Slakah the Beatchild

now playing: Slakah the Beatchild - Enjoy Ya Self

Funny how so many of my current favorite artists are Canadian. So is Byram Joseph aka Slakah the Beatchild, a highly sought after and awarded performing producer. This Toronto based multitalented musician has produced for many Canadian artists such as Justin Nozuka, Drake, Glenn Lewis, Divine Brown, Ayah, Ebrahim and Melanie Durrant and he was nominated for a Juno award for his work as a producer with artists Shad (make sure you check out my post about Shad!!), Ebrahim & Arabesque. In 2009 he was awarded a Juno award for the Divine Brown album Love Chronicles. He is a member of the hiphop duo Art of Fresh, a solo artist and the creator of The Slakadeliqs.

A recent documentary style EPK peers into the life of Slakah the Beatchild as he talks about his collaborations with various artists. Watching this, you can follow the Beatchild as he goes on a mini tour and writes in the studio. The documentary was produced by Maya Bankovic and Nadia Tan for Six Nine Three.

Elaquent

now playing: Elaquent - Deep Slumber

Today I bring you Elaquent, Beatmaker x Batman Lover x Kung Fu Movie Expert x Night Owl from Guelph, Ontario. I didn't make that up but it was on his facebook page. The following list of his influences can be found on the same page: J Dilla, Madlib, Flying Lotus, Pete Rock, Moka Only, DJ Premier, Mr. Dibia$e, Afta-1, Benny B Blonco, Onra, devonwho, Samiyam, mndsgn, Sunclef, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Amy Winehouse, Mayer Hawthorne.

He is extremely talented plus a really nice guy, according to his own words. I believe that if his music tells anything about him as a person because we are without a doubt talking about the better kind of instrumental albums.

I'll list his albums with download/purchase links with some words here and there. Most of the stuff is free so you might want to appreciate that and support the artist and buy the few non-free releases.

In Colour (dirty loops)

Download

Memorecks

now playing: Memorecks - Passing By

Another great artist I've never heard of before.. But thanks to my friend from Chicago (yes the same one that I've mentioned earlier) my situation isn't that sad anymore.

Possibly the newest member of the list of my top producers, Memorecks has a good deal of amazing beats on youtube and his website. Camcorder EP was released in April, 2011 and it is a free collection of his very best works. It is a really solid and at least I'm having it on repeat. I think I'm in love with Passing By. There's some Flying Lotus kind of vibe, some J Dilla and a lot of Memorecks' own geniousity.

 Download Camcorder EP

I didn't find a decent biography anywhere even though the guy seems to be all over the internet. He's from Toronto, Ontario, Canada and he has possibly started his career in 2003. His musical influences are DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Madlib, DJ Exile, Beatminerz, Diamond D, Marley Marl, Marco Polo, 50s-70s jazz etc. 

His beats are also on Bankrush and DJ IV's Solid Mas - The Show Off Mixtape that came out in 2008. It is available on Datpiff.com. 

Shad

now playing: Shad - Wild

Shadrach Kabango, aka Shad is a Canadian hip-hop artist. Born in Kenya 1982, raised up in London, Ontario, Shad released his self-made debut When This Is Over in 2005. Before that he had participated 91.5 FM’s (London, ON) annual Rhythm of the Future unsigned talent competition and, winning the first prize, he put the $17,500 on recording the album while continuing his studies at Wilfrid Laurier University.

When This Is Over album cover

When This Is Over was critically acclaimed and got respect especially for the lyrics. Some of the tracks are about the typical but most are not. For example, he uses his mother Bernadette Kabango's poetry when rapping about the Rwandan genocide in I'll Never Understand. After the release, he sold out shows around Canada and got to warm up superstars like Common and Lupe Fiasco.

In 2007, he was signed by Black Box Recordings and he released his second album The Old Prince. The album was an immediate success. It has been referred to as one of the strongest Canadian hip-hop albums ever (Vish Khanna, Exclaim! Magazine), it received a Juno award in 2008 for Rap Recording of the Year, was nominated for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize and it was nominated for two MuchMusic Video Awards.

Shad's third album, TSOL, was released in 2010 and it, too, received the Polaris Music Prize and the Juno award for Rap Recording of the Year.

The Old Prince album cover

TSOL album cover

With these three albums Shad has taken a well deserved place in the top rank. His flow is getting better with every word, although it was pretty ridiculous to begin with. The beats, oh lord the beats, are sick, his lyrics are smarter, more meaningful and layered than you could at first imagine. It feels like he had been on the game for years and years, even though the truth is quite the opposite. Like many other bloggers, I too think that When This Is Over is one of the best debut albums and things get only better after that.

To listen to Shad's music before buying the albums (oh yes, I know you will buy them, unless you're deaf) you can go to his website. He has a list of his official music videos on youtube and all the necessary links to find where you can purchase his auditory gold.