MF GALAXY

HOW BIZARRE CAREERS BEFORE COMEDY MADE HIM READY, WHY HOSTING CANADA READS WAS THE IDEAL TRAINING GROUND TO HOST CBC Q, WHEN A COMEDY MC SHOULD PURPOSEFULLY TANK HIS OWN PERFORMANCE LISTEN/DOWNLOAD I am a pernsnicketty cat—some would say difficult—and I have been known to argue at length that no one should ever use the expression “laughed out loud” because all laughter is out loud, by definition. So that means if I can overcome my boundless rage enough to invite the host of a national radio programme called Laugh Out Loud, I must really be impressed. And I am. But Ali Hassan actually grabbed my attention not by MCing that showcase for Canadian comedians, but rather for his excellent work as an interviewer and guest host on CBC Radio’s q. I liked his voice, I liked his rapport with guests, and I liked his questions—but what totally floored me was that he easily and accurately dropped a reference to KRS-One during an interview without explaining it. I thought, I...

z Wab Kinew is the 2015 host of CBC’s national book competition Canada Reads . He’s an award-winning hip hop artist and journalist, a correspondent for Al-Jazeera America, and perhaps best known to Canadians as the advocate for Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda , the winning book for Canada Reads 2014. SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE ON iTUNES SUPPORT MF GALAXY ON PATREON Last year on CBC’s Canada Reads , Wab Kinew electrified listeners with his opening book defense that name-checked each rival book in the competition while building to his defense of The Orenda . And he did it all in just under his allotted 60 seconds, memorised, and in verse. He began the competition by demolishing his competitors, some of whom, like runner Donovan Bailey , failed to use even half his accorded time, perhaps forgetting that you couldn’t win this contest by finishing early. Despite numerous achievements and awards, merit alone wasn’t enough to get Wab Kinew his new gig as moderator of Canada Reads ...