Kardi has a soft spot for ‘zippy’ Alero
Musician bought vehicle partly to avoid public transit, but mostly to pick up ladies
Musician and producer Kardinal Offishall, whose new album Kardi Gras Vol 1. comes out this month, is charming a gaggle of Toronto media personalities.
Pitching for Kraft Canada, he breezes through a tough marketing assignment: the rebranding of Canada’s much-loved Kraft Dinner to its new name “KD” (in truth, what everyone has called it for years).
Which has meant cooking, and eating, a fair amount of the stuff — all before noon.
And just as music and food can instantly transport you back to a time and place, the hip-hop artist, whose mega hit “Dangerous” rocketed him to international renown (his new single, “Baby It’s U,” is equally infectious) slips easily into conversation about his first set of wheels.
But not before throwing a shoutout to pals Choclair and Saukrates for their generous rides back in the day. He was late getting his driver’s licence, so he admits his Scarborough pals were a godsend.
“To be honest, the only people who I knew that had their own cars all lived in the suburbs so they always had to come pick us up and drop us off,” the artist recalls.
And as a self-confessed “germaphobe,” taking public transit around town became unbearable.
“I just came to a point where I had enough of that and I just had to make sure I got a car. My first car, believe it or not, was actually an Oldsmobile Alero. I think they’ve discontinued them,” he said.
“I went all the way and at that time, and based on the money I was making, which was not a lot, it was a big deal for me. The interior was all leather. It had a sunroof and a couple of other fancy options inside.”
But there was an even more pressing need than avoiding public transit, as Offishall (a.k.a. Jason Harrow) confesses with a laugh.
“To be honest it was more of a ‘needed-to-get-around-to-see-girls’ type of thing . . . I needed to get to their house,” he says. “And it became a little bit lame to have to pick up a girl and say ‘Yeah, I’ll meet you at the bus stop.’ ” He groans with embarrassment. “That’s not cool when you’re in your early 20s.”
Sensing the comedic value in his reasoning, the Juno Award winner goes further.
“I don’t know if you know or not,” he says, “but that’s the only reason men do anything: it’s only for the females. The thing is if women didn’t care we wouldn’t care.”
Anice plus to owning your own ride — apart from the romantic benefits — is freedom and adventure. The world opens up. You can go places.
“We went everywhere! I drove that thing to New York, Montreal — all over the place . . . the funny thing is that out of my friends, I think there were 10 that had that type of car at one point in time, because it was a car that was relatively nice just based on the money that we were making. It was an affordable car.”
The 39-year-old musician sings its praises. “It was real zippy. My friends always laugh because I would always say, ‘This car has an amazing turning radius!’ ” he says with a booming laugh. “But listen, that is very important when you’re trying to drive in downtown Toronto and you’re trying to make a U-turn or whatever. Turning radius is important.”
As for his theory of impressing the ladies with his ride, he admits it was a rather short-lived gambit: the couple broke up and soon after he met his current wife. “I’ve been with my wife for a long time,” he says. “The wheels are never a big component. By the time I was able to afford foreign cars I was already locked in.
“I’ve never been a super car person either. You know some people, they get money and they want to get a Ferrari; that’s never really been my cup of tea. I know I’m probably a square but I was always like, ‘I can’t wait to get my first house.’ ” Though the star has owned BMWs (the X6 is a fave) and MercedesBenzes over the years, he drops his voice when he speaks of his membership in the “secret society.”
“My favourite car that I drive all the time (and) I didn’t know there’s a weird society that existed . . . I’m talking about Jeep drivers. I got a Jeep kitted out with the big wheels and the lift and whole nine yards. So I’m usually tumbling around the city in that thing,” he confesses. “I love my Jeep.”
Which isn’t to say he hasn’t had a blast tooling around in an L.A. friend’s Lotus (“that literally felt like you were in the cockpit of a rocket”) as well as a Lambo.
“If that’s your thing, power to you; but for me, I’m more of a get-from-Ato-B type of person.” Freelance writer Yvonne Marton is a frequent contributor to Toronto Star Wheels. To reach her, email wheels@thestar.ca and put her name in the subject line.