Customer Reviews

Old Prince

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hailing from London, Canada; Shadrach Kabango is one of those artists that you just can't really understand why he's been flying under everyone's radar for so long. Really, there aren't too many artists bringing this caliber of quality in 2007. This simply fulfills those holes that a lot of underground rap has in it. Comparatively, Shad stems from the vein of the Native Tongues and other like-minded collectives. Notably, the album contains stellar production, infectious hooks, solid structure, and quality choruses. Above all, Shad brings highly introspective lyrics with an unmatched consciousness and sheer wit that sets him apart from his peers. His philosophy on life, and hip-hop are consistently alluring, and never fails to entertain with a great sense of humor. "The Old Prince" is the complete package - definitely a modern day masterpiece.

01. "Intro: Quest For Glory" - Shad shows what you're in for. Great lyricism, personal stories, and a message of hope & prosperity.

02. "I Don't Like To" - Definitely my favorite joint on the CD. And the production matches his sharp wit perfectly. He adds some excellent humor here, and turns in some sweet punch lines with his interwoven word play. Consistently interesting after several listens. A stellar standout.

03. "What We All Want" (feat. Kamau & Relic The Oddity) - A beautiful tune. It has a soul searching vibe. A nice soothing posse track with surprisingly good guest rappers. Fits nicely.

04. "Brother (Watching)" (feat. B & F Kabango) - This one has 'single' written all over it. Extremely fresh beats and hooks with excellent songwriting and flows from Shad. Probably the best track on the album.

05. "Now A Daze" - Nice production. Shad represents his introspective side again, boasting his philosophy on life. Consistently interesting...

06. "The Old Prince Still Lives At Home" - Probably my second favorite track here. Dope, almost laughable production. An infection platter of samples. Excellent lyrics about Shad's "easy" life living at home with his folks. Excellent flows and punch lines too. The beat abruptly stops toward the end, because Shad "couldn't afford" the whole beat. It ends on a very humorous note.

07. "Out Of Love Pt. 2" - Shad sounds a little emo hear...lol. It's all good though, because he acknowledges it, and flips it in a humorous way. A nice set of lyrics all in all.

08. "The Last Three Years" (Interlude) - I look at this as half-time to split up the mix. Just some soft, soothing piano.

09. "I Heard You Had A Voice Like An Angel / Psalm 137" - This is also a favorite. That piano from the interlude glides in sweetly, and mixes beautifully with an infectious guitar loop. Shad's lyrics are calm and conscious. Excellent songwriting.

10. "Compromise" - Another straight banger. Excellent hook and production. Shad comes with some of his flyest lyrics yet. He dissects his style and musical philosophy here. A definite standout.

11. "Exile" - Some of Shad's tightest rapping appears here. Once again, the production matches him perfectly, boasting some nice string arrangements. He's proving he's a force to be reckoned with in hip-hop.

12. "Get Up" - Highly infectious hooks mixed with introspective messages. Some of the freshest production on the disc.

13. "Outro" - Spoken words of wisdom from Kamau

There aren't many albums out there that I deem flawless. Even with some of my all time favorites, I can find one or two things that I don't feel. Shad's sophomore LP is one of maybe 5 albums that I own that I simply can't find anything wrong with. This album is excellent from top to bottom. 40 minutes and 37 seconds of what I call perfection. I even went back and revised my "Best Of..." listmania for 2007 after hearing this album (something I never do after the year has passed). The funny part is that I probably would've never even heard of the guy had he not been mentioned over on the Amazon forums -- he completely missed my radar. What makes Shad so great is that, not only are his rhymes excellent, they have range. He can tackle race on a track like "Brother (Watching)" then flip and crank out humorous track like "The Old Prince Still Lives At Home" that offers an inside perspective on being a grown man and still living with his parents. The production also boasts great range. Things swing from heavenly strings to boom bap to laid back while all maintaining a great level of energy.

I think I already stated my position in terms of flaws or the lack of them. I'll say it again, though. Excellent album from top to bottom.

After hearing The Old Prince, I've set out to find his debut album (his 2005 release "When This Is Over"). It's available on iTunes (I think), but if it's anything like this one, I'll be needing a hard copy of it. It's a real shame that albums like this don't get much shine here in the U.S. I don't know if it's because he ain't ballin' or if it's because he's Canadian, but someone dropped the ball by not getting this album out to the masses. It would appear that the good folks that dole out awards even missed the boat. It may not have won the 2008 Juno Award for album of the year, but it should have. Go get this album, people. The Old Prince is highly, HIGHLY recommended.

Standout Tracks: All Tracks

Living in Canada i was lucky because i heard about Shad back in 2006 when i heard the song Rock To It from his debut When This Is Over. I have also had the chance to see him live in concert, and i can say that he is better live which is unbelievable because his albums have been dope. His single The Old Prince Still Lives At Home has been getting a nice amount of play on Much Music but I unfortunately slept on The Old Prince until May of 2008. Im glad i finally got around to picking this up because like others have said this is as close to flawless as your gonna get. There are not low points, not even the Interlude. Its really hard to pick a favorite song from this album but i would have to go with Brother, its nice to hear a rapper kick some knowledge. Hes gives us lots of insight and you can tell hes making this music because he wants to not because he wants money. Angel is also really dope. Get Up well really lift your spirit up, its nice to hear music that anyone can relate to rather then big spending and ballin out. Looks like Canada is the new face of hip hop.

