It’s been five years since we last got an album from London, Ontario emcee Shad, when he released the excellent Flying Colours. After releasing that album, Shad felt like he needed to close a chapter in his career and do some different things. This meant, amongst other things, hosting the TV show Hip Hop Evolution. After a few years, though, Shad got the itch to write again, but felt like he still needed to do something different. He now gives us that very different project with A Short Story About War.

A lot of the appeal of earlier albums like Flying Colours and TSOL were how Shad personally related what things like faith, family, and being an immigrant meant to him, and how hip hop helped him find his voice. When it came time to make a new album, Shad decided to look outward at the rest of the world, had a vision, and tried to wrap his head around the horror and destruction that is happening in certain parts of the world, and to put himself in those shoes. The result is an album that is much darker in tone than previous Shad albums, but it’s not without hope. With production from such notable artists like Kaytranada and 2oolman of A Tribe Called Red, we get a sound that is dark, dense, and aggressive, with trap drums, poignant samples, and ominous keyboards for most of the album. This in turn pushes Shad to spit hard as he raps about not just the horrors of war, but the roots causes of it, such as greed, fear, and pride, and he does so by crafting a personal first person narrative that helps you see not just the big picture of war, but the minutia as well. By taking this approach, Shad’s goal is to not make an album that is overwhelming and full of gloom and doom, but to define this horror in our world, to put a name and shape to it, so that it can feel like something we can take on and overcome. Where this message really comes through is on the standout track, “The Fool Pt. 1 (Get It Got It Good),” which is one of the most triumphant and empowering songs you’ll hear all year. Throughout his career, Shad has demonstrated a knack for crafting inspiring songs that approach cheesiness but never cross the line, mostly because of two things. One is that Shad is never just blowing smoke up your ass with generic “You got this!” messaging. He and his family have been through some shit, leaving a war-torn Kenya to start a new life in Canada, for starters, so he’s always specific about relating how and when he’s had to draw upon things like his family and faith for strength. The second is that Shad’s joy and belief in a better future is genuine. So when he relays a message like how his mom said that “A human is not who the villain is – she said it’s fear/it’s greed and it’s pride/you see it inside” you can start to see how he’s trying to give us the tools to overcome, and it’s something that’s he’s trying to overcome in his life as well. On top of all this, “The Fool Pt. 1” features some of the best gospel-tinged, bass-thumping production you’ll hear all year, leaving you with a song that will make you want to dance, shout, and then take on the whole world.

Damn it’s good to have Shad back. A Short Story About War is a different album from this emcee, but it’s a welcome addition to his discography. It takes you on a really timely and important narrative journey, and while we get to see a side of Shad we haven’t seen before, we also get the Shad we love – full of passion and joy, with skills on the mic that few can come close to.