By LEADEL.NETShai Haddad 311(photo credit: Crack Images)
Commonly known by his rap name SHI 360, 34-year-old Shai Haddad's Jewish identity and the chapters of his life come through in rhythm, flow and mad beats.In this exclusive video, Haddad explains why he doesn't rap about “bling” and “bitches.” Instead, "360" wants you to see his view from all angles.Israeli-born, Canadian-raised, and back to the homeland to express himself through hip-hop, “360” uses rap to relate his story and what he's got to say to others, through his reality.His childhood was spent in Haifa, Israel until his family moved to Montreal, Canada when he was eleven years old. The move was difficult for Shai as he faced a new language and some anti-semitism which he describes in his solo album. During a 1997 visit to Israel, Shai met Kobi Shimoni, another young adult interested in rap music. The two struck up a friendship and Shai began to DJ at Shimoni's club when he would come to Israel. He also gave Shimoni a new stage name, Subliminal.RELATED:Video: 'As a Jew in Sweden, I always felt different'Watch: 'World domination is in our mission statement'After finishing his undergraduate degree at Concordia University in Canada, Shai released his first underground single called "Linguistiks". Soon after he released a full album in English called Chapters. Finally he decided to make aliya back to Israel, after a visit made through Birthright Israel. Thus his name SHI 360 became a reality. SHI is an acronym for Supreme Hebrew Intellect. 360 represents the turn around he made to make it back to Israel.His connection with Subliminal paid off and Shai 360 released his first Hebrew language album under the TACT Records label. He continues to work with the label and has been quite successful but always makes reference to the strife of others in his music. Emet Records is SHI 360's own record label which is called "Israel's Future for Hip Hop."Video courtesy of Jewish think-tank Leadel.NET
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