Shad: The Student MC

02/27/08 4:00pm

by Cheryl Thompson (CHARTattack)

Shad's sophomore album, The Old Prince, is an exceptional display of his rhyming abilities. But when he's not in the studio or on a nation-wide tour with east coast rapper Classified, Shad sits in a university lecture hall just like any other graduate student at Simon Fraser University.

Shad spoke to ChartAttack about juggling school and music, as well as his inspirational mother just before his Toronto show in January. He also talked about the steep learning curve he's been on since releasing his 2005 debut disc, When This Is Over.

ChartAttack: I know you're still in university. How do you manage to go to school and fit that in with your music?
Shad: Well, if I get through it, I'll tell you. I'm not there yet. It's a lot to keep up on but I'm really interested in what I'm studying, so that helps a lot.

What are you studying?
It's a lot of philosophy and literature. It's a Master's in Liberal Studies, so it's a mix of things. Mostly philosophy and literature and we just read some great books and so it's stuff that I really enjoy. I really see the benefit of it and that helps being able to keep up with all the work, because you actually care about it.

How close are you to being finished?
This is just the first year and I'm going part-time, so if I went three more years at this pace I'd be done. Or if I sped it up to full-time, I'd be done next April.

If the music thing takes off, would you put school on pause or are you determined to finish?
If need-be just because I can't kind of go halfway with the school work. If need-be I'd take a year off or something, but it's something that I'd want to finish. I like it, I really like it. I really enjoy what I'm studying. If people have a passion, you should do whatever it is. I happen to have a passion for both, so I really want to keep up with both of them.

I know you have a close relationship with your mom. How important has she been to your music career so far?
More than anything, I would say indirectly just because of the person that she is in my life and the things that's she's taught me — not even expressly taught me, but just from me watching her and the way that she lives. She's never been someone who just puts on airs and pretended to be anything that she's not. She's always been very thoughtful. Both of my parents are just very thoughtful people that are committed to things that matter to them, and life is very simple in that way for them. I think that has just impacted me as a person directly and that indirectly affects my music and the way I approach the subjects.

When you did the last album, were you in high school?
No, I was in my undergrad at that point, and that was my first time really in the studio and I didn't know what I was doing and was kind of making it up as I went along. It was a lot of fun, though.

But I guess this time around you had more focus and direction?
A little bit more focus and everything was just a little bit easier. I've been doing music and performing for a couple of years so you get to meet people that can help you and everything just went a little bit smoother and that was a lot easier as well. Like, from a straight administration side it was just easier for me to get the right people to work with and getting people together. It was just a lot easier than when you're completely a brand new artist. I'm still a pretty new artist, but at that point I didn't really know anyone.

Yeah, and I'm sure you've figured out a few tricks by now?
Yeah, you figure out a few things. You know you have to talk to an engineer in the studio and they're talking about EQs and frequencies and things that mean nothing to you, and now I can speak that language a little bit better, so it's a lot easier to work in the studio.

What's it been like touring with Classified?
This is the first time I've ever gone straight across the country in any kind of way that makes any sense. I've done a couple of shows here and there, but this is the first time really with a plotted-out tour. It's been cool. I mean, I'm really glad I have the opportunity, you know. He has a great national fan base and it's good to go up there and perform for some people. So yeah, it's been a great opportunity.