Quick, Before It Melts.

I'm making no bones about the fact that I know jack about rap and hip hop. When it comes to reporting on the genre(s), I fall a bit flat. Luckily for me, the work of London, Ontario based rapper Shad, can really speak for itself (and for me).

I will say this, though: Canadian hip hop is definitely developing a style and voice all its own. there is a very self-effacing quality to Shad's raps that smacks of down-home Canadian humbleness. His lyrics sort of fly in the face of what the genre has come to represent. That intrigues me, because it implies that what might have turned me off of rap and hip hop before was not the music itself (because I love the rhythm and soul of it) but the attitude and mindset. No surprise that my first favourite hip hop act was De La Soul; also no surprise that there hasn't really been any other artist that has even mildly piqued my interest until Cadence Weapon, and now Shad. (Okay, okay... I kinda liked Maestro Fresh Wes, too, but just that one song.)

I kind of got a bit pissed at a fellow blogger who recently posted that Shad's inclusion on the Polaris Music Prize shortlist was to fill the "token rap" slot; implying that the list needed a rap album in order to appear diverse. Bullshit. There wasn't a "token rap" album on last year's list, and yes, Cadence Weapon and K'Naan were on the inaugural list in 2006--but that's because they deserved to, just as Shad deserves this year's nomination. I'll stand up for the Polaris jury and the entire nomination process they go through; there is no political agenda at work. If the music is great, then it gets recognized. I think Shad has as good a chance of taking home the $20, 000 this year as any of the other nominees. Tell me what you think of him after listening to a couple of tracks:

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.: Shad :.
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