Published: Monday - June 2, 2008
Words by Tonya Raymond
Kardinal Offishall (Photo: Konvict Muzik)
Kardinal Offishall is definitely moving in the right direction. At the age of 12, Kardinal was already rapping his way to the top, performing at major events in Toronto, Canada. He eventually started his music career in 1996 and came out with his first solo album, Eye & I, one year later.
He went on to release Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 in 2001, garnering critical acclaim locally for hits such as "BaKardi Slang" and "Ol' Time Killin'." Although he planned on a follow-up album, his Firestarter Vol. 2: F Word Theory never saw the light of day due to his record label going out of business.
Not letting that get in his way, Kardi eventually moved on ... and came back strong with the release his sophomore album, Fire and Glory, in 2005.
With a name for himself in Canada, He's just recently begun to break out in the U.S. Today, he has worked with many successful artists and has even inked a deal with a growing music label. Kardinal Offishall talks to us about his journey as a Canadian rap artist, Akon, and his new album.
BallerStatus.com: It's not too often we see a Canadian artist make a successful name for themselves in the U.S. Why do you think you were able to accomplish that?
Kardinal Offishall: Really because I don't believe in "no." I don't believe in "never," I don't believe in "can't or won't." Coming from Toronto to do anything anywhere in the world, you got to work ten times harder than any other MC. Americans always look to Americans first and unfortunately sometimes even Canada we look to Americans first, so I just have to work ten times harder to make sure that nobody could tell me "no."
BallerStatus.com: Did you ever hear people say "Oh because he's Canadian, he's not going to go far?" Did you experience that in your career?
Kardinal Offishall: Of course. You always hear that and unfortunately there's a certain piece of truth to it. Even in any rumor you hear or any lie, there's always a little piece of truth to it somewhere. And unfortunately there are a lot of MCs where I come from that don't make it and sometimes [with] the level of creativity that you hear, it seems like I got to sound like this guy in order to make it because their not going to mess with me because of my Canadian heritage or whoever I am. But for me it was always like I have to beat it down their throats and make them know who I am and where I come from is just as important as The Game coming from Compton and Jay-Z coming from Brooklyn. It's the same. I got to make them know Kardinal comes from T-Dot (Toronto) and that's where I represent. And where we come from is just as wicked.
BallerStatus.com: You've had a chance to work in Canada and now in the U.S., how are the two markets different when dealing with rap artists?
Kardinal Offishall: In Canada we're still trying to develop ways to make money because unfortunately, in Canada, a lot of times they're still afraid to take chances on the rap artists. You'll see the Celine Dion's, the Bare Naked Ladies ... Corporations will still take a chance on them because they feel safe. For whatever reason they still don't like to invest and take the risk and spend the big money on a black artist like they would with other people. But they're learning and growing and little by little the doors are opening, so I think the infrastructure is growing at a slower pace, but the States is definitely wide open and they know no money spent is no money made, so they're definitely more experienced in seeing talent and looking to exploit it and make a profit quicker than we do in Canada.
BallerStatus.com: You have done a lot of collaborations with many well known artists such as Rihanna, Sean Paul and T-Pain. What is it like working with these artists?
Kardinal Offishall: Since I came out with "BaKardi Slang" and those things ... that's really when I started working with I guess more establish artists. From the first album, I worked with Timberland, Bounty Killer, The Clipse, Pharrell and so many different people. The last seven or eight years, just being surrounded by those different types of people, it's been cool, but it helps you grow. People I've looked up to -- Busta Rhymes ... these are people I can call anytime now. Besides being friend[s], their also mentors and offer a lot of knowledge.
BallerStatus.com: One well known artist, Akon, signed you to his label Konvict Muzik. How did that come about?
Kardinal Offishall: With Akon, we were just cool for a lot of years before the whole situation went down. It started off with him trying to get to Caribana (music festival in Toronto) for a lot of years, but because of his jail record, they wouldn't let him across the border. I'm always flying all over the world trying to do as much as I can internationally, and he's the same way, so he would always hear my name wherever he went. He would also hear my music wherever he went. When he got into the position to start his own label that's when he spoke to me about being apart of the Konvict family and he flew me out to Atlanta. We just realized we were similar dudes and we had a mutual respect for each other and that's really how that came about.
BallerStatus.com: What was your reaction after the signing?
Kardinal Offishall: I'm a person that believes in God and I spend a good piece of my life making sure that I pray and ask for guidance, so when it was all set and done it was a thing where it was a sense of relief. But at the same time, I felt what was to be was going to be and it was God's way. So when the deal was signed, we just knew it was on and it was show time and time to lock down the world. Musically I was ready to do stuff that I haven't done before and I definitely smash that all into one album, Not For Sale, which is suppose to be coming out in July.
