Video Editor / Leslie Woods
Sound Tech / Miguel De Jesus
Producer / Aaron Joseph
Shad K : Finally Known
Part Two
Watch Part One of our interview with Shad K.
Transcription
Conscious rap has always been a funny term. What does that mean? Who isn’t a conscious human being? Who isn’t delivering some kind of perspective, some kind of awareness? But, whatever — like I said, I don’t put those labels on myself but I understand that people do.
I think that what happens if you get music in your DNA and that’s what comes out of you naturally. You can put yourself in a situation that forces you to try other things creatively but you just can’t really force anything. Also, even if you want to break it down on a strategic level and find the best idea, it’s like… Usually the best idea is to do what other people are not doing, because that will set you apart. Ultimately you can’t do anything that you don’t feel.
[Raps a Common song] Remember the first time you heard Common Sense?
Yeah, I do. I got into that album, Resurrection, after. I got into One Day It Will All Make Sense when I was like nine or ten and that album just blew my mind. I loved all music and I loved hip-hop music but I think that was the first one that made me realize there’s a whole other level to it. You can make some really real songs – and there’s also the way he puts words together. I was just at a certain age and he had come out with that album where we kind of intersected and I made a realization about music and developed a deeper level of appreciation for it. Anyhow, all that to say that I went back and listened to Resurrection. And that was crazy. And that track – it’s a special song.
And on that topic, do you still love her?
Yeah. It’s in me now, at this point. It’s just in me. I find it hard to describe rapping, or hip-hop. It’s just a part of me. It just is. I’ll go on the rest of my life and do whatever it is that I do – that music will be in me. It’s just what comes out creatively.
I do something I love, man. That keeps me motivated. I know that that’s a rare opportunity, so I really want to work hard and honour that opportunity. And I also feel that I can still get better. All those things motivate me. They make me want to keep going and to put as much energy as I can into it because I know it’s a privilege and I know that it might not always be there.
Watch Part One of our interview with Shad K.
If you have a friend and you both like video games, you play video games together. If you have a friend that plays music, you play music together.Transcription
Conscious rap has always been a funny term. What does that mean? Who isn’t a conscious human being? Who isn’t delivering some kind of perspective, some kind of awareness? But, whatever -- like I said, I don’t put those labels on myself but I understand that people do.
I think that what happens if you get music in your DNA and that’s what comes out of you naturally. You can put yourself in a situation that forces you to try other things creatively but you just can’t really force anything. Also, even if you want to break it down on a strategic level and find the best idea, it’s like… Usually the best idea is to do what other people are not doing, because that will set you apart. Ultimately you can’t do anything that you don’t feel.
[Raps a Common song] Remember the first time you heard Common Sense?
Yeah, I do. I got into that album, Resurrection, after. I got into One Day It Will All Make Sense when I was like nine or ten and that album just blew my mind. I loved all music and I loved hip-hop music but I think that was the first one that made me realize there’s a whole other level to it. You can make some really real songs – and there’s also the way he puts words together. I was just at a certain age and he had come out with that album where we kind of intersected and I made a realization about music and developed a deeper level of appreciation for it. Anyhow, all that to say that I went back and listened to Resurrection. And that was crazy. And that track – it’s a special song.
And on that topic, do you still love her?
Yeah. It’s in me now, at this point. It’s just in me. I find it hard to describe rapping, or hip-hop. It’s just a part of me. It just is. I’ll go on the rest of my life and do whatever it is that I do – that music will be in me. It’s just what comes out creatively.
I do something I love, man. That keeps me motivated. I know that that’s a rare opportunity, so I really want to work hard and honour that opportunity. And I also feel that I can still get better. All those things motivate me. They make me want to keep going and to put as much energy as I can into it because I know it’s a privilege and I know that it might not always be there.