Black Jays - History

History

Kardinal Offishall and Solitair are members of The Circle, a hip-hop collective which was formed in the 1990s. In 2000, they founded the S.H.A.G. production company. The next year, the company's logo and credits appeared on Kardinal's major-label debut, Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1. In 2004, now known as the Black Jays, Kardinal and Solitair produced The Black Jays Album, a remixed version of The Black Album by Jay-Z. The New York Times reviewed the album, stating that the production team "links minimalism to reggae."

Later that year, the Black Jays released a mixtape entitled Kill Bloodclott Bill. Led by Kardinal, the mixtape was aimed at major labels, "Bill", as a result of Kardinal's label problems with MCA Records in 2003. "Bang Bang", a song from the mixtape, was nominated for a Juno Award in 2005. Kill Bloodclott Bill featured new artists on the group's roster, including Ro Dolla (a member of The Circle), Lindo P, and Mayhem Morearty. Solitair also released a mixtape in 2004, entitled The Return of the Silver Surfer.

In 2005, Mayhem left the group and recorded a diss track over Kardinal's song "Husslin'". A year later, Kardinal responded to the diss track when he released a remix of "City Is Mine" by Drake. Additionally, in 2005, Kardinal released his third album, Fire and Glory, on Black Jays through a co-venture with Virgin Music Canada. Kardinal produced three songs for his 2008 album, Not 4 Sale, under the Black Jays label.