Hip-hop mayor of T.Dot
Kardinal Offishall is the Canadian rapper known both internationally and in Toronto’s urban neighbourhoods
The capacity crowd inside the Mod Club is lapping up the frenzy onstage. Surrounded by members of his Black Jays collective, rapper Kardinal Offishall is firing tracks from his new album, Fire and Glory. Ostensibly, the audience is hearing these songs for the first time, but they chant along and salute Offishall with raised arms as if they were erstwhile hits.
That’s due partly to the artist’s anthemic mélange of hip hop and reggae, but mostly to his delivery: vigorous call and response with stagemates Ro Dolla, Riley, Solitiar and Lindo P. A few days later, Offishall’s alter ego, twentysomething Jason Harrow, now low- key and minus the trademark specs, digs into coconut shrimp at his favourite west- end bistro.
“ My favourite thing is to just play poker in the backyard and chill,” he said. “ I save all that rah- rah for the fans. After they work all day, I want them to know they can come to my show and act the fool and have fun.”
Maestro is the dean and K- OS has the critical acclaim, but Offishall is Canada’s most popular hip- hop export, thanks to collaborations with an international array of artists such as Sean Paul(Jamaica), Method Man and Busta Rhymes ( U. S.), and Estelle( U. K.). And he’s a dedicated T.Dot booster, distilling the city’s cultural milieu in his rhymes, most notably with 2000’s “Bakardi Slang” which detailed the urban Torontospeak for neophytes ( When you say " The club is over" Yo we say " The jam done").
“ If you go to New York or L. A. and talk about hip hop, he’s the one name that everybody knows,” says Toronto music journalist Dalton Higgins.
“ And here, he can pretty much go into any neighbourhood and have that street respect. He’s like the hip- hop mayor.”
It’s been a long time coming for the York University mass communications grad, who is up for his sixth Canadian Urban Music Award tomorrow. Though he’s been on the scene since the mid-’ 90s, Fire and Glory is Offishall’s first album of new material.
In 2001, MCA released Firestarter Volume 1: Quest for Fire
comprised primarily of his independent singles, including hits “Maxine” and “Ol’ Time Killing.” But when the label folded in 2003, so did his already recorded, much- anticipated followup. But like his song “Husslin,” Offishall stayed busy: acting in Love Sex & Eating the Bones
and My Baby’s Daddy; appearing on the Fast and the Furious 2 soundtrack, and doing ads for Rogers and Honda Civic.
“ You can’t live in Canada and be an artist just in Canada, and expect that to be all you do if you do black music,” he explained. “You don’t know how many times I’d be scrambling with overdue bills, then a royalty cheque would arrive from the Method Man (recording) or some random soundtrack in New Zealand.” With Fire and Glory released on his Black Jays imprint, in a co-venture deal with Virgin, Offishall is shopping for a U. S. label and opening for rap superstar 50 Cent’s seven- date Canadian tour. The concerts have become controversial since Liberal MP Dan McTeague asked Immigration Minister Joe Volpe to bar the gangsta rapper, real name Curtis Jackson, from crossing the border, because he allegedly promotes gun violence. 50 Cent, or Fiddy, is also a shooting survivor and stars in the film Get Rich or Die Tryin’.
“ Not that I agree with everything that 50 says, but 50 is not nearly the cause or even a big part of the problem that’s going on here,” said Offishall, who shares a New York attorney with the gangsta rapper.
“ These kids need other opportunities to keep them from being idle and getting into trouble,” he added, nodding to the now- defunct 1993 Toronto Arts Council program where he nurtured his musical interest alongside contemporaries Saukrates, Choclair and Jully Black.
“ Fresh Arts saved a lot of us,” he said. “ My career would not be where it is otherwise. It wasn’t only a summer job, but something I wanted to pursue. But I want the youth coming up to know the power is still in their hands — not the police, or the government or the teachers. I don’t want to hear that you had no choice but to sell crack; you just don’t want to work at McDonald’s or the gas station because of your pride. I have yet to meet anyone who sells drugs just so they can buy bread or drive a Honda Civic.” While loath to pinpoint any single artist, Offishall allows that violent, materialistic lyrics are bound to have an impact.
“ Even if it’s small, it’s still a contributor, because music goes with every emotion that we have. If I’m pissed or angry and listen to angry music . . . sometimes that helps to put you over the top; but if I go out there and do something stupid it’s not ’ cause 50 Cent told me to.” On Fire and Glory his subject matter runs from police reform (“ Everyday”) to spirituality (“ Sunday”).
Offishall is looking forward to kicking off the 50 Cent tour in Vancouver on Saturday, though it’s not a financial windfall.
“ Basically, it’s like he says ‘ I’m 50 Cent and I don’t need anybody to come on tour with me, so hold 50 cents and come on tour with me; if you don’t want it, I’ll get somebody else.’ So it turns out to be more of promotional benefit, a chance to reach a mass of people to tell them to buy the album for Christmas.”