Jason Drew Harrow (born May 11, 1976), better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall ( ), is a Canadian rapper and record producer. Often credited as Canada's "

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

ambassador", he has been regarded as one of the country's most prominent hip-hop producers during the 2000s and is distinctive for his

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

-influenced style of hip-hop. Kardinal Offishall > BiographyAllMusic. Accessed on October 24, 2012. A native of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Harrow began his career in the city's mid-1990s underground hip-hop scene, when he formed the hip-hop group the Circle.Kardinal Offishall making waves Jam! Music. Accessed on October 22, 2012. He released his debut studio album, '' Eye & I'' (1997) and extended play (EP), '' Husslin''' (2000) independently before signing with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

in 2000. His second album and major label debut, '' Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1'' (2001), moderately entered the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

and was supported by his first

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian music charts are a collection of record charts reflecting the music consumption of people in Canada. '' RPM'' and '' Billboard'' are the biggest publications to have published Canada's official charts for decades. However, the first ...

entries: "

Ol' Time Killin' "Ol' Time Killin'" is a hip-hop song by Kardinal Offishall featuring Jully Black, Allistair, IRS, and Wio-K, released in 2001. Produced by Mr. Attic, it was the second single from his second album '' Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1''. Bac ...

" and "

BaKardi Slang "BaKardi Slang" is a hip-hop song by Kardinal Offishall. Produced by Solitair, it was the first single from his second album '' Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1''. The single was released in Canada in 2000, before being re-released in the U.S ...

"—the latter of which popularized Toronto's nickname " T-dot". He failed to release the album's sequel on MCA, in part due to the label's absorption by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

prior to its release. Harrow's third album, ''

Fire and Glory ''Fire and Glory'' is the third studio album by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, released November 15, 2005 on EMI/Virgin Records, exclusively in Canada. Two hit singles were released from the album, " Everyday (Rudebwoy)" and " Feel Alright". ...

'' (2003), was released by

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

; despite widespread critical praise, it was met with commercial stagnation and became his only release with the label. He then signed with Senegalese-American singer

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

's record label KonLive Distribution, an imprint of Geffen Records in 2007 to release his fourth album, '' Not 4 Sale'' (2008). Its lead single, " Dangerous" (featuring Akon) peaked at number two on the then-newly established

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

, number five of the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and received quadruple

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

certification by

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

(MC). The song yielded his furthest commercial success, and was followed by his guest performance alongside Colby O'Donis on Akon's single " Beautiful" that same year, which peaked within the top 20 of the latter chart.Gold Platinum Database
Music Canada. Accessed on October 22, 2012. ''Not 4 Sale'' debuted at number eight on the Canadian Albums Chart, number 40 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and spawned the Canadian Hot 100-top 40 single " Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" (featuring

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she began her musical career as a songwriter and backing vocalist for other artists under the wing of record producer Anthony De ...

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

), which received

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

certification by MC. His 2010 single, " Body Bounce" (featuring Akon), peaked within the top 20 of the chart and received platinum certification, although he parted ways with KonLive later that year.Heds and Dreds: Talking T-Dot Roots and Culture with Kardinal Offishall
Okayplayer. Accessed on October 22, 2012Kardinal Offishall talks with The Come Up Show about A.M.T.R.I.M, Toronto and the music industry
The Come Up Show. Accessed on October 22, 2012. An independent artist once more, he formed the record label Black Stone Colleagues shortly after, although in 2013, Harrow was named the creative executive director of Universal Music Canada's A&R division.Kardinal Offishall Joins Universal's A&R Team as Creative Executive Director
''Exclaim!''. Accessed on February 17, 2014. Two years later, he released his fifth album, '' Kardi Gras, Vol. 1: The Clash'' (2015) to moderate success. In April 2021, he was promoted to senior vice-president of A&R for Universal Music Canada.

Biography

Early life and career beginnings

Harrow was born in the

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

district of

, and raised by

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n immigrant parents.Jackson, Kevin (2014)
Making It 'Offishall'
, ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'', March 21, 2014. Accessed on March 23, 2014 From the ages of 2 to 13, he lived in the city's Flemingdon Park neighbourhood. He moved back to Scarborough for two years, before finally settling in Oakwood–Vaughan, in the city's west end. CHARTattack. Accessed on January 22, 2011. While in high school, he would throw parties at the Alexandra Park Community Centre. He also is a former

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

student (Philosophy) but did not complete his degree. He started rapping at the age of eight and was winning competitions by the time he was 12. At age 14, he performed live on stage for the first time, with

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

in attendance during Mandela's first visit to Toronto following his release from prison earlier that year (1990). 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 Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...

