I wonder if he lives in a valley?

March 10, 2015 8:32 PM

The new host of Q has been announced! It's Shad / Shadrach Kabango. Some coverage at the Globe and the Mothership.

Check him out performing at the 2014 Polaris Prize, and a song from his most recent album, Remember to Remember

Previously on Q...

posted by Lemurrhea (27 comments total)

Oh man the old white people who were confused by Shad and his raps on the Q would be so upset if they were still awake right now
posted by thecjm at 8:45 PM on March 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

First Buck 65 on Radio Two, now Shad hosting Q? CBC loves them some rapper-radio hosts.

I only know Shad as a musician, so it'll be interesting to see how he does in this role.
posted by asnider at 8:46 PM on March 10, 2015

Well, he certainly wasn't the worst of the many temp hosts - who seem to have been getting increasingly more bland; whoever was hosting this morning sounded like they just pulled a random Torontonian off the street - But I'm a little disappointed they didn't go with an As It Happens style co-host format with Wab Kinew & Piya Chattopadhyay.

But, best o luck Shad! Hopefully the show can finally develop a new personality now.
posted by mannequito at 8:46 PM on March 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm confused. Also, sleepy.
posted by i_have_a_computer at 8:46 PM on March 10, 2015

Wow, interesting! I really love Shad.
posted by bleep at 8:47 PM on March 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

When Ghomeshi was host he tended to overfavour music instead of the other arts that the show was nominally supposed to be covering. It looks like the show will become even more music focused, which is a shame, because there is already music all over CBC 1 and more attention to the other arts should be encouraged.
posted by anothermug at 8:54 PM on March 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm excited for Shad Q! His music is great, and to my knowledge, he is not a rapist!

What's the opposite expression of "big shoes to fill"?
posted by mrjohnmuller at 8:59 PM on March 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

The bar to clear is low.
posted by Lemurrhea at 9:08 PM on March 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Or high, if we're talking limbo.
posted by Lemurrhea at 9:08 PM on March 10, 2015 [9 favorites]

So replacing a host who was a musician with host who is a rapper (and happens to have had his first big CBC exposure by being the winning panelist on Canada Reads) means the show is going to be more about music how exactly?
posted by thecjm at 9:08 PM on March 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

Everyone knows Q is John de Lancie.

Sorry, I'll show myself out.
posted by snuffleupagus at 9:11 PM on March 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

I used to listen to Q a lot and while I enjoyed the program I always felt that Jian was a poor interviewer. All of the guest hosts that I've heard have been worse though so I guess Jian was actually pretty good. While I'm almost certain Shad's a better person than Jian Ghomeshi, I'm not getting my hopes up that he'll be a better host.

Also, about the post title.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 9:13 PM on March 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Wow... this has really changed since they got rid of Spike.
posted by pompomtom at 9:19 PM on March 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

The staff of Q put together good questions and did their research. For all his faults, Jian handed Billy-Bob-gate pretty well that day. If you want bad interviews, listen to NPR. Don't get me started.

But per the first comment, I anticipate that there will be a flood of letters into the CBC complaining about Shad, some more pointed than others. Rural white Canada didn't understand what the hell a "Persian" was or what "acapella music" is, but I suspect they may have an opinion about a black rapper. I wait to be proved wrong.
posted by GuyZero at 9:54 PM on March 10, 2015

Waitaminute... exactly WHO is replacing Stephen Fry on QI?
I get confused with any media not produced in Hollywood
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:01 PM on March 10, 2015

I was kind of quietly hoping they'd scrap Q and replace it "and now, The Arts" or something.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 10:02 PM on March 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Keeping in mind that even fallen saint Ghomeshi looked pretty awkward in Q video, here's some Shad stuff from January:
Shad interviews Norm McDonald.
Shad interviews Aparna Nancherla.

Also: Ghomeshi interviews Shad.

Also also: Not bad for an immigrant.
posted by maudlin at 10:12 PM on March 10, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, and don't miss his Walrus talk from 2014: The Future of Not being Afraid of the Future.

He's a smart, curious guy who seems to really listen to his guests. I just like the guy, and I think he'll really grow into this.
posted by maudlin at 10:52 PM on March 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Actually I'm a bit more optimistic now than my earlier comment would suggest. Rewatched that whole Norm McDonald interview because it was one of the better ones I remember hearing over the past four months or however long it's been. I'd forgotten that Shad did that one, but that is a fantastic 23 minutes. They're really bouncing off one another naturally, and there's a couple moments where Norm seems totally intrigued by the question/observation.

Interesting that it starts off with him asking whether Norm might consider taking a permanent host job, and ends with Norm saying the reverse, that he hopes Shad gets on long term.
posted by mannequito at 12:07 AM on March 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

I should first state plainly that have ZERO problem with Shad as host. Nevertheless I find myself uneasy and it's because part of what allowed JG to get away with what he did was the CBC placing too much value on the host persona and protecting that to the detriment of people's safety. Now that Q has a full time host again, I have this knee-jerk anxiety of that happening again. Though you'd like to think they've learned their fucking lesson.

Again, I'm not basing this on any issues about Shad or his personality. Best of luck to him. It's CBC that I have issues with.

So congrats to Shad. CBC however gets no cookies from me.
posted by dry white toast at 4:42 AM on March 11, 2015

My GF was rooting for Candy Palmater - she does good interviews.
posted by anthill at 6:05 AM on March 11, 2015

I guess Norm's endorsement holds some weight.
posted by HighLife at 6:40 AM on March 11, 2015

whoever was hosting this morning sounded like they just pulled a random Torontonian off the street

That's funny, he sounds like a Newfoundlander to me...
posted by beau jackson at 6:55 AM on March 11, 2015

Allan Hawco is hosting this week, right? A Torontonian he is not!
posted by Kitteh at 9:02 AM on March 11, 2015 [1 favorite]

I was somewhat hoping that they would stay away from having a permanent host; it seemed a good way to avoid the pitfalls of having the show associated with one person/persona who becomes a problem. A rotation of hosts might mean the focus stays on what the show does (rather than what the host does) and different hosts could bring different perspectives/areas of focus - music, literature, film, theatre, and so on. I know nothing about the ins and outs of broadcasting though, so my opinion means little to nothing.

I hope Shad does well; I know next to nothing about him, so Q will be about getting to know him as well as the topic du jour for the next bit.
posted by nubs at 12:55 PM on March 11, 2015

Just learner on Radio Canada that Shad is a fluent French speaker. Another point in his favour! Personally I'm expecting good things from the new Q.
posted by beau jackson at 8:49 PM on March 11, 2015

He has a master's degree in graduate liberal studies, and after he got his Juno award, he had to finish a paper on Tolstoy.

I have high hopes for him.
posted by wenat at 4:43 PM on March 15, 2015