"We need a communal ethic, and we need a communal movement...there's something on the album where I'm trying to get that energy and momentum going...that's part of what music is, and especially hip hop and groove-based music..." —Shad

Shadrach Kabango (aka Shad) is a Canadian recording artist, broadcaster, and educator. You might know Shad from his 20 years making infectious, lyrical, and socially conscious hip hop, or from hosting CBC’s Q, or from the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Netflix series Hip Hop Evolution.  He won the Juno Award for Rap Recording of the year in 2011 for his album TSOL, (famously besting Drake).

Shad uses his platform as a performer to inspire a sense of community, and to suggest that perhaps we can do better than what we as humans are doing now. His lyrics encourage us to look at the world around us, and contemplate the big things: change, fear, death, life, inevitable endings, and unknown beginnings. His most recent album—Start Anew—was released in October, 2025. 

For more information about Shad, go to shadk.com

All the music in this episode is from Shad's most recent release, Start Anew  (2025, Secret City Records). 

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MUSIC BUDDY IS:
Jane Gowan (host, producer, editor) and Tim Vesely (co-producer)

The show's theme song, "Human Stuff," is written by Jane Gowan and Tim Vesely, and performed by Jane and Tim, with additional vocals by Steve Wright and Connie Kostiuk

Music Buddy is proud to be licensed by SOCAN, a copyright collective that grants licenses for online music broadcast in Canada.

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