Author: Kevin Bourne

Last December, CBC and BET+ announced the greenlighting of their new original series THE PORTER. Well, today they announced that production on the Inferno Pictures and Sienna Films produced series has begun in Winnipeg. Production will continue until mid-September. Set in the roaring 20’s, THE PORTER tells the story of the Black community in Montreal’s St. Antoine neighbourhood, known at the time as the “Harlem of the North”. It follows two Black train porters, one who goes on to create the first Black labour union in existence and the other who turns to a life of crime in the pursuit of freedom…

About Ruben Young Something new, something classic. From writing songs in his single Trinidadian mom’s Calgary basement, to becoming Apple Music Canada’s “New Artist of the Week”, earning over six million streams, getting nods from tastemakers like Ebro Darden and Live Nation’s ‘Ones To Watch’, and as performing as direct support slots for international icons such as Kiesza, Akon, The Chainsmokers, Jarreau Vandal, Nelly, and Phony Ppl – Ruben Young has become the crossover Soul artist to watch out of Canada. In June 2021, Ruben linked up with Compton rising hip-hop star, Buddy to release their summer throwback anthem, “TNT”.…

It feels like just the other day that Migos were a part of a cohort of “rumble rappers” that were considered harbingers of the impending downfall of hip-hop, at least among some hip-hop purists. Now four studio albums, three solo albums, one EP, twelve mixtapes and forty-seven singles deep, they’ve obviously evolved into global superstars who have helped to secure Atlanta’s place at the top of the hip-hop food chain. For years, it seemed as though the trio were settled into stardom and enjoying the finer things in life (like love), that is until a recent high profile breakup between Quavo and Saweetie. Some fans…

Calgary-raised, Toronto-based singer-songwriter Ruben Young is back with some feel-good, West Coast summer vibes with his latest single “TNT”. Adding to the West Coast flavour is Compton rapper Buddy who has been making noise since signing with music legend Pharrell and collaborating with heavyweights like Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, and more recently Tinache on their single “Pasadena”. On “TNT”, Young’s smooth vocals are matched by Buddy’s smooth flow, and some equally smooth live brass from Canadian funk band Busty and The Bass. The song recently won the Yangaroo DMDS 2020 Indie Spotlight Contest adding to Young’s growing list of accomplishments…

SVLM returns with latest single Hesi. It’s his first new material since he released his surprise album Out Of The Blue back in March. Just in time for the province of Ontario to re-open and ease restrictions just a little bit, Ottawa hip-hop artist, SVLM, returns with his latest single “Hesi”, a bouncy and base heavy summer smash worthy of being blasted with the windows down and the sunroof open. The record marks his first new material since the release of his surprise album Out Of The Blue back in March. No doubt, fans of the genre bending artist will immediately…

In the midst of the come up, sometimes people forget their roots. However, EverythingOShauN is here to reminders us that family will be there through it all, with his latest music video “Wylin’.” Directed by Marcus Letts, the “Wylin’” music video takes the viewer up-north for a family gathering. Throughout the music video, the family plays charades, breaks bread, and catches-up with cousin Kayo. This wholesome video showcases a loving family starring Xpress, Wilbert Plummer, Aaliyah and Xavier Charles, and social media influencer, Sasha, who recently released a brand collab with Shein. In the music video the Nigerian-Jamaican artist share…

On Thursday, June 10th, Warner Bros Studios is set to release their latest film In The Heights and to say it is groundbreaking is an understatement. Based on the popular theatre production from Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights radiates joy and inspiration as it captures the dreams and aspirations of the Latin community in Washington Heights in New York City, from the young and hardworking Usnavi de la Vega (played by Anthony Ramos) to entrepreneur and father Kevin Rasario (played by Jimmy Smits). The film obviously stands out from others as it features a full Latin ensemble cast, including Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Leslie…

This weekend, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presented the 50th edition of the JUNO Awards, once again acknowledging Canadian artistic and technical achievements in music. There were 52 winners throughout the weekend, including opening night winners The Weeknd, the only multiple winner throughout the weekend, for Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year for After Hours and Single of the Year for “Blinding Lights”, TÖME x Sean Kingston for Reggae Recording of the Year for “I Pray”, The Weeknd, Belly, and Jason “DaHeala” Quenneville for Songwriter of the Year, TOBi for Rap Recording of the Year for ELEMENTS Vol. 1, KAYTRANADA for Dance Recording…

Last month, the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, North America’s largest document festival, went virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film that was on our radar was the Hungry Eyes Media produced documentary Subjects of Desire. With the 2018 Miss Black America pageant and its contestants as a backdrop, the film tells the story of Black women and Black beauty from slavery to today and our journey of acceptance, both from society and ourselves. The film highlights the objectification and fetishization of Black women, from notes from early explorers and old medical journals to Mammy, Sapphire and Jezebel stereotypes.…

Belly teams up with Moneybagg Yo on his latest single “Zero Love” ahead of the release of his upcoming album “See You Next Wednesday”. Today, Ottawa native Belly dropped his brand new track “Zero Love” ahead of the release of his album See You Next Wednesday set to be released later this month. The song features young fellow Roc Nation artist Moneybagg Yo fresh off his feature with late hip-hop legend, DMX, on his track “Money, Money, Money”. Whereas Belly’s previous 2021 releases “IYKYK” and “Money On The Table” featuring Griselda rapper Benny the Butcher paid homage to the grimy…

Before being drafted first overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2019 NBA Draft, Zion Williamson was one of the most sought after prospects since Lebron James after wowing fans and scouts with his combination of explosiveness, control, physical strength and out of this world hops. He made his NBA debut on January 22, 2020 with onlookers wondering if he would, in fact, deliver on his freakish potential. Well, as history would have it, the answer was a resounding, “Yes!” Williamson would finish with 22 points, shooting 8-for-11 (including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc), seven rebounds and three assists,…

When we think about Canadian music, especially urban music, Toronto gets most of the shine, but if you take a quick glance over at the west coast, the Vancouver music scene is heating up with acts like Boslen and the Juno-nominated Manila Grey signing record deals with big labels and elevating their careers to new heights. Today, two of the more well-known names in Vancouver hip-hop and electronic music, Seb C and Teon Gibbs, are making noise of their own with their new single “Plug Talk”. The track deceptively begins with a somewhat laid back Hip-hop beat before revving up…