Why You Should Party in the Plaza with Canada's "Hip-Hop Ambassador"
What's the best way that you can think of to spend a balmy August evening? If it's dancing and soaking up the music of some of Canada's best talent, you're in luck! On Wednesday, August 30, Arts Commons Presents invites you to bring the whole crew out for a celebration filled with live music, food trucks, and drinks under the open skies. Dance diva Kiesza will get you on your feet, before Kardinal Offishall takes the stage to celebrate 50 years since the birth of Hip-Hop.
Drake Credits His Career to Kardinal Offishall. Find Out Why.
It’s 1996 in Scarborough, Ontario, a 20-year-old Kardinal Offishall has just released his first single as a Hip-hop artist. Degrassi: The Next Generation won’t start airing for another five years, and pop music is dominating the charts in Canada. South of the border, Tupac Shakur has just released the first ever rap double album to much success, but Kardinal is not seeing the same support from the Canadian music scene. It won’t be until 1999 when Canadian Hip-Hop will get its push into the sun, with the JUNO awards finally giving a slot for the Rap category in their televised program, alongside the first-ever live Hip-Hop performance on the JUNOs stage.
Flash forward to 2023, Hip-Hop has been the highest revenue generating genre worldwide, and Drake is one of the most respected artists in Canada. But how did we get here? Drizzy says look no further than Kardinal Offishall. Raised by Jamaican immigrants, Kardinal initially sparked buzz in the Toronto music scene with his unique sound blending reggae and dancehall, inspired by his Black Caribbean roots. Long before Toronto was affectionately dubbed “The Six,” locals called it “T-Dot,” made popular through one of Kardinal’s signature songs “BaKardi Slang.” In 2008, Kardinal put Canadian Hip-Hop in the Top 5 on the Billboard Charts for the first time ever, for his collaboration with Akon on “Dangerous.” In a whirlwind, Kardinal was featured on a remix of Lady Gaga's “Just Dance,” and helping to catapult one of the world’s biggest stars to fame – Rihanna. After receiving a call from his then-manager, Kardinal was asked to be featured on 15-year-old Rihanna’s demo mixtape, and giving her a feature on his own album, with the hit “Numba 1.” Representing the Canadian Hip-Hop scene on an international scale, Kardinal was affectionately dubbed “Canada’s Hip-Hop Ambassador” by his fans, and was officially appointed an ambassador by the Canadian government during the country’s 150th year in 2017. That same year, Drake stopped his show to thank Kardinal, calling him “one of the biggest rappers in the world” who “taught [him] everything [he] knows” about the biz.
“I remember when [Drake] wanted to work with Nottz. I remember having to call up Nottz and tell him about this kid. Eventually, people met him like, ‘Yo Kardi, he is dope.’ But it wasn't like he just got the golden key to the world and was always loved and embraced. He had his own trials." - Kardinal told Fader in 2015
His ambassadorship has not been limited to his musical career. In 2013, Kardinal became the Creative Executive Director of Universal Music Canada’s A&R team, while still releasing his own music, and in 2021 became Senior Vice-President of A&R. Now, at the beginning of 2023, he has happily accepted a position as Global A&R for Def Jam. His passion now lies in playing a role in strengthening and promoting Canada as a hub for the music industry, and seeking out international Black artists, as he tells the Toronto Star his current gig is his “dream job”:
“You get on these calls where you don’t have to blackspain yourself to anybody. Everybody gets it.... That’s why, for me, it feels like a dream job. Everybody speaks your language, they’re on the same page, and they have the same goals.”
Kardinal goes on to say, “I’ve done all the other stuff... got a bunch of plaques at home, toured the world, done this, done that,” adding that he’s focused on ways to “diversify” his career. He notes that “all the pressure is gone with everything I do, and I can just focus on the passion.” From performing for Nelson Mandela, to running with the torch during the Olympics, to sitting on the judges’ panel for Canada’s Got Talent, Kardinal has had no shortage of passion projects dedicated to his home country.
Next up in his agenda? Throwing a Party in the Plaza with Arts Commons Presents to invite Calgarians for a (free!) outdoor celebration of the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop. Mark your calendars for August 30th, because it will be a summer sendoff like no other.
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