Juno-winning rapper Shad talks hockey, hoops

A native of London, Ont., rap artist Shad memorably beat out official Toronto Raptors global ambassador Drake for the Best Rap Recording Juno in 2011. He’s a competitive guy, and he loves sports. Sportsnet.ca chopped it up with one of Canada’s greatest MCs about Mario Lemieux’s cancer-crushing superpowers, his preference for CIS hoops, and why—if he were the ambassador of Canada’s NBA team—he’d encourage the Huskies to tank for Andrew Wiggins.

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Photo: Matt Forsythe

Sporstnet: You mostly live in Vancouver now. How would you describe your relationship with the Canucks?

Shad: Because I don’t like the Canucks, I don’t follow them that much. I feel like [moving to Vancouver] was my real opportunity to get immersed in it, especially when they went to the [2011] Stanley Cup final, but I was like, “Oh, these guys… no heart.”

Now that you’re spending more time recording in Toronto are the Maple Leafs slowly becoming your team?

That was an epic collapse last year, I’m not going to lie. That felt fated in a really sad way. I like underdogs. I was in Vancouver during the playoffs, just following the score, and was like, “Wow, they’re going to do it!” And then it was like, “Wow, that was epic.”

So, who’s your NHL team?

When I was a kid, I was a Penguins fan; I was a huge Mario Lemieux fan. So I still retain a little love for the Penguins. Lemieux, to me, was the most epic dude. Going to chemo and coming back, how are you that much better than everybody? How are you that much better than everybody?! Here’s some guy in the physical prime of his life, and you just underwent radiation and you’re better than him? I don’t know how that feels. But I don’t have strong allegiances as far as NHL teams go.

What sports did you play growing up?

Basketball. I still play a lot. In Vancouver, I’ve really got back into playing, so I’m tapped in to all of these pickup games. I know where there’s a game Tuesday night or Wednesday night. These are mostly in gyms. You can get a nice outdoor game at Kits Beach. Two full courts on a beautiful beach. I think Steve Nash paid for those.

What position do you play?

I’m a guard. I like to play basically between the three-point arcs. I don’t like to go in the lane at this point—protect my health. I played guard in high school, so that’s how I like to keep it.

What’s the best weapon in your arsenal?

At this point it’s the three-point shooting. If that’s not going well, then it’s not going to be a good day for me. I base everything off that. I played point guard in high school, so my ball handling is pretty good. My passing’s a lot worse now. When you don’t play regularly with the same people, your passing skills decline rapidly. Also, you’re just playing because you want to shoot the ball a lot. It’s fun. There’s no coach that’s going to kick me out if I hog the ball.

Have you ever been star-struck by any athlete you’ve met?

I met somebody in management for the Raptors once, and we had a nice, intense conversation about basketball. That was fun. I met Ken Dryden—that was wicked. That is a cool dude.

Did you put your resume in to become the Raptors’ global ambassador?

I wish I could. I’d be campaigning for us to tank this year, so we can get Andrew Wiggins, but I don’t think that’s what they want. Also, I’d be campaigning to change the name from the Raptors to something else.

The Huskies?

The Huskies. Thank you.

But you do root for the Raptors, right?

I try. They’re hard to cheer for, but that’s my team. And I really hope we get Wiggins. I feel like the league owes us Wiggins.

What’s the best sporting event you’ve watched live?

I’ve enjoyed watching college basketball games, CIS games, more than Raptors games—another reason why I’m not a Raptors ambassador. There’s a lot that goes on during a Raptors game that apologizes for the fact you have to watch basketball.

All the sideshows?

Yeah, the sideshows are distracting. Also, I’ve never had good seats. But it is cool to watch pro basketball up close. I saw Shawn Bradley dunk on his toes, which was pretty cool.

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