Renaissance radio man

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This article was published 14/12/2017 (3135 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Odario Williams’ CBC bio refers to him as a “modern-day renaissance man” and that’s not pure hyperbole.

The new host of CBC Radio 2’s evening show, Afterdark, is also the frontman of hip-hop group Grand Analog (Winnipeggers may remember the MC from his time in local hip-hop duo Mood Ruff, back in the ’90s). He’s also a sometime actor, a writer and a club DJ.

Now the smooth-voiced 40-something is spinning after-hours grooves from Monday to Friday on the national broadcaster, treating listeners to a playlist that gets more eclectic as the night goes on.

The Guyanese-born host slides into the weekday evening slots previously filled by Tim Tamashiro’s long-running jazz show, Tonic, and Laurie Brown’s beloved The Signal, home to more offbeat tracks.

He admits fans who have strong attachments to “their” shows often feel betrayed by change, but he’s optimistic that Afterdark can appeal to both sets of listeners.

“I was always a firm believer that music can bring everyone, all types of people, together,” says Williams, who grew up in the West End and studied theatre and film at the University of Winnipeg. “Basically, this isn’t high school anymore. We’re not segregated by genres of music like we used to be.

“Having said that, I was honoured and flattered to be the frontrunner as the guy that can help mend these pieces together to make a smooth transition from eight to midnight, and not piss anybody off, or at least try not to… Afterdark still has some touches of jazz, but also some folk-inspired grooves, some down-tempo sounds, electronic, soul, singer-songwriter stuff and obviously as it gets into the late hour it gets weirder — and the weirder is better for me.”

Williams wasn’t an out-of-the-blue selection to host a flagship show. Regular CBC Radio 2 listeners have heard him on daytime talk show Q, where he stops by to spotlight hot new albums, and his dedication to radio started at a young age.

“I used to run home from school during lunch to play Q-94 FM’s phone-in game to win a CD,” he says with a laugh. “I had my parents put Q-94 on speed-dial. You know on those old phones, you only got about five speed-dial choices? We had to cancel out a family member so the station could get one of the speed-dial spots.

“I think I won about 11 CDs. My dad had to drive me to Q-94 on Pembina on Saturdays to collect my winnings.

“I just love radio,” he continues. “I have a lot of family in different cities in the world. I’ve got close family in London, England, and in Brooklyn, New York… As far back as I can remember, I would dip out on family functions to listen to the radio. Because I was in London, man! I had to hear what the radio sounded like there. And the pirate radio idea was amazing to me. That was the first time I heard Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai.”

Williams first made his passion practical during his university years. He cut his broadcast teeth as a volunteer DJ at the U of W’s campus/community station, CKUW 95.9 FM, where he hosted an early morning jazz show, Strange Fruit, and an evening hip-hop show, Six Degrees.

It was his first taste of how radio could create a community, bringing together like-minded listeners all across the city.

“They had no business giving me that early time slot, because I would have the noise guy (who DJ’d the previous show) put on a Miles Davis album and then I’d usually roll in around 6:30,” he says, laughing.

“Those were some of the best times of my life… It just made our world, our bubble, important; it meant something.

“That was really a special time for me.”

In addition to planning playlists and writing scripts for Afterdark, Williams has also been working on his latest musical offering: a new EP from Grand Analog.

The album — which features Williams’ younger brother, Ofield Williams, on DJ duties — comes out Jan. 26 in limited-edition vinyl and includes appearances by Shad, A Tribe Called Red, Winnipeg’s Len Bowen and Nestor Wynrush, and rapper/producer Posdnuos of legendary hip-hop trio De La Soul.

In an everything-comes-full-circle twist, Williams says he first heard De La Soul on Brave New Waves, the CBC radio show that was a lifeline to new music for Canadians in the pre-internet age.

“That changed my life,” Williams recalls. “I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I heard Say No Go by De La Soul and it blew my mind.

jill.wilson@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @dedaumier