KARDINAL OFFISHALL From the Stage to the Executive Suite , This Is Kardi ’ s Business
PHOTO : PAUL JONES MEDIA
By Michael Raine
Why would I do that ? You guys are the enemy ,
34 CANADIAN MUSICIAN
Kardinal Offishall thought to himself as he hung out at a friend ’ s cottage in the summer of 2013 . It was a relaxed weekend in Ontario ’ s posh cottage country for a boat rally to raise money for kids with cancer and , out of the blue , and he ’ d just been made a surprising offer .
Joining Offishall in Muskoka was Randy Lennox , the then-CEO of Universal Music Canada . “ Kardi and I had worked as an artist and label for many , many years and had several successes together from an artist ’ s perspective ,” Lennox recalls now , eight years later , and just a few months removed from stepping down from his latest high-profile gig as the president of Bell Media . “ We struck up a Saturday afternoon conversation in which I said , basically , ‘ you ’ re a fantastic artist and a super smart guy — have you ever thought about coming over to the dark side ?’ but with a sort of ‘ LOL .’ We ’ ve had much laughter about that since because we ’ re very friendly , but he looked at me and I said , ‘ You know , you are this country ’ s Jay-Z .’”
In retrospect , that may have been an exaggerated comparison , given that Jay-Z is a mogul whose mega wealth and influence crosses music , entertainment , sports , and even politics . After chatting with Offishall , I get the impression that while tough and smart , no doubt , those traits aren ’ t matched with the ruthlessness needed to be a Jay-Z . Nonetheless , Lennox correctly saw something unique in him .
“ It happened very quickly . Once we came up with it , it was very spontaneous . But I ’ ll say this , the initial idea was inspired by my respect for Kardinal ,” Lennox says .