With Spencer’s high school football career coming to a close, this was a tear-jerking episode. SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne takes a look at all the new and shattered dreams in his All American season 4 episode 4 recap. With Coop’s rap career threatened by her injuries from the shooting, Asher sidelined permanently from his heart condition, and Jordan looking at attending community college, many of the ongoing storylines reveal how the characters grapple with broken or altered dreams. Coop is forced to sit on the sidelines as Layla completes the album with her new artist. After providing Layla with some valuable…
Author: Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne, also known as "KB The Boss" or simply "KB", is a Toronto-based host/on-air personality, arts & entertainment journalist, TV/film producer, and communications and content strategist. As a commentator and freelancer, he has appeared nationally as a correspondent on CBC News Network and host on CBC Music. He has also appeared locally on CTV, CBC Radio, CityNews, Newstalk 1010, and ByBlacks.com, and in the United States on Fox’s Black digital TV network, Fox Soul. He has covered some of Canada’s top red-carpet events, from the Toronto International Film Festival to the Canadian Screen Awards, and has interviewed everyone from Kevin Hart and "Fast and the Furious" star Tyrese Gibson to Ziggy Marley, Ava DuVernay, Dascha Polanco, Lilly Singh, and Howie Mandel. His years of work as an entertainment journalist led to him being named a Golden Globe® Awards voter and Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-Approved critic and being quoted as a critic in national ad campaigns for Black films and TV shows, both in Canada and the United States. Pivoting into the world of film and television, Kevin co-founded the film, TV, digital content, and live experiences company, SHIFTER Entertainment, alongside his wife and business partner, Koliah. Through SHIFTER he has produced a number of projects, including the Bell Fibe TV1 unscripted reality series A Date In The Life, serving as showrunner, executive producer, writer and co-director. Now, with a number of pilot and feature film scripts written and projects in development, KB is poised to continue to be a champion for Black entertainment and culture alongside his wife and business partner, Koliah.
Last night at midnight, Toronto rapper Smiley dropped his highly anticipated album Buy Or Bye 2 and it was well worth the wait. The 15-track project includes previous hit singles “In My Zone”, “Moving Different” and “Breakdown”, and of course the mega smash “Over The Top” featuring OVO Sound boss Drake. The album, a follow up his 2018 release Buy Or Bye, opens with the laid back and piano heavy “When I Die” where he continues the braggadocious flex we’ve heard on recent singles, as he lists all the people that fuck with him, from 6ixbuzz and Drake to his…
SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne explores the life altering decisions our favourite TV high school students must make in this All American season 4 episode 3 recap. Spencer has a dilemma―Should he enroll in college early, and leave his family and Liv behind, or delay enrollment? Liv and Spencer decide to make the most of their time together before Spencer goes off to university. But there’s one problem―Liv is nervous about the idea of having sex with Spencer. At the same time he is dealing with his continued fall out with Coach Baker after training Jordan. Grace then confronts Billy about his…
SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne explores the questions, details and new relationship dynamics in his All American season 4 episode 2 recap. While the season four premiere of All American answered a lot of questions, including whether Coop would live or die and who would win the state championship, there are some questions and details that are still up in the air. Although there’s less drama in this episode than the premiere, we’re being set up for some on the edge of our seat storytelling and we’re here for it. Here’s our All American season 4 episode 2 recap. Will Coach Baker…
2021 has been a big year for Somali-Canadian singer-songwriter Amaal. Back in July she returned with her single “Honey”, produced by the Grammy-nominated duo Nicky and Davey, where she celebrated her sexual liberation having grown up in an environment of fear, judgment and shame. Then in September she returned with “Heaven”, tackling the subject of love in an Afrofuturistic context. Now, the Toronto-based artist has returned with her sophomore EP Milly, the follow up to her previous EP Black Dove which earned her a 2020 Juno Award nomination for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year. Named after her former nickname that…
SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne says the stories “unfolded frustratingly slow, but in the end it created a tension that was worth the wait” in his All American season four premiere recap. The season three finale of All American left us with a lot of questions. Will Coop live or succumb to her gunshot wounds? What exactly does scary Carrie have up her sleeve and where is she taking Layla? Will Crenshaw high finally win that elusive state championship? Well, the All American season four premiere answered some of those questions while posing a few more. At times, the different stories unfolded frustratingly…
From the acting, action sequences, and visual effects to the score, Dune is “simply epic” says SHIFTER’s Kevin Bourne in his Dune review. Groundbreaking Oscar-nominated director, Denis Villeneuve, has returned with Dune, the story of Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet), the son of Duke Leto who embarks on a harrowing journey to the most dangerous planet in the universe to preserve the legacy of his family and people. At the core of this intergalactic power struggle is spice which has become the most important commodity in the universe. Based on Frank Herbert’s bestselling novel of the same name, it…
What sold Lil Durk manager Ola Ali on the opportunity to work with the young star was not only his talent as a rapper and singer, but his drive and hunger to succeed; something he also saw in himself. When you think about Chicago hip-hop, it’s become synonymous with big names like Kanye West, Common, Lupe Fiasco, Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa and Chief Keef. But during the pandemic, another artist has been asserting himself in the game and taking Chicago to the masses―Lil Durk. One of the men behind Durk’s mid-pandemic rise to superstardom is none other than Ola…
Canada Goose recently dropped their new Fall/Winter collection and to say we’re impressed is an understatement. The collection features a number of cool features and materials, including backpack straps allowing certain jacket to pack within itself, snorkel hoods that eliminate the need for a hood, metallics, performance satin, word marks, a marble-like glacial print, and more. The collection also features brand new toques, headbands, hoodies and knitwear as Canada Goose evolves into a full lifestyle brand. The company even announced they’d be ending their purchase of fur by the end of 2021 and removing fur from their product line completely…
It’s been a busy year for Shamier Anderson and Stephan James. Back in January, the Scarborough-raised brothers announced the launch of the Black Academy awards to celebrate the accomplishments of Black talent in Canada. Produced by Insight Productions, the ceremony is set to air next fall on CBC under a multi-year deal. Then in February, the brothers, alongside younger brother and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon James, launched Bay Mills Investment Group, a private equity that supports and invests in young BIPOC entrepreneurs. Now, Shamier Anderson and Stephan James have launched their third venture of the year with their new production…
The sequel to the film Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage continues the up and down (and up again) story of investigative journalist, Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy), and his sometimes reluctant symbiote crime fighting partner Venom. Whereas the first film depicts the duo wrestling for control and learning how to co-exist in this new partnership, Venom: Let There Be Carnage shows that their arrangement has grown beyond partnership to friendship. The irony of an alien being and a human being learning to live together in harmony when many humans have difficulty co-existing is clear. This is where Hardy shines,…
The buzz is in the air. After a successful virtual event in 2020, the Cranium Festival 2021 is here with an in-person event and the line up is crazy. Featuring some of Canada’s top hip-hop and R&B artists, the festival will be taking over some of the capital’s leading downtown venues from October 1-3. While the Friday, show is almost sold out, there are still tickets available for the weekend shows. Here are my picks for the must-see shows from each day at Cranium Festival 2021. OCTOBER 1 View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eazy…
