Kardinal Offishall
“Not 4 Sale”
(Konlive/Geffen)
Rating: 4/4

If you haven’t heard Kardinal Offishall’s album “Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1,” then consider yourself deprived of some great reggae influenced hip-hop. Bubbling in the underground circuit in the states for years (even though he’s a bigger name in his native Toronto), Kardinal always seemed one song away from blowing up in the states. It was with pleasant surprise to see rap/r&b crooner Akon take notice placing him on his Konlive imprint releasing Kardinal’s newest album in four years “Not 4 Sale.”

When you get this album you must understand one thing; it’s an adrenaline rush of music that moves swiftly and doesn’t slow down throughout. Play this cd in it’s entirety at a party and everyone will be happy. The album begins with “Burnt” displaying his strong reggae/dance-hall roots perfectly balancing that sound with hip-hop. The album has an all-star cast including Virginia trappers Clipse on “Set It Off,” “Dangerous” with Akon and independent artist J-Davey on “Digital Motown.”   Production wise, imagine what Timbaland did for Justin Timberlake on “Future Sex/Love Songs” and add a dance-hall flavor to it. The results are just as intense as he has crafted a very impressive party, or dare I say, pop album.

There’s absolutely no songs that I considered skipping when listening to it. It’s a perfect party album that has all the ingredients of being a huge success. Let’s see if Akon’s magic touch can work on him as it did with T-Pain. At times the album may be too energized hoping that the tone can calm down and we see more introspective Kardinal. Maybe on his sophomore effort under Akon’s imprint, but for now it’s purely for the clubs and cars with great systems. If it ain’t broke, you know the rest. -Preach Jacobs