Top Songs
Brother
I Heard You Had A Voice Like An Angel
Get Up
Out Of Love Pt.2
The Old Prince Still Lives At Home

I am a huge fan of hip-hop. Well-versed in the old school, underground, blahblahblah all of that good stuff whatever. Basically, I'm no newcomer to incredible soulful underground music.

After listening to so much hip-hop adamantly for so many years, I can honestly say that this is easily one of the best hip-hop albums I have EVER heard.

The production is phenomenal. Every track is just well produced, well mastered, and perfectly matching the lyrical topic. The rhyming... I won't even get into the rhyming. Shad is a lyrical phenomenon. Insightful, reflective, wise, down to earth, perfectly exectuted - there is hardly a flaw to be found, in my eyes, in the whole album.

After hearing his singles, I assumed Shad was just a lighthearted rapper. But the topics he touches on are incredibly deep and relevant.

"I Heard You Had A Voice Like an Angel" and "Now a Daze" are probably my favorite tracks. The quality of concept, production lyrics and execution can't even be expressed by words in my humble opinion. I really think this dude is phenomenal and this album will be looked at as a DEFINITE underground classic. Shad til infinity


Comparable to k-os, Mr.Lif(two INCREDIBLE emcees by the way, would go great with Shad on a collaboration), Common (maybe), etc. Conscious yet fun and always funky and sounding good.

If you want some incredible dope to the core hip-hop look no further, Shad is that dude!

For a canadian rapper, This guy's flow is incredible. his theme for his album a great choice and instrumentals all kind of urban jazz flowed. it was an incredible cd over all.

This album is amazing. The previous album is amazing. The latest album is amazing. Shad is monstrous.

Great cd. Shad is the most intelligent artist that I've ever heard on the mic. He has a fresh yet oldschool sound with actual instrumentals under genius and relevant lyrics. He is the pure defenition of hip hop. Shad boasts an extensive vocab paired up with mind boggling word play that will have you hitting the rewinding button repeatedly. His content spans from religion to society, from relationships to basketball. His positive message and real life emotional content is a breath of fresh air for hip hop fans that are tired of the same old manufactured gangster rap. Both "The Old Prince" and "When This Is Over" albums are a must have for any fan of hip hop or music fan in general. In conclusion, BUY BUY BUY!

A Refreshingly nice throwback to hip hop that has been lost, buy this CD you can't go wrong!

The rhymes he utilizes are not main stream and break with the same monotonous r&b, hip-hop typical themes which are:

1. A girl's booty
2. At the club
3. Getting Crunk
4. I'm so fly
5. Got money
6. Yeah!!!!
7. Bang in my white t
8. Crank that

These can be rearranged in any particular order and you will get just about every main-stream hip-hop, r&b song released within the last 2 or 3 years.

More in depth: Shad mixes biblical metaphors, savvy lingo, political awareness, and a new understanding about how he understands life. Because he approaches his music with a fresh new style, he has more flexibility and versatility in the kinds of beats and rhymes he can use. This is seen in the many songs on his cd in which he utilizes slower rhyming or faster, depending on the kind of beat.

My rating system is usually based on 3 or 4 factors
1. Quality of the lyrics
2. Quality of the beat
3. Voice of the rapper is smooth and flows well with the beat

Of Note/More Review: Not everybody has the same definition of hip-hop, and I remain resolute in thinking hip-hop is on a selfish, vain, and egotistic downturn. Others believe it is simply changing or going back to its roots when it was about just having fun. I have had people cite Souljaboy as bringing it back to its fun roots. How can rap about women as sexual objects, getting crunk, and supermanning be fun? Maybe society is corrupt and our music is simply a reflection of our values. Shad seems more introspective and intelligent than his ignorant counterparts, if they can even be called counter-parts in his genre of music, by questioning the status quo and forcing us to think more about the consequences of our actions. He sees a need to break from the conformist nature of society that drives one to follow the typical egotistic, self-serving path most follow in live.

Cons: Shad seems to be still stuck in the blame the oppressor for everything rut that most people fall victim to, unfortunately. On that note, Song #3 is interesting but not very constructive because it complains too much (the oppressor problem), but Shad contrasts it with a more inspirational song #12 which says that action must be taken.

Best songs on the CD are for me:

1. I don't like to
3. Brother
6. The old Prince Still Lives At Home (funky, funny)
10. Compromise (my favorite beat on the whole cd)
11. Exile (very political)
12. Get up (we need better leaders, free speech, stand up to conformity, etc.)

This CD is certainly worth getting over most mainstream hip-hop Cd's, but you may just want to preview the songs on Ruckus or Imeem and then purchase which ones you like on iTunes, for example.

I like the way the album is presented - although I'm not sure if the production is up to par on some tracks. But it does prove that you can be a dope MC no matter where you live in the world.