Musicians, artists and industry insiders descend on Ottawa, Canada for panels, performances, and parties at the 2025 Cranium Conference and Showcase. Ottawa’s creative scene is growing at a tremendous pace with new artists, producers, graphic designers, photographers, and more emerging daily. With this comes a greater demand for resources such as funding, professional advice, networking opportunities, and platforms to show their work. The Cranium Arts Project offers all of that and more. From May 1-4, 2025, their annual Cranium Conference and Showcase hosted hundreds of creatives and industry professionals from the nation’s capital and beyond. SHIFTER had the chance to…
Author: Ashley Ighorewo
The Ottawa and Canadian music industries recently descended on Ottawa for the Cranium Conference and Showcase. Here’s a look at what went down. The world of music is a kaleidoscope of creativity encompassing different facets for artists to explore their skills and expertise, and organizations like the Cranium Arts Project provide spaces for artists to do just that, and more. Sunny season in the nation’s capital is off to an eventful start, with the Cranium Arts Project kicking off its annual Cranium Conference and Showcase, which took place from Thursday, May 2nd to Saturday May 4th. Did we mention that…
Ottawa will get a taste of the finest in Afro-Caribbean music at the inaugural Afrobeats Music Festival on Saturday, August 20th, hosted by Africa Live Canada. This summer has been filled to the brim with amazing events, and just when we thought it couldn’t get any more exciting… it does. Last summer, Africa Live Canada brought vibes to Mooney’s Bay with Afrofest Ottawa, which was a free, 2-day music festival with a lineup filled with artists from Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. The event had over 10,000 attendees, and this year they have something bigger and better planned. The first ever…
Photographer and filmmaker Fitch Jean is breaking barriers through his unique approach to storytelling. Check out Ashley Ighorewo’s interview with the multifaceted artist and entrepreneur. Fitch Jean’s storytelling journey simply began out of curiosity and the willingness to “try”. Born of Haitian descent, the 24-year-old filmmaker and business owner’s story kicks off in grade 10, when he had gotten accepted into his first ever media class. This was jean’s first official encounter with visual arts. “We learned about photography, we learned a little bit about video and photo editing, and some animation. Just different forms of media disciplines. That’s when…
Sage Harris releases new EP “Figure it Out”. On the day of release, the EP racked up more than 1.5 million streams. Sage Harris has got his foot on all of our necks once again with the release of latest EP, Figure it Out. On the day of release, the EP racked up more than 1.5 million streams which Harris stated “is a milestone for him and his team”. If anyone is showing us that passion, belief and drive is more than enough to accomplish your goals, it’s Sage Harris and his team because the consistency is remarkable. Figure it…
Sage Harris is back again with another sultry banger for our listening pleasure. After gracing listeners with “Where The Party At”, in collaboration with Jagged Edge, the Toronto-based artist boldly follows up with “Tell Somebody” featuring Preme and Kap G. “Tell Somebody” is a sensual record with a groovy beat that is sure to make you bop your head, and although the song has an R&B feel it to it, there are some up-tempo beats that are still sure to get you on your feet and dancing. Upon its release, the song racked up 20K streams in less than 24…
TRP.P is a dynamic and sultry duo from Toronto, Ontario who is breaking barriers within the Hip-Hop and RnB scene. The group, who has been making music together since 2015, is comprised of Truss (producer, singer/songwriter) and Phoenix (singer/songwriter). Their music often champions topics related to queer love, justice and their communities. In honour of black history month, the duo has released a new single titled “Strong”, which encompasses speaking out against the “strong black woman/man” stereotype that continues to plague the black community. They turned the focus on how the term causes more harm than good, as it perpetuates…
Born of Beninese descent, Andy Akangah is a 25-year-old graphic designer based in Ottawa, Ontario and is currently the CEO of AKARTS, a hip-hop inspired streetwear line that has already caught the eye of A-list celebrities like The Weeknd and Director X, and has been featured on large platforms like Complex Canada. The young artist spent plenty of time studying in international schools abroad before settling down in the nation’s capital in 2014, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in Marketing at the University of Ottawa. Andy explained to SHIFTER that AKARTS came to life in 2015, a short while…
Miami hip-hop producer Hey Samyr is a Montreal-born, Ottawa-raised Haitian-Canadian who has been in music for almost a decade, working with Rick Ross, Jadakiss and more. Born in Montreal, but raised in the Miami sun, Samyr “Hey Samyr” Antoine, is a Haitian-Canadian producer who has been in the game for almost a decade, and is making sure he leaves his mark in the music industry. He spent the first seven years of his life in Montreal, then left for Miami at the age of eight. “I was born in Montreal, but raised in Miami, so I kind of got the…
Sage Harris, 25, is an independent RnB artist from Toronto, Ontario who just recently landed the collaboration of a lifetime. On November 3rd, he dropped his highly anticipated single “Let Me Know” featuring the iconic RnB group, Jagged Edge. Harris has been in the music scene for over a decade, and stated that this collaboration is very special to him because he feels like he is truly reaping the rewards of his continuous hard work. When asked about how he felt about his recent collaboration, he stated “I feel like I was handed a path from God. This led me…
