A.D.

Hard and powerful – with raw, honest words and a smooth lyrical flow. His music is a reflection of a man who expresses the depth of his personality through his own individual sound and story-telling.

“I have so many layers. Through my music and choice of words, I give others a chance to experience the many dynamic thoughts and feelings that run deep inside me. Sometimes it’s complex emotions. Other times, it’s just simple, candid reality,” says rapper, producer and songwriter, known as ‘A.D.’.

With his own record label, Blaq Plague Records, A.D. is currently working on his first, self-produced, full length solo album entitled Eyes of a Man, which is tentatively scheduled for release early in the new year. The album will include two newly-released singles – club-banging track, Gettin It and urban love hip-hop song, My Baby.

With flavour from the early styles of hip-hop/R&B during the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s – an era that impacted A.D. the most – audiences can expect a powerhouse of soulfully mature hip-hop beats, but with a fresh, penetrating vibe that people can connect with and move to.

Born in Toronto, Canada, Ahdom Djuna Clarke – known to his audience as A.D. – was raised by parents of Caribbean and West Indian descent and grew up in a neighbourhood to one of the most multi-cultural diverse cities in the world. This allowed A.D. to experience many different styles of rhythm, while leading him to recognize his strong inclination for music – something he always knew was in his blood.

At a very young age, he was given an outlet for his musical interests and creative energy, learning classical piano and technical music theory for several years. A.D. also gravitated towards break-dancing and started hanging out in the family basement with his older brother and friends, being exposed to the sounds and styles of early hip-hop. What started as just break-dancing, grew into rhyming and emcee battles. Influenced by the crowd and sensing a strong passion from within, he knew he had to share it with others. By 12-years-old, he was writing his own rhymes, greatly inspired by Run D.M.C. and L.L. Cool J. His technical background in music also proved to be a solid foundation as he developed his skills in song-writing and music production.

Taking a leap of faith to introduce his own original sound to the public, A.D. released his first beat in 2005, titled G-Spot and followed it up with Da Show's Over. With these two releases, the industry became interested, eager to sign him to a label. However, faced with competing life changes at the time, A.D. made the tough decision to put his music career on hold.

With the birth of his daughter and the chance to provide a better life for her, A.D. decided to re-enter the urban music scene a few years later. In 2008, he introduced the song Icy to the music arena, which garnered him major radio airplay for the first time. In 2009, he followed up with the release of Secret, earning A.D. respect amongst his musical peers and fans alike. A.D. has also received attention from the music industry and the public through performances at key indie music festivals and urban/hip-hop events in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada.

With his newly-released singles, Gettin It and My Baby, and his upcoming album close to completion, A.D. is ready to share his music with a fresh, new perspective.

“This next phase of my music career is really an expression of my past, present, and what I see for my future. The songs in my new album, Eyes of a Man, stay true to my desire to let people experience different shades of the man I’ve become and where my creativity and passion has led me to this point.” – A.D.