BallerStatus.com: Going back to Akon, what have you learned from about the music business?
Kardinal Offishall: I learned how to exist ... If you want to call it the status of an underground MC. Sometimes people that deal with the straight fire lyrics are called underground because they can't necessarily appeal to an audience that is not necessarily focused on lyrics, which I guess refers to the mainstream. So he definitely showed me how to successfully exist between the two extremes to where you can appeal to a mainstream base, but at the same time have a hardcore fan base. That's something Akon has definitely been able to do, if you look at tunes from "Locked Up" and him doing a song with Gwen Stefani. He kind of showed me, but in my own way, how to be able to balance and be most effective and that's why you have a song like "Dangerous" that was born. That's really me doing me, but at the same time it's appealed to the most people ever out of any tune that I've had in my career thus far.
BallerStatus.com: Now you mention "Dangerous," which is off your upcoming album. Talk about that single for a bit.
Kardinal Offishall: We recorded that while we were on the Gwen Stefani tour last year on the tour bus. That song was recorded in a few different places, literally driving in the streets of New York, and also in the streets of Vancouver, Canada, so that was a wicked experience. It came together how it was suppose to. It wasn't forced, it was just a natural thing. As soon as I played Akon the riddim for "Dangerous," he had the hook written and done within 15 minutes.
BallerStatus.com: What's the meaning behind the name, Not for Sale?
Kardinal Offishall: Sometimes you hear everybody has a price and some will even sell their soul. For me, Not For Sale is the attitude that I have and I think a lot of people in general have. I'm sure there are many people that work 9-5 that would be much further in their career if they were to do things they don't believe in or make sacrifices they don't think are wise to make some more money. Some people work 9-5 and your like "Boym that dude right there, he wouldn't be the new manager if he didn't do X, Y and Z." But a lot of people say "F*** it, I'm not for sale," and originally that's where the mentality came from. It's just that with my music, I'm not for sale. I'm not going to do some f***ery just to sell some units. Secondly, with the energy and just with the vibe. You can buy all the Bob Marley CDs you want and buy all the DVDs of him live in concert, but you will never be able to buy the energy that Bob Marley had when he was alive. And that's also what Not for Sale is about. You can buy the CD and come to the show, but there's just stuff that's within me and that's just not for sale. It's not something you can buy, it's something you have to experience.
BallerStatus.com: Who are some of the people you are working with on the album?
Kardinal Offishall: We got a wide variety of people... the Clipse, I messed with a group called J-Davey out of LA. J- Davey for those who aren't familiar, they're like a hip-hop/soul/punk/ rock mash-up kind of group and we did a song called "Digital Motown." Estelle, who is part of our international family, who is mashing it up with American boy. We did a joint that was produced by Akon, the song is called "Do Me a Favor." T-Pain, we even messed with The Pussycat Dolls on a joint called "Number 1."
BallerStatus.com: For people who might be unfamiliar with you as an artist, even though you've been in the music industry for some time now, how would you describe your music?
Kardinal Offishall: There's never really a correct way to describe my music. But my music is fire and that's why there's a lot of fire references that I do. If you can try to bottle up energy or bottle up fire and put it in your pocket, that's what my music is for the most part. Even if it's a tune when it's not necessarily up-tempo or fast pace, there's still a level of electricity in my music. That's when you come to my shows, it's definitely not a show that you come to sit down and watch or feel, you can come in there and not sweat out your perm. Anytime I do a show and you come check it, you're going to get involved in the show and you're going to feel the vibe and feel the energy, so that's what I would describe my music as just being fire.
BallerStatus.com: Is your style of music now, different than what we heard in Toronto?
Kardinal Offishall: It always differs. There's a difference between being consistent and being redundant. To me, the level of creativity is always going to be consistent, but you never going to know what to expect. If I listen to a man's album and it's the same thing off the last album that I heard, I'll feel disappointed. So you're always going to get a certain quality, but at the same time you are never going to know what to expect. I think that's the only way to elevate the game -- to consistently build on the blocks you laid down before.
BallerStatus.com: Finally, what's next for Kardinal Offishall?
Kardinal Offishall: After the album drops, just a lot of crazy touring. There's many people that I'm making music with right now, so right after the album drops I want to go on tour for a year straight and just chill the world live and in person. The album is dope, it embodies a lot of different things on it, but sometimes if you think about it like a text message. You can put it in all caps... bold... put exclamation marks at the end of it, but sometimes the message it not delivered properly, unless you're in someone's face just screaming it out, letting them know what it is. So that's what I want to do is deliver the content of my album face-to-face with fans around the world. That's France, Germany, UK, Japan and everything in between. I want to travel, I want to see the world and I want to bring my experience from my city and where I come from with my crew and my family I want to bring that to the rest of the world.
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