Shad Talks Polaris Music Prize 2010 Nomination

The mainstream hip-hop world may have Drake fever, but for the collected writers, editors, bloggers and miscellaneous that make up Canada's Polaris Music Prize jury, it's all about Shadrach Kabango, better known by his stage name, Shad.

Shad's cryptically titled TSOL album was nominated as part of the 2010 Polaris Music Prize short list earlier today.

The rhyme slinger now has a one in 10 chance of having his album declared the most artistically awesome record made in Canada in the last year.

We spoke to Shad in the sweltering heat of the The Drake Hotel Sky Yard to discuss what this all means.

So how do you feel right now?
It's great! It's an honour, and in a way, it's a relief. You kind of feel you aren't wasting people's time with what you do — people that aren't your family or friends actually like it. So, it's a relief in that sense, as you want to make something that's actually meaningful, and for people to see the merit in it, is great.

What was the thing about making TSOL that was most exciting, most fulfilling for you?
I don't know what specific moment, but sometimes when you do something, I think for me the moment when you play it back and you have that feeling like, "That is a little bit better than I am, I think!" That's like, "Wow! I came up with that? That's by accident!"

I'm not going to tell anybody that that's better than I am, but I think those are the moments that are special for people that make music.

There was one song on there called "A Good Name" that I had the idea for about a year and I just couldn't get it down, and then it all came to me in one night, all the lyrics. I was pretty excited about that. That was the one song that took a long time to write.

If you can't win, who amongst the other nominees would you like to see win the Polaris Music Prize?
Dan Mangan I know from around Vancouver, so I can probably mooch off his winnings a bit easier than anybody else. Like, "Oh, you going out for dinner? I'm just a bit short now, and I happen to know you have money." All the albums that I've heard are solid. I wanna rap on some of the Caribou stuff.

What are you going to do with that big $20,000 cheque if you win?
I dunno. It's more money than I've ever had at one time. That's the problem with giving to people who aren't used to having money a lot of money. People who win the lottery always go bankrupt 'cause they've never had that much money.

Twenty thousand isn't the lottery, but I don't know, man. Keep it in the bank, that's a bad idea, right? Buy a house? No, you can't buy a house with 20 grand.

You can probably buy one on the outskirts of Timmins on top of an old, condemned mine shaft.
Yeah, I'll look into that real estate market. I might find a deal.

Time to not be modest. Why are you awesome?
There's a few reasons: My Tetris skills exceed my rapping skills. I have one of those names like "Mats Sundin," where the last letter of my first name and first letter of my last name blend (Shadrach Kabango). That makes you awesome; it's a fact.

I also have an incredible knowledge of The Wonder Years. I can tell you a Wonder Years episode, recounting the story better than the episode. I've had people in tears at my recounting of a Wonder Years episode.