If Shad is going to save Q, he’ll need to be more Shad

Published: April 20, 2015
Photos and video by: Ebyan Abdigir

Jian Ghomeshi.

It might seem like poor taste to start a review of the new with the name of the program's disgraced former host, but it feels necessary. Monday wasn't about Jian Ghomeshi, it was about Shad. But the subtext was impossible to ignore. Especially because it was barely acknowledged.

To say CBC has a lot riding on the relaunch of is an understatement. As the one-time face of the CBC continues to fill news broadcasts while his sexual assault allegations move through the courts and his former colleagues (/enablers) feel the repercussions, the crown corporation's flagship arts and culture radio show has become something of a white elephant. As the show has shuffled temporary guest hosts to continually sinking ratings, its mere presence has become a daily reminder of both its former host and the toxic celebrity culture that enabled his alleged abuse.

What the show needed was a shakeup, an exorcism. What it got instead was a few minor tweaks: a logo downsized from upper-to-lowercase (but still written and pronounced the same), new theme music by CBCcore musician Bahamas and a new hashtag.

The message was never stated, but it read loud and clear: is bigger than Jian Ghomeshi. And though they found the ideal new host - a clued-in, conscious Rwandan-Canadian musician whose thoughtfulness fits the tone of the show to a tee and whose youthfulness can help move it forward - that unspoken message covered him too. is bigger than Shad.


Is Shad's show?

Shad doesn't have to be a celebrity, but he does have to be Shad.

You'd certainly think so considering the media hoopla that met the announcement of the London-bred/Vancouver-based rapper as new permanent host and the press tour that he's been on ever since. But if you ask him, he deflects. It's a public service, he says. It's about "the team." But "the team" hasn't exactly come out of the Ghomeshi debacle looking good either. And a lot of that had to do with their silence.

You can see why Shad and his producers would try to shift the focus outwards. After the first round of allegations against Ghomeshi settled, the media started picking up on his treatment of his co-workers: he was stealing credit, demanding the spotlight, downplaying his fill-ins. was Jian Ghomeshi's show.

Though his style is dismaying to some stodgy old CBC listeners who can't handle hearing the word "dope" on the radio, Shad is about as humble and modest as they come - the ultimate "nice guy." And so he didn't start his with an essay or even much of an introduction, just a simple "What's up everybody? I'm Shad."

And, with that, it was off into the first episode. Not that he had any time to fill. The special two-hour was packed with, basically, the perfect lineup of guests (kudosteam) that moved along at such a quick pace that Shad only really got a few questions in for each interview.

Shad and Marc Maron - CBC Q - First show

It's hard to go too deep in an interview that lasts under 20 minutes, a truth that was underscored by the appearance of comedian Marc Maron. Maron's WTF podcast is known for its in-depth interviews that get deep into his guest's psyches, often leaving them in tears. Shad asked him how he manages to get so personal and he said it's about the need to connect with another human being and that meant learning not just to just wait for his turn to talk. But, he quipped, it helps to put some of yourself out there: "It's great to lay back, but you're gonna have to get in here sometimes."

Later, after Tanya Tagaq performed with The Element Choir, he joked that having her on the show takes the pressure off him because "no one's going to remember anything I have to say after that." He's right, of course. Like any Tagaq performance, her improvised piece showed everything the human voice can do without words: breathing, screaming, growling, moaning. It was intense - a whole host of human emotion beyond language.


Often, the new looked a lot like the old Q. Comedian Elvira Kurt carried her Cultural Hall of Shame segment over from the Ghomeshi days and a sports panel briefly halted the momentum of the largely live-music focused episode.

There was a glimpse of the future of in the debut of a new segment featuring "effed up" singer Damian Abraham (another temp Q host and presumably part of Shad's competition for the chair), who told the history of a 4/20-centric tune: Neil Young's "Ambulance Blues." The segment brilliantly showed off the personality of the hardcore singer/pot advocate in a way it would have been hopeful to see from Shad, too.

But, for the most part, he stuck to the script. There was a brief moment in his segment with "musical genius" Chilly Gonzales where the pianist/composer was explaining how hip-hop breaks down high/low barriers and hammered out a brief loop based on Chopin. Shad's head started bobbing and it looked like he was about to go in. Then, he laid back.

As the show ended, the cameras went off, the live audience treated him to a standing ovation, he took a few questions and someone asked if Shad and Chilly Gonzales, still seated at the piano, could play a little music. Shad smiled, loosened up, pulled up his hood and dropped his host decorum. Suddenly he was impromptu, witty, quick on his feet, charismatic, funny, comfortable with the mic. He became Shad.

This is the Shad needs to move forward, to become its own program, to outlive the ghost of Jian. Shad doesn't have to be a celebrity, but he does have to be Shad.

If Shad is going to save Q, he’ll need to be more Shad by Richard Trapunski | Chart Attack.

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