. That year, Offishall co-founded the Circle, a collective of artists including

Choclair Kareem Blake (born March 27, 1975), better known by his stage name Choclair, is a Canadian rapper. He was one of the most successful rappers in Canada in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Choclair has been nominated for six Juno Awards, winning four ...

, Jully Black, Solitair, Tara Chase, and Saukrates. In 1994, he made his first recorded appearance on Saukrates' single "Still Caught Up".

1996–1999: ''Eye & I''

Kardinal was signed to a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music Canada at the age of 20. 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 The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

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 Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

. The album received rave reviews from music critics.Kinder, Gentler Rap, Eh?
Ottawa Citizen. Accessed on November 1, 2008.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated that Kardinal "blended soul, dancehall, reggae, hip-hop, and a wholly inventive approach to beats on his 20-track debut album, ''Eye & I''." Unfortunately, the album was poorly distributed in Canada, and a lack of radio support resulted in the album receiving limited commercial attention. Over 4,000 copies of the album were sold in its first three months of release. In 1998, he was featured on the Juno-winning single " Northern Touch" with the Rascalz,

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

and

Thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that ...

. The following year, he produced Choclair's hit single " Let's Ride".

2000–2003: ''Husslin'' and ''Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1''

''Husslin'' was an EP released on April 11, 2000. It was released independently on Figure IV Entertainment and distributed by Fat Beats Records in the United States. The title track, "

Husslin' ''Husslin is an EP by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, released independently on April 11, 2000, on Figure IV Entertainment, and distributed by Fat Beats Records in the United States. The title track, " Husslin'", was one of the hottest 12" ...

", was one of the hottest 12" singles of 2000. Husslin' > OverviewAllMusic. Accessed on October 19, 2008. "And What?", featuring Saukrates, was released as a single in 1999. "Husslin'" and "Mic T.H.U.G.S." also appear on Kardinal's second studio album, '' Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1''. An updated version of "U R Ghetto When", known as "U R Ghetto 2002", is on the ''Quest for Fire'' album. In 2000, Kardinal signed with

. He released the album ''Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1'' in 2001, which spawned the hits "

" and "

".One year after its release, 25,000 copies of the album were sold in Canada.Has Canadian hip-hop truly "arrived"?
HipHopCanada. Accessed on October 18, 2009. It received generally favorable reviews from music critics. '' The Source'' gave the album 3 out of 5 mics. RapReviews.com gave it a 7/10 rating, calling it a "mixed bag," and stating "there are also some perfect 10's to be found here."Kardinal Offishall :: Firestarter Vol. 1 * Quest For Fire
RapReviews. Accessed on September 24, 2009. ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave the album a favorable review, praising its "impressive musical and lyrical consistency." AllMusic gave it 2 out of 5 stars, noting that Kardinal "displays only flashes of promise here." The album was nominated for Best Rap Recording at the 2002 Juno Awards. After MCA folded in 2003, Kardinal's highly anticipated follow up album ''Firestarter Vol. 2: The F-Word Theory'' was shelved along with the music video for the single " Belly Dancer" featuring

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

, and Kardinal eventually found himself without a label. Had the album been released, there would have been production from

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

and

the Neptunes The Neptunes were an American record production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provided backing vocals and music video appearances on the duo's productions, while H ...

, among others. For the 20th anniversary of ''Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1'', Kardinal released "Firestarter", a capsule clothing collection in collaboration with urbancoolab, an artificial intelligence fashion platform.

2004–2008: ''Fire and Glory'' and ''Not 4 Sale''

In 2004, Kardinal released an independent

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

titled ''Kill Bloodclott Bill'' with his production company, Black Jays, and he also released his second major-label album titled ''

