Flying Colours

Flying Colours: His just-released new album "Flying Colours" is one of his most personal and heavy records to date. The expression "passing with flying colours" has been resonating with him a lot lately, as he's become conscious of the self-imposed pressure we all put on ourselves in this age of constant examination and reflection about where we stand, as individuals, in this world, according to Huffington Post. Longtime fans will notice that Shad has really stepped up his game as an MC on "Flying Colours." His switches up flows, delves deeper into the technical aspects of his craft, and the end result is a batch of some of his most multi-layered performances and Shad, perhaps not surprisingly for a guy whose last album "TSOL" beat Drake for the 2011 best rap Juno, is one of the most openly optimistic artists working today. His strong bond with his family, who originally hail from Rwanda but established a life in London, ON where Shad was raised, keeps him grounded in the often brash world of hip-hop. He's cocky when the occasion calls for it but he uses his wit, humour and unique skills to create thoughtful, politically charged, pop culture-soaked music. "What I had in mind was that feeling where you think you've bombed but then you get the test back and you get an 'A,'" he tells HuffPost Canada Music over the phone from his home base in Vancouver. "But you were sure you bombed, y'know? I like that idea where we're all so hard on ourselves but at the end of the day, we're all just here and trying to do our best. I really do feel that we're trying to work with whatever hands we've been dealt. That's something we don't factor into the equation quite enough; we're always self-critical but don't take into account that we're working hard and trying to make sense of it." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.