Rose Garden

Photo by Annie Collinge

Hi everyone, this is my first blog as a member of the Loose Lips family so I’ll give you a quick bio about myself so I’m not just some random words on a web page. First off, my name’s Sean, I’m from Toronto (Canada, I think there’s at least one other city by that name in the U.S.), so if you’re wondering why I spell colour with an ‘ou’ – now you know. I’m in my early twenties and I’m currently trying to sweep up the last few bits of a business degree so that I can hopefully get a job that has absolutely nothing to do with my major. Professional blogger anyone? This gig just doesn’t cut it pay-wise. That’s probably enough for now… on to the nerve-racking first song of my time here:

I chose to make my first post about a song from my homeland, actually he’s from a few kilometers down the road from where I was born. Shad, or Shad K is a Canadian hip hop artist from London, Ontario, whose career has been picking up steam as of late. I was first introduced to his talents when I saw him open up for another artist about four or five years ago at a show in T.O. and was immediately blown away. What really separated him from artists I’d seen/heard in the past was when he picked up an acoustic guitar and proceeded to spit some of the most amazing bars I’d ever heard while playing a reasonably intricate guitar part. That song is called Rock To It if you’re inclined to hear it. Ever since I’ve been hooked and lately a lot more people have started to catch the Shad itch.

The reason Shad stands out from the pack is his ability to take on a variety of topics while providing wordplay that has you playing the song over and over just to make sure you got everything. The song that I’m posting – Rose Garden - is a perfect example of this, and his other strong point: His beat selection is always on point. The sample (you’ll come to realize I love finding the samples of hip hop songs) I believe is from an old country cover of (I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden by Dobie Gray, the best known version was performed by Lynn Anderson. This song was the lead single of his 2010 album TSOL that won him a Juno (Canada’s less prestigious version of the Grammy’s) for Best Hip Hop Album over Drake (thank God!). If you like the song, check out his other stuff and buy the album! It’s worth the money and Shad definitely still falls under the starving artist category. Last thing: Check out the video for Rose Garden, it’s pretty awesome.

Rose Garden - Shad