'' on November 15, 2005, through

in Canada only. Hits on ''Fire and Glory'' include " Everyday (Rudebwoy)" and "Heads Up". RapReviews.com gave the album an 8.5/10 rating, stating "''Fire and Glory'' is a better album than ''Firestarter Vol. 1''," and "aside from having better lyrics than most of his counterparts, Kardinal's unique style also sets him apart." The album was nominated for Rap Recording of the Year at the 2006 Juno Awards. ''Not 4 Sale'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, released September 9, 2008, on Kon Live/Geffen Records. It is his second international major-label album, after 2001's ''Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1''. It was a critical success, spawning the top 5 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 single "Dangerous", and the minor hit "Numba 1 (Tide Is High)". 11,869 copies of the album were sold in the United States, in its first week of release. It debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 40. As of February 15, 2009, the album has sold 34,822 copies. In Canada, it debuted at number 8 on the Canadian Albums Chart, with 4,247 copies sold in the first week. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics. AllMusic gave it 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "an entirely solid album", also stating "this freedom fighting and socially conscious writing is tempered with hooky club tracks that never fail." 4''USA Today'' gave it 3 out of 4 stars, noting "his potent blend of hip-hop and dancehall gives him a flavor all his own."PopMatters gave the album a 6/10 rating, writing "although many of the tracks here are glossy pop productions, Kardinal has not really changed since he was first heard in the '90s."The album won the award for Rap Recording of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards.

2009–2018: Universal Music Canada partnership and ''Kardi Gras, Vol. 1: The Clash''

In 2008, he was featured on the Just Dance (RedOne Remix) by Lady Gaga, part of the EP "Just Dance (Remixes, Pt. 2)". In 2010, he was included in the Young Artists for Haiti's version of " Wavin' Flag" in an effort to raise money for disaster relief. He starred along with many Canadian stars. Also in 2010, he was featured in Raghav's single " So Much". In 2011, he collaborated with Canadian dance-pop act Audio Playground on their gold selling single "Famous", which reached #28 in Canada and #10 on the USA Billboard Dance charts. In 2011, he collaborated with singer Karl Wolf on his single "Ghetto Love". In 2013, Kardinal Offishall, along with Madchild from Swollen Members, were featured on Canadian hip-hop artist Classified's self-titled album on the track "Look Up". He also appeared on the charity single " True Colors" by

Artists Against Bullying Artists Against Bullying (often styled as "Artists Against") was an agglomeration of seven Canadian musicians who united in 2012 to re-record the song " True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an Am ...

. On December 16, 2013, Offishall joined Universal Music Canada as Creative Executive Director of A&R. Aside from developing Canadian talent, he has also expressed interest in developing international talent, stating "I'm searching the world for superstars." On October 30, 2015, Kardinal Offishall released his fifth studio album ''Kardi Gras, Vol. 1: The Clash'' which spawned the hit single "That Chick Right There", which reached number 68 on the Canadian Hot 100.

2019–present: ''Pick Your Poison''

On June 4, 2019, Kardinal Offishall released the single "Run", which was used as the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

theme song during their championship run in the 2019 NBA Finals and also announced as the first single from his planned album ''Pick Your Poison''. In October 2021, it was announced that he would be a judge on the second season of '' Canada's Got Talent'', which aired in 2022. He also made a guest appearance as a fictionalized version of himself in the debut episode of the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

sitcom '' Run the Burbs''.

Personal life

Family

In July 2016, Kardinal Offishall announced the birth of his third child, a daughter.

Philanthropy

As a philanthropist, Harrow has hosted the ''KARDI Christmas Party'' charity event since 2000, which raises funds for community initiatives and causes. He is a founding member of the music business collective non-profit, Advance. During his tenure at Universal Music Canada, he established the B.L.A.C.K. (Businesses Levelling Access to Change and Knowledge) Label Coalition, which secures funds for various charities.

Discography

Studio albums * '' Eye & I'' (1997) * '' Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1'' (2001) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Not 4 Sale'' (2008) * '' Kardi Gras, Vol. 1: The Clash'' (2015) Collaborative albums * '' A.M.T.R.I.M.'' with Nottz (2012)

Awards

*1999:

Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year The Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year was introduced in 1991, and awarded for the best rap album in Canada. It was formerly known as Best Rap Recording from 1993 to 2002. Before 1999, because of the relatively limited commercial visibility o ...

for Rascalz' "Northern Touch" *2000: Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year for producing

'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" *2014: Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for "Can't Choose" (with JRDN) *2019: Honorary Degree from

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has three mai ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Offishall, Kardinal 1976 births 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian rappers 21st-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian rappers Canadian hip-hop DJs Canadian hip-hop record producers Canadian male rappers Canadian music industry executives Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian male songwriters Geffen Records artists Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year winners Juno Award for Single of the Year winners Living people MCA Records artists Musicians from Scarborough, Ontario Rappers from Toronto York University alumni Canadian reggae musicians Canadian electronic musicians East Coast hip-hop musicians Dancehall musicians Trip hop musicians 20th-century Black Canadian musicians 21st-century Black Canadian musicians