★★★★★
Music like this is challenging to review. I felt strange after my first listen of Flying Colours. Some songs floored me; others caused a slight indifference. I asked myself, "should I be enjoying this more?" What exactly was I expecting, anyway? This is a man who has a Masters degree in Liberal Studies and has done a Ted Talks presentation. He's also a musical artist on the cusp of absolutely blowing up...
- www.pastemagazine.com
2013-11-14
★★★★★
Ontario-hailing rapper Shad will probably never reach the stratospheric popularity of his Canadian brethren Drake, but who gives a damn? While everyone was still drinking red wine along by candlelight and debating about Drizzy's Nothing Was The Same, Shad was busy getting ready to release his fourth-full length album and first since 2010's disgustingly slept-on TSOL. Yeah, if you haven't heard that yet you should do that immediately--or at least after you hear his latest...
- www.syffal.com
2013-10-25
★★★★★
On fourth album , Vancouver, BC rapper Shad explores uncharted waters, experimenting with longer songs and other genres: "Progress" interpolates "American Pie" for a seven-minute, two-part song suite that includes spoken word and an extended rock outro. While "Progress" kills the momentum, the album remains largely cohesive in production and sequencing despite detours into new territory...
- exclaim.ca
2013-10-12
★★★★★
Who doesn't love Shad? The Ontario-bred, Vancouver-based MC has made his mark in Canadian hip-hop with smart-meets-silly wordplay backed by old-school influences. But the attention can be a double-edged sword: "I got fans that say, 'Oh, hey, Shad! I hate rap but I like you.' / Well, I hate that, but I like you," he notes pointedly on Stylin', the synth-bolstered single from his wide-ranging new LP...
- nowtoronto.com
2013-10-10
★★★★★
Why are Canadian rappers so clean? OK, I guess we know--they're Canadian. Still, this second-generation Rwandan Torontan stands a major chance of being confused with the fatally bland K-Os, and that's a shame for somebody who fairly bills himself as "Rakim--North Pole Edition...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2011-03-14
★★★★★
As far as underground hip-hop goes on this website, the Doomtree collective gets a lot of praise from the users here at AbsolutePunk. That's both well-deserved and excellent, because Doomtree is full of phenomenal talents, both rappers and producers alike. But a lot of users here think that underground rap starts and ends right there, and it certainly does not. Shad is a Canadian rapper who gained a good amount of attention in the northern regions with his 2007 release, The Old Prince...
- absolutepunk.net
2011-01-31
★★★★★
Canadian hip-hop artist - yes, Canadian hip-hop - Shad (short for Shadrach) is a breath of fresh air in a genre that's complacent on recycling tired rhymes and themes that are redundant and seemingly plaintive. His songs subject to much more than just getting paid, getting laid, spending dough, and obtaining hoes, but revolve around a personal evaluation relating to the world around him...
- www.reviewrinserepeat.com
2010-12-14
★★★★★
Shad's third album is as earnest and tightly worded as you'd expect from Canada's best-known rap export. Shadrach Kabango is amiable and enlightened company for this engaging collection of conscious and astute tracks. He spits like a less energised Lupe Fiasco and is backed by production which puts you in mind of the jazzy sounds British hip-hoppers loved so much back in the mid-90s...
- hangout.altsounds.com
2010-12-06
★★★★★
Shad's TSOL is a type of album that's increasingly difficult to address. It's the type of album that doesn't require much more than pressing play and paying attention to get what makes it good, in such a way that you know it's not just one of those albums that pushes your buttons right at the moment. DJ T Lo opens the album with a brooding, beautiful piece of low-key mixing before the album breaks out with the soulful, extremely energetic "Rose Garden"...
- www.popmatters.com
2010-11-22
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