Brad Shank just signed with fellow Tunnel Runner J Reno’s label “Lunatic Music Group” and is destined to shake up the underground! His debut Juggernaut will be released September 6th!
Chad Thomas Carsten: Define Hip-Hop
Brad Shank: Hip hop to me is about more than just music. It’s an outlet than not only gives people a voice, but is something that those who take interest in it can live their lives through.
Chad Thomas Carsten: Describe your early life growing up and how you found Hip-Hop
Brad Shank: I found hip hop as a young kid around 7-8 years old. My older brother gave me 2 tapes. The first was Nas “It Was Written”, and the other was ICP’s “The Great Milenko”. Even though they were 2 totally different styles of rap, I was equally drawn to both of them. It wasn’t too long after that when I realized that I wanted to rap and have a voice too.
Chad Thomas Carsten: What does the BAXWAR army mean to you?
Brad Shank: Battleaxe Warriors is a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, it’s a hub for like-minded people looking to showcase their talents and network with people who are working within the same avenues as them. Theres been a lot of scrutiny n the hop hop culture lately because of things like how you dress, how you act, or what you have and its evolved into almost like a “social status society”. Battleaxe Warriors cancels out all of that. We do what we want, when we want, and share our support worldwide.
Chad Thomas Carsten: Why Brad Shank as the choice for your stage name?
Brad Shank: I never had a nickname growing up. People would always call me Shank because it’s my last name. I thought long and hard over something I could call myself and go by, but the more I listened to my own music I realized that Brad Shank was the best fit. No gimmicks, no labels, no masks.
Chad Thomas Carsten: The story behind meeting J Reno and how does it feel to have a home at Lunatic Music?
Brad Shank: The first time I met Reno was at a Blaze Ya Dead Homie show where we live in Windsor in 2011. I watched him and his boy kill it on the stage and knowing where my future was heading, of all the artists in the city, he was someone I should consider working with. I’ve watched him do his thing numerous times before we started doing things, the guy’s talent and drive is clear as day. It was only a matter of time before I stepped up and started making my own moves. I hit him up to get on the first show I organized for myself, and since then we’ve collaborated to the point where Lunatic Music was the only logical step forward. I love how we’re working together and building it bigger and bigger with every move. The sky’s the limit for what we’ve got going on now.
Chad Thomas Carsten: Let’s dive into your upcoming debut release Juggernaut! Why the name Juggernaut? What kind of content can listeners expect? And details behind the recording process for the debut? main goal and focus behind “Juggernaut” The most personal tracks that will be featured and why are they the most personal?
Brad Shank: I chose JUGGERNAUT as the title for my first release because it’s been a long time coming for me. I’ve gone through a lot of things in my personal life to get to a point where I can focus on making music with the best of my abilities and have a stable platform to do so. I’ve made a lot of changes over the last few years and now I’ve got the ball rollin’ and things are moving in a better direction. I i feel like my momentum can’t be stopped and thats where I got the name. When you listen through the album, you can hear what’s going on inside my mind. I make a lot of strong points, and have a lot of heated opinions. Theres no “club” tracks or party songs, just me getting everything thats bothered me off my chest. I took my time writing and recording the record. Doing both at the same time, learning more and more about how to be better at both. The main focus of this album is to motivate people. I want to raise awareness about depression and addiction, how to cope with both, and how to get over them and live a better life. “Through The Glass”, “Juggernaut”, and “Father Forgive Em” are the most personal tracks on the album if you’re looking to get a better look at who I am not only as an artist, but also what I’ve been through as a person.
Chad Thomas Carsten: Can you remember the first 16 bar you wrote? If so, let the readers check it out
Brad Shank: I can barely remember back to the first time I wrote a verse down haha I think I was 11. I used to write on pages and pages at work all day until i lost track of most of my oldest stuff from the younger years. Either way I’ll still share something from the vault with ya’ll..
Put down the garbage and picked up some knowledge
quit with the nonsense and got something started..
Weighing my options is what got me to prosper
Hate, but regardless it won’t stop me from plottin to conquer..
My spirits wandered down the path of the wicked
cold hands filled with guilt are what contracted this sickness..
Living life, staying humble as I ask for forgiveness
but know one day I’ll meet my fate for how I’ve acted malicious..
I don’t show remorse, there for I don’t need it
on Judgement Day, I’ll make my peace with my own demons..
Until then the sole reason I won’t keep a secret
cause I know it’ll erode deep and corrode me completely..
Forever living happy days, and never giving that away
never holding back on saying anything I’ve had to say..
So when you look at me, remember that you’re looking deep
in someone who fought to defend the ounce of strength it took to speak..
– Brad Shank 2008
Chad Thomas Carsten: The Canadian Hip-Hop Scene versus the rest of the world. Why should Hip-Hop fiends pay attention to Canada?
Brad Shank: Being Canadian, its hard not to be bias to our hip hop scene when comparing it to the rest of the world. Like other cultures, we have a diverse group of artists all over the country moving independently, doing the things they want to do. Canada has always had a strong roster of legit, lyrical artists. They bring a fresh perspective to the table, rather than the americanized hip hop that is based on marketing, looking to sell you something. To really see the true talent coming from Canada, all you have to do is look. From Swollen Members on the west coast down to Classified in the Maritimes, we take pride in what we do and where we’re from. In my opinion, we are one of the few countries and areas of the world where hip hop still holds culture, and hasn’t completely given way too the marketing aspect of it.
Chad Thomas Carsten: Top 5 Hip-Hop releases of all time
Brad Shank: In no particular order.
- ICP – The Great Milenko
- Tech N9ne – Absolute Power
- 2pac – All Eyez On Me
- Nas & Damian Marley – Distant Relative
- Madchild – Dope Sick
Chad Thomas Carsten: What other artists would you like to work with within the underground
Brad Shank: I have Madchild featured on my album in a cypher style track called Raw Animals with me and J Reno. In the future on upcoming projects I would like to work with people like Tech N9ne, Dead Celebrity Status, Vinnie Paz & Ill Bill, Ces Cru, Twiztid, and many more.. We’ll see what happens haha
Chad Thomas Carsten: The future of Brad Shank
Brad Shank: This year has been a very productive first year out the gate. I’ve got to rock shows with Swollen Members & Slaine, Dead Celebrity Status, Adlib, Tech N9ne & Krizz Kaliko and more. We developed a website called www.thelunaticmusicgroup.com and opened an online merch store, and I’ve also had the opportunity to shoot a few music videos. With the release of my debut album JUGGERNAUT, I now have a platform to take my music and performing to the next level. I would like to do a tour in the near future, and am in the process of ironing out the details so be on the look out for that. Other than that, I’m just going to keep writing and recording music, pressing albums and selling merch/doing shows.
BRAD SHANK – “EVERYBODY DIES” FT. J RENO
[youtube]http://youtu.be/m7hrV3qpBK4[/youtube]
Interviewer: Chad Thomas Carsten
Interview Date:09/02/14
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