Building Cred

Not 4 Sale (Geffen Records)

Kardinal Offishall

By Kory Wilcoxson

"Dangerous" officially signaled that Kardinal Offishall had crossed the border from his native Canada into States and plans on staying. That single peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, thanks to the combination of Kardinal's steady raps and Akon's catchy chorus

For the most part Not 4 Sale, Kardinal Offishall's first major-label release (and fourth album overall), sustains the quality of his hit single. Kardinal is no dummy; nine of the 15 tracks feature guests artists like T-Pain and Rihanna, artists who bring both street cred and star power to Not 4 Sale.

Kardinal holds his own beside the bigger names, mixing his dance floor beats with Jamaican accent and smooth rhyming. His relentless, bulldog rap on "Going In" is a nice contrast to some of the more hip-hop tracks like "Digital Motown."

If his music continues to be this consistently good, Kardinal Offishall may not need a lot of big-name collaborators to get his voice heard.

Check it out over at www.KardinalOffishall.com.