Kardinal Offishall has taken three songs from his new album to On The Radar, performing “Bombay Sunsets”, “Top 3” and “Grindin’ (Remix)” in a session posted on November 8. The performance, carried by TorontoRappers.com, puts the Toronto MC in front of one of the most watched performance platforms in hip hop, with Toronto rappers watching one of their own set the standard on it.
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Kardinal Offishall On The Radar: Three Songs, One Album
All three songs come from Firestarter Vol. 2: Everyday, Sometimes, the album Kardinal released on September 25, 2026 through his own Black Stone Colleagues label. “Bombay Sunsets” features Idris Elba, who joins Kardinal again after years of collaboration. “Top 3” pairs him with Buju Banton and Elba, a reggae and hip hop meeting that sits at the centre of what Kardinal has always done. “Grindin’ (Remix)” reaches back to a younger era of his catalogue and rebuilds it for 2026.
The album runs 10 tracks and is his sixth solo studio album. It is also his first full solo release in more than a decade, since Kardi Gras Vol. 1: The Clash in 2015, and it arrives 25 years after Quest for Fire: Firestarter, Vol. 1 introduced him in 2001.
“On the 25th anniversary of Firestarter, Volume 1, I put together the avengers for Firestarter Vol. 2 and collaborated with some of my favorite artists of all time.”
That quote, given to SHIFTER Magazine for its album review, explains the guest list: Black Thought and Stove God Cooks appear on “40 Acres And A Ferrari”, BJ the Chicago Kid joins the title track “Everyday, Sometimes”, and Melanie Fiona features on “When You’re In Love”.
A Toronto Voice On A New York Platform
On The Radar built its name in New York, and its performance sessions have become a proving ground that artists from every scene now pass through. Kardinal’s session works because he does not adjust for the room. The dancehall cadence, the T-Dot references and the chest-out delivery that made “Bakardi Slang” a Toronto anthem in 2001 are all still in the performance, applied to songs written this year.
That continuity is the real story of this album cycle. Kardinal has spent the fall on a United States press run for Firestarter Vol. 2, and he has already said the wait for the next project will not be another decade: a full collaborative album with Idris Elba is recorded and aimed at spring or summer 2027, alongside a planned EP with Toronto producer Slakah the Beatchild.
Why This Session Matters At Home
Toronto rappers have global stars at the top of the scene, but the city’s foundation was built by artists who carried its sound abroad before streaming existed. Kardinal Offishall is the clearest living link in that chain, and an On The Radar performance in the middle of a new album campaign shows the chain still holding. The session is live now, and Firestarter Vol. 2: Everyday, Sometimes is streaming on all platforms.
