Kardinal Offishall

Kardinal Offishall
Kardinal Offishall at the eTalk Festival Party, during the Toronto International Film Festival.
Background information
Birth name	Jason D. Harrow
Born	November 28, 1975 (1975-11-28) (age 34)
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Canadian hip hop Reggae fusion
Occupations	Rapper, producer, songwriter
Years active	1996–present
Labels	MCA (2000–2003) Kon Live/Geffen (2007–present)
Associated acts	Sean Paul, Black Jays, Akon, T-Pain, Clinton Sparks, Keri Hilson, Rihanna, Nicole Scherzinger, Lady GaGa, Colby O'Donis, Dr. Dre
Website	KardinalOffishall.com

Jason D. Harrow^[1] (born November 28, 1975),^[2] better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall (pronounced /kɑrdɨˈnæl oʊfɨˈʃæl/),^[3] is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.^[4][5]

Biography

Harrow was born in Scarborough, Ontario,^[6][7] in Toronto's east end, and raised by Jamaican immigrant parents. He later settled in the Oakwood-Vaughan neighbourhood of York, Ontario, in Toronto's west end.^[8][9] He started rapping at the age of eight and was winning competitions by the time he was 12. Also at the age of 12, he performed live and on stage for the first time, with Nelson Mandela in attendance during Mandela's first visit to Toronto.^[10] By 1993, he decided to change his alias "KoolAid", and went by the moniker "Kardinal Offishall" after being inspired by the great 17th century French politician Cardinal Richelieu.^[11]

Kardinal was signed to a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music Canada at the age of 20.^{[citation needed]} In 1996, he released his first single "Naughty Dread", which was featured on the Rap Essentials Volume One compilation and earned him a Juno Award nomination for Best Rap Recording. In 1997, Kardinal released his debut album Eye & I on Capitol Hill Music. The only single from the album, "On Wit Da Show", had considerable video play on MuchMusic. In 1998, he was featured on the Juno-winning single "Northern Touch" with the Rascalz, Choclair, Checkmate and Thrust.

In 2000, Kardinal signed with MCA Records. He released the album Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 in 2001, which spawned the hits "BaKardi Slang" and "Ol' Time Killin'". After MCA folded in 2003, Kardinal's highly anticipated follow up album Firestarter Vol. 2: F Word Theory was shelved along with the single/video for "Belly Dancer" featuring Pharrell, and Kardinal eventually found himself without a label. Had the album been released, there would have been production from Timbaland and The Neptunes, among others. He released an independent mixtape titled Kill Bloodclott Bill in 2004 with his production company, The Black Jays, and he also released his second major-label album titled Fire and Glory on November 15, 2005, through Virgin Records in Canada only. Hits on Fire and Glory include "Everyday (Rudebwoy)" and "Heads Up". Also in 2000, Kardinal Offishall teamed up with Maestro Fresh Wes for the hit "Bustin Loose" featured on Maestro's album Ever Since.

In 2007, Akon signed Kardinal Offishall to his label Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution. Kardinal Offishall released an album under the album Not 4 Sale. It spawned the hit single "Dangerous", which peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2009, Kardinal performed as the main act for Denison University, and on September 3rd at the CNE in Toronto.

Discography

Studio albums

• Eye & I (1997)
• Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 (2001)
• Fire and Glory (2005)
• Not 4 Sale (2008)
• Mr. International (2010)

EPs

• Husslin' (2000)

Awards

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2008) (Find sources: Kardinal Offishall – news, books, scholar)

• 1999: Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year for Rascalz' "Northern Touch"
• 2000: Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year for producing Choclair's "Let's Ride"
• 2000: SOCAN Award for "Husslin'"
• 2001: MuchMusic Video Award - Best Rap Video for "Money Jane"
• 2002: SOCAN Award for "Money Jane"
• 2004: Canadian Urban Music Award for "Empty Barrel"
• 2006: 3 MuchMusic Video Awards - Best Video, Best Director (RT!) and VideoFACT Award for "Everyday (Rudebwoy)"
• 2009: Juno Award for Single of the Year for "Dangerous"; Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year for Not 4 Sale
• 2009: SOCAN Urban Music Award for "Dangerous"

References

External links

• Official Website
• Kardinal Offishall at MySpace
• Kardinal Offishall interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' February 2009
• Kardinal Offishall at YouTube
• Kardinal Offishall on Twitter
• Rhapsody Interview
• Border Block - Canadian Hip Hop vs. America
• Much Music
• MMVA Awards
• Interview with DJ Stallion
• Kardinal's KonvictMuzik.net page
• Kardinal Offishall on Flow.TV
• Kardinal Offishall Spits 16 Bars in Studio - AOL Music
• Kardinal Offishall RBMA video lecture session