Despite being in the decidedly un-hip-hop Arbour Room last Thursday, the fresh- faced hip-hop artist Shad, hailing from London, Ontario, prowled the stage as though he was dominating a venue ten times the size. Perhaps it’s because of his youth (he’s still a student at the University of Waterloo) or the fact that his lyrics are still relatively new, but you can tell that Shad lives through every word he rhymes.

Shad is of a new breed of indie Canadian hip-hop artists, like Edmonton’s Cadence Weapon, who rely on rapid-fire humour, wit and well-produced tracks to bridge the gap between bedroom recordings and big-time record deals.

In recent years hip-hop, after growing fat with over-blown, bling’ed-out and downright boring gangstas who only drop names and rap about Escalades, has taken steps in a new, more authentic direction, and come out better for it. Performing alongside live drums and bass, and even picking up an acoustic guitar himself, Shad is clearly an advocate of a more organic hip-hop, and there’s no denying how refreshing it sounds.

It’s hard to peg Shad’s style, but his guitar work and the sampling of the Fugees’ “Nappy Heads” point to a young Wyclef Jean, while the eloquence of his rhymes suggest Jurassic 5 or People Under The Stairs.

Although his backing band isn’t the tightest hip-hop combo-there is a definite lack of polish-Shad’s charm onstage and the quality of his tunes held the attention and delight of the audience throughout. Tracks like “Rock With It,” “Music is the Muscle” and new track “Compromise” (which without the rapping wouldn’t sound out of place on Herbie Hancock’s classic jazz-fusion album Head Hunters) are clear comebacks to anyone who would question Shad’s cred (he recently signed with Sony/BMG).

The rhymes are witty, whimsical and a little self-deprecating (sample: “the only time I use a bullet is on Microsoft Word”) and there’s even a ballad of sorts in the touching “A Story No One Told,” further demonstrating Shad’s vanquishing of the chauvinistic rapper image. (The dude even recorded a duet with his mom to raise awareness about Rwandan genocide.) Finishing his set with a seamless freestyle, Shad left the audience with no doubt that he offers fans of hip-hop something fresh and powerful.

Shad
The Arbour Room
Thursday, November 23
Rating: VVVV