Madboy

Over the last half-decade, Imaad Shah has rapidly graduated through the stages of refining his craft, style and importance, largely in the public eye. In film, work in niche low-budget affairs has given way to roles in grand opuses by Q and Mira Nair. Meanwhile, in music, his forays into standard-fare rock and roll with The Pulp Society have been replaced by his integral contributions as one half of the wildly successful funk/swing duo Madboy/Mink. From playing back-to-back weekday nights at Blue Frog to launching Gucci collections and getting his own GQ features, he’s come a long way. Although his moniker existed long before he met Mink, the only evidence of his solo activity was a live DJ set and a handful of tracks uncorrelated by either purpose or aesthetic. On his debut solo EP Boy, elements that were absent from his previous solo work (but focal in his contributions to Madboy/Mink) all fall in place rather predictably. But how deep his own personal relationship with the funk goes is wonderful to behold.