Author: Kevin Bourne

In the midst of Toronto’s rise to hip-hop mecca, one artist fans have been wanting more music from is Northsidebenji, one of Canada’s top unsigned hip-hop artists. Today, he gave fans exactly what they wanted, joining forces with DJ Charlie B on their new single “30,000 ft”. On the song, Benji celebrates his success in the game while remembering where he came from, but because of his success he still has to be strategic in how he moves in the streets singing, “See I’ve been making my way through these streets again…and I would never play these streets without a…

The Roots joint frontman, Questlove, recently wore a new hat making his directorial debut with the soon-to-be released documentary Summer Of Soul. Revealing never-seen-before footage from the almost forgotten 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, dubbed by some as “the Black Woodstock” and others as “the Ultimate Black Barbecue”, the film features live performances from leading Black performers of the time, from Stevie Wonder, BB King, and Mahalia Jackson, to The 5th Dimension and Sly and The Family Stone. But Summer Of Soul isn’t just a documentary about a Black music festival; it’s a window into everyday Black life and the racial, cultural…

As Canada faces its historical and present day treatment of our Indigenous people Mohawk and West Indian singer-songwriter, Julian Taylor, says it’s time to embrace Indigenous teachings. Published with permission from the author. I haven’t had much to say because I’m exhausted, over tired and broken down. When I speak to my mom she cries. I’ve been thinking a lot and have many feelings while at the same time I am trying to wrap my own ideas around all that’s happened and is happening in the world around me. What I can say is that I stand in solidarity with my kin.…

It has been the best of times and the worst of times for First Nations rapper and motivational speaker, Cody Coyote. While he was recently nominated for Radio Song-Single of the Year and Youth Leadership in Music awards at the Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards and won Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the first annual International Indigenous Hip-Hop Awards, like many Indigenous people, he is grappling with the discovery of the remains of over 1000 children across Canada who were forced to attend government-funded residential schools. The story hit even closer to home when Coyote visited the ruins of…

Tonight, BET hosted the 2021 edition of the BET Awards and this year there was a little some extra for the ladies as it was crowned the Year of the Black Woman. Hosted by Teraji Henson, women were literally front and centre with some of entertainment’s leading Black women seated in the front row. The ceremony opened with a dose of inspiration from the unlikely duo of Kirk Franklin and Lil Baby performing their powerful track “We Win”, or as Taraji Henson called it — “church house meets trap house”. The celebration of Black women continued throughout the night as they…

SHIFTER was recently invited to go behind the scenes on the final day of filming for the Oprah Winfrey Network film tentatively named Amazing Grace starring Bresha Webb and Getenesh Berhe. The scene, called “Carl’s Backyard”, was shot in the backyard of an older home in the Byward Market in downtown Ottawa, Canada. Directed by Toronto native Sharon Lewis and produced by Shane Boucher for MUSE Entertainment and Relevé Entertainment, Amazing Grace tells the story of Iris, a small business owner who bails Tanner, a shoplifting street artist, out of jail and decides to take her under her wing. A bond builds between the two…

After a high profile collab with Night Lovell and FTG Reggie, Lindasson is back with a brand new single and music video “Forever Loner Baby”. Budding Ottawa hip-hop star, Lindasson, has been quickly gaining traction in the first half of 2021, both locally and beyond. After a high profile collab with Night Lovell and FTG Reggie, gracing the cover of the entertainment section of the Ottawa Citizen, and being profiled in CBC Music’s “Beyond The 6”, a series which featuring hip-hop artists and scenes outside of Toronto, the rapper and producer is back with a brand new single “Forever Loner…

Ottawa artist SVDVM has been consistently giving his fans new content in 2021 to keep them satisfied. Now he’s back with his new single “SCAM” and this time it’s a bit of an international affair. Appearing on the song, produced by Russian-Canadian produced beyngpr, is fellow Ottawa native 4Steppa alongside Atlanta artist Scambamwam. The saxophone laden track continues the experimental sound the rapper has been exploring in 2021. Known for consistently dropping new visuals, this one came with a brand new music video shot by Ottawa-based Congolese videographer merdixf. The video shows SVDVM and 4Steppa partying in a mansion with friends while Scambamwam appears through a series…

After a few years of dropping big singles like “How To Get It” and building a loyal fanbase along the way, Brampton rapper Ty’dre has finally dropped his long-awaited debut EP Purpose. The five-song project opens with the previously released “We Up”– an empowering anthem about triumph and unity. As we wrote when it was released back in April, the song was inspired by his relationship with his close friends as he revisits the past while also looking ahead at his goals. We then move on to “410”, which has both freestyled and written lyrics and is named after the highway…

It’s that time again! SHIFTER’s Canadian Music Video Roundup for May includes videos from Dax, Pressa, Mustafa, Preme, Moula 1st, Karl Wolf, Shad, Nate Husser, and more! Check out the videos below in order of release date, then help us crown the top video in the country from May. Special shout out to our sponsor, realtor and Canadian hip-hop legend Greg Campbell. Now, last month you voted and crowned “Life” by Unimerce x Lil Berete and “What I Like” by anders and FRVFRIDAY as your Videos of the Month with a first place tie. Videos of the Month //  “Life” by Unimerce x…

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”.…