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Christina Dun: Flying
Colours came out this past October, can you tell me about the process of making
that album?
Shad: The process
was a lot of fun, a lot of hard work. I wanted to push myself and challenge
myself, just in terms of pushing my talent and courage as much as I could, in
the material and in the disciplines of working it.
CD: How does it
compare to your previous albums?
Shad: I don’t
know. I haven’t been able to step back and analyze it in that way. It’s funny,
in a lot of ways, it’s different and I wanted to push myself and do different
things and I think that I did do that. But also in a lot of ways, it’s the
same. I do what I do and there’s a lot of sensibilities that have been the same
since the beginning.
CD: Why is that
important to you, to stick with those same sensibilities?
Shad: I think for
anybody trying to contribute something, it’s about trying to find that thing
that you have to give that intersects with what people might want or need. For
me, I feel like what I have to give has been there since the beginning. In
those sensibilities, I love the craft of it. I love being raw and loose and
real. So I try to always bring those things, no matter what’s going out there
in the world, that’s what I have to give. So that’s what I try to access.
CD: Yeah I like
how you don’t go for the gimmicks.
Shad: That’s not
me. I believe in music. The music I loved as a kid was not that. Some of it
was, but a lot of it was not. Especially the stuff that really cut through and
stayed with me. Stuff that still matters to me. I believe in that.
CD: Has it
always been hip hop for you?
Shad: It’s been
everything. Hip hop has been where I found a bit of my own voice. It was the
easiest thing to access because you don’t need anything to rap. I love
language, I love words, I love writing, so that all came naturally, but I’ve always
listened to everything.
CD: You did the
school thing first – why did you take that route?
Shad: At that
time, I had no idea. I was 18 and music wasn’t even factoring that hugely into
my thinking at the time. At that point, I had to do something. But it was
significant for me to finish. I didn’t really like it and it took a lot out of
me and it was really draining. So I got a lot of momentum from finishing that
degree, feeling like I can do something that I don’t like and that I’m mature
enough to power through it and do it. That was meaningful. Education is a
privilege and it’s always felt like a privilege. And it’s helped me. Not
necessarily accounting or theory, but I think any experience you have as a
young person, it’s going to carry on with you. Things will pop up.
CD: What are
your thoughts on the hip hop scene in Toronto?
I think it’s
very strong in terms of talent. I think the thing that’s missing is the vehicle
to get the music out across the country. I think that’s the missing piece of
the puzzle. I think
there are talented artists, hardworking artists, ambitious artists, but we
don’t have the vehicles in this country to carry that music nationally anymore
like there used to be. I think that’s why you still hear a lot of the same
names and no new ones. It’s not that those artists aren’t relevant anymore,
it’s just there aren’t many new ones that get injected into that mix.
His advice for aspiring musicians:
"Don’t think
about the business. Just don’t. Think about what you do and fall in love with
that and it might just work out."
Keep an eye out for the full article in the spring issue of Faze Magazine!
- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28
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