Time: 9 p.m.

Cover:

Due to personal unforseen circumstances with the artist, Kardinal Offishall has decided to postpone his entire Western Canadian tour till later this summer. New dates will be posted soon. To all ticket holders, please hold onto your tickets. All previously bought tickets will be honored @ door on new date. If you do not want to wait, you may refund your ticket @ point of purchase only. Sorry for any incovienence. Thank you

 

 

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“I’m looking forward to the day when MCs are rapping again,” Kardinal Offishall opines. “Right about now, it seems like people are really not paying attention to lyrics, which doesn’t make any sense to me in this hip-hop thing.” Kardinal Offishall is conscious of the state of the game, and his particular place in it. The son of Jamaican immigrants, Kardinal grew up in the West Indian waypoint of Toronto. His hometown, which he credits for reflecting “the cultural mosaic philosophy instead of the melting pot,” seeps into his music: broad-reaching, deep-running. Having outgrown the trappings of Canadian hip-hop, Kardinal is maturing into a more prominent role: North America’s next musical superstar.

Ironically, it’s questions about identity that have peppered Offishall’s career. Namely, surrounding the flavor of his tantalizing sonic brew: equal measures easy island riddim, cement-hardened cadence, teeth-rattling bassline, and vexing sing-song vocal. But how to describe this enticing blend to neophytes? Rap? Reggae? Dancehall? An intriguing hybrid? Labels don’t apply to Kardinal Offishall. Superlatives, however, fill in all the blanks: dope; unprecedented; the freshest thing you’ll hear this year. “My foundation is an MC, that’s what I consider myself,” Kardinal clarifies. “But at the same time, I can flip it up. I’m not the world’s greatest singer, but I can sing my ass off if I need to. I’m a lyricist, I’m a performer; I hate to sound corny, but I consider myself an entertainer.”
“I don’t feel that I’m ever the same way 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he expounds. “I go through a lot of different moods and I try to express that because I really feel my music is an extension of who I am. Some days we clubbin’, killin’ it in the club; then some days are like speeding on the highway wearing a blindfold and no hands on the wheel. But I don’t get caught up in how people classify me. To me it’s a blessing to be able to shift through the different genres because it keeps my mind working. As long as I deliver the illest music, and that I inspire the kids still in their basements making dope music. The kids who want to make hip-hop that big, beautiful star it was before.”

Speaking of big stars, Kardinal’s unique sonic imprint left an indelible impression on one heralded tastemaker: Akon. The Senegalese sensation had been tracing Kardinal’s trajectory for years. “Akon called me, saying he knew there was bubbling interest in me. He said, ‘Everywhere I’ve gone in the world, I’ve heard you on remixes, freestyles, different joints. And you’ve murdered everybody that you came in contact with. You destroy people.’ I told him, ‘That’s my job, to seek and destroy no matter who it is.’ And Akon’s not trying to tame that.”
Indeed, Kardinal’s debut album Not 4 Sale is a rash of untamed melodies. Even the title has significance. “I first had the idea for a T-shirt I’d made a few years ago; it read “Not 4 Sale” and had a bar code on it. My idea was something provocative— that went beyond gender, went beyond race, went beyond what type of music you’re into. And people would literally stop me on the street, telling me how dope the shirt was, how similarly they felt. The concept grew in my head based on that reaction. There’s energy you can’t buy— the essence of people that can’t be bought or bottled, and lives within them. That’s how I feel about myself—I can’t be bought. That’s why the relationship that Akon and I have is so dope: it’s based on mutual respect. He always loved my music and felt it should never change. He just wants to enhance what was already there and take it to the next level.”
Together, the dynamic duo kicks in the door with lead single “Dangerous,” produced by Vanguards. Akon’s satiny, sheet-creasing vocals waft above Kardinal’s fluid, flexible, flossing rhymes. Subject matter wends toward the prototypical temptress, whose siren song is too powerful to resist. “‘Dangerous’ is important,” notes Kardi, “because as much as I’ve been out there, this is my first bonafide hit as far as the world is concerned. Akon is one of the biggest entertainers in the world right now. For him to lend his energy and his star power to help bring my story out just feels like one of those things that’s meant to be.” More than mere introduction, “Dangerous” smacks of the symbiosis between Kon and Kardi. Their sounds, and their stances, mesh like the mechanized workings of a fine Swiss timepiece. “We have such a similar vibe and work ethic,” Kardinal reveals. “Kon allows me to be the loud, abrasive, energetic dude that I am. He allows me to spit my verses as I see fit, maybe throw in some of the patois if I need to; he never restrains me. He just shows me how and when to make it most effective.”

The synergy shows. Another surefire single comes from an unexpected source: a 40-year-old Jamaican jingle that was remade by pop act Blondie in 1980. “‘The Tide is High’” is an idea that I lived with for a few years, “Kardi recalls. “I wanted to deliver a single that you could play in the dirtiest dancehall club in a raw corner of Jamaica as well as a Hollywood socialite hangout. That’s what “The Tide is High” is, something people can relate to for a lot of different reasons.” Hmmm, one such reason? The knee-buckling, pulse-quickening hook sung by Caribbean queen Rihanna.

 

 

Mr. International....

KARDINAL OFFISHALL - LIVE IN CONCERT
JUNE 5, 2012
STUDIO 54 - 202 5th St. S

with special guests - STRONG V / F-BOMB & SIN-SANE / CITY PROPHETS
18+ NO MINORS
9:00PM

ADVANCE TICKETS - $25 - PUBLIC ON SALE MONDAY MAY 14 !
AVAILABLE @ STUDIO 54 / INFAMOUS / BOARDERLINE
ONLINE @ www.ticketweb.ca
JUST CLICK LINK ----> http://www.ticketweb.ca/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4601785
CHARGE BY PHONE: 1-888-222-6608

PARTY PEOPLE ! DO NOT MISS OUT ON THE RETURN OF KARDI BACK TO THE BRIDGE ! PERFORMING ALL HIS # 1 HITS....

OL TIME KILLIN
BAKARDI SLANG
EVERYDAY RUDEBWOY
DANGEROUS
NUMBA 1 ( Tide is High )
CLEAR
THE ANTHEM
BODY BOUNCE