
Lead single "Yaa I Get It" is a new hip-hop classic, opening with the revealing line "Maybe I'm not big because I don't blog or Twitter / Dog, I'm bitter," before turning into a Charlie Kaufman-like song about (I think) hip-hop. But, unlike most hip-hop songs about hip-hop culture and/or music, "Yaa" is anything but cliche-filled. The second single, which proved to be the standout track from the record, "Rose Garden" (which features a stellar video based on an old Pharcyde/Spike Jonze video), is a big sounding classic boom-bap-styled song that is produced and performed in a way that will never sound dated or cheesy. The beat reminds of classic-era Pete Rock. Never a bad thing, especially when there's a charismatic and talented emcee doing his thing on top of the music.
The only real missteps here are when Shad attempts to be, err, modern. And by that, I mean that his producers add unnecessary elements to their compositions that don't serve the song but, instead, slightly date it to 2010-11. When I say "elements," I'm mostly talking about those Kayne-laced female vocal flourishes (the whiny, sped-up ones). There are also some unnecessary interludes and very tin-y drums. Oh, and let's not forget the arbitrary injection of R&B vocals here and there, sprinkled where they add nothing to the otherwise great pieces of music.
Aside from those few nitpick-y details, TSOL is a pretty damn great hip-hop record. Shad's writing and performances are always good, even hinting at early Atmosphere on "At the Same Time," classic-era A Tribe Called Quest on "We Are the Ones" and even Gangstarr on "Telephone." All that said, my guess is that these clear inspirations, while successful, might chase Shad's inspiration to a different place come Next Album Time. I could see this very-indie-friendly soul getting his Black Jack Johnson or even Electric Circus on. I hope that doesn't happen. I hope Shad keeps on slowly developing, slowly making more fans and, eventually, getting his dues outside of his native Canada. Between his solid writing, palatable style, mostly-consistent taste in beats and excellent album art, Shad stands a chance at being the next great indie-level hip-hop star. I can't think of an artist more deserving right now, save for maybe Black Milk. 9/10
