FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
You'd think that with his debut album Eye and I set to be released on indie label Capitol Hill before the end of this month Canadian hip hop artist Kardinal Offishall would be happy to kick back and enjoy the results instead of preparing to record more songs. I mean, at 20 years old, Kardinal (born Jason Harrow) has already scored a mild hit with the dancehall rap single "Naughty Dread," and helped form the collective of producers and rappers known as Figurez Ov Speech.
He's one of only a handful of identifiable performers in a genre that, despite huge sales, is treated like a second-class citizen in this country's music community. But that's why the Toronto rapper is heading back into the studio to lay down six more songs: he's looking to bypass the Canadian majors and sell his stuff down south where they know how to handle hip hop.
"The more people recognize that hip hop is a commodity in this country and that we can sell a lot of records, the more good it will do," Kardinal says, bemoaning the current state of affairs. "American hip hop records are going gold left and right, but that's with the major label support. If Canadian artists got the same support as artists in the States, we could get the same results."
But, Kardinal doesn't lay all the blame at the feet of the labels in Canada. He also points to the artists in the hip hop community who are ill-prepared to back up their claims of being professional caliber performers that can compete with the Biggies and 2Pacs that are selling millions of albums.
According to him, Canuck hip hop as a whole would be better off if the people who perform it spent a little more time honing their skills before showing their wares to the world.
"To tell you the truth - and I was at fault with this as well - Canadians, sometimes they're bigger than their britches. They think that they're ready for the world and because of that they don't do enough preparation, so that when the music comes out the people are not feeling it," he says.
"The Canadian hip hop community needs to make sure that before we present ourselves to the world, we have really made all the preparations we can and make sure that your music is strong and solid and good enough to compete in the world market instead of just thinking locally."
Asked if his hip hop can stand up to the best, Kardinal doesn't hesitate.
"No doubt, no doubt," he says.
Back To Main Contents
Back To This Issue Table of Contents