By Paul Glanting
Dictating an interview onto paper via shorthand is difficult. However, when talking to the jovial Kardinal Offishall that difficulty bloats: “I just like to roll into the club like [Kardi lets an emulation of a machine gun roll of his tongue, one which cannot be represented through the Roman alphabet]. The Canadian rapper has just returned from a listening session for his forthcoming album, Not 4 Sale, and is fiddling with his diamond encrusted smiley-face. Kardi’s onomatopoeia continues and while it’s quite difficult to scribe, all trials and tribulations considered, it makes perfect sense.
It’s a story that hip-hop has heard all too often: The tale of the album which, for reasons that lie behind closed doors, fails to see the sun’s illumination. Subsequently, like rain drops through a skylight, those tracks inevitably find their way onto blogs, mixtapes and bootlegs. And while this leakage is not conducive to monetary flow, at least the artist’s enigma enjoys some nourishment. However, when these tracks have been purchased from producers like Timbaland and The Neptunes, does “enigma” really suffice?
“We paid an arm and a leg for those, I guess there’s really nothing to do but leak ‘em,” Kardinall says in an oddly casual manner. Tempted, as I am to ask how much “an arm and a leg” was, I’d prefer to keep the 6’4″ Kardinal in his pleasant temperament.
2001’s Quest For Fire spawned bangers like “Bakardi Slang” and “Ol’ Time Killin’,” which displayed Offishall’s skin-tight wordplay tinged with West-Indie growls. Both songs became anthems in Canada. Quest For Fire went gold and at a time when hip-hop/dancehall fusions like Sean Paul were on the rise, it appeared as if Offishall was certainly due for an ascent of equal altitude. However, Kardi’s third full-length, F-Word Theory, jammed full of A-list production and all, was shelved with its label (MCA)’s demise.
“Typically, I hate mixtapes–they’re coasters or frisbees–but musically, I expressed the [frustration] through my mixtape Kill Bloodclott Bill,” says Offishall. “It was the most consistent fire I’ve ever had, and that fire was completely authentic.” The scorch from that fire now appears to be a pleasant glow, as Offishall reflects, “I try not to be bitter. I’m more blessed now than ever and if I hadn’t gone through all that I wouldn’t be as strong as I am now.”
Kardi’s optimism is indeed logical, as he’s recruited another significantly successful foreigner to assist him for his latest effort, Not 4 Sale, as executive producer. “When I first joined up with Akon, he was still on the way up,” Offishall says. “I believed in him as much as he believed in me. We shared a vision and knew what we wanted to do.”
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