Author: Kevin Bourne

Kevin Bourne is the co-founder and editor of SHIFTER magazine. Born and raised in Toronto, Kevin currently resides in Ottawa with his wife Koliah and their three children. He's a big fan of hip-hop, pop culture, and urbanism and spends most of his time keeping up with the Kardashians.

The new CBC original Canadian high school basketball docuseries ANYONE’S GAME premieres Friday, January 15 at 8:30 pm on CBC TV. All six episodes will be available to stream on CBC Gem beginning January 15, while the series will broadcast weekly on CBC TV. The series follows the high school players on the 2019-20 Orangeville Prep team for the Athlete Institute in Orangeville, Ontario, as they pursue the excitement and experience the challenges of securing an NCAA Division 1 scholarship, seeking a career in basketball, and one day possibly making it in the NBA. Orangeville Prep (OP) is the lead…

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Last week, Ottawa rappers FTG Reggie and Lindasson took to Instagram to post what will no doubt be remembered as an iconic Ottawa hip-hop photo – the two alongside Night Lovell, who is considered by many to be the #1 underground rapper in Canada, sitting on a GMC truck. The photo was teasing an upcoming single, one of the biggest local hip-hop collaborations in recent memory. Today, the trio dropped their new track ” A Lot”. The song was produced by Ottawa producer CR Beats and the video shot by Ben Telford. According to Lindasson, the whole thing came together…

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SHIFTER’s Artist of the Month for January is Makadi – an American R&B/Soul and Hip-hop artist of Zimbabwean descent but currently based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. A champion of versatility and melodic finesse, Makadi consistently pushes the envelope of authenticity. He currently releases music based on “The Color Spectrum” which explores what colour music sounds and feels like. In January 2019, Makadi released his debut album YLLW (pronounced yellow) and in February 2020 he released his sophomore album BLU. His third project TNGRNE released on July 31, 2020 and his fourth project BLCK recently released in December 13th 2020, which…

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South Africa is set to host its first annual South African Music Week with the help of some friends from the Great White North. The two nations will partner on the first edition of the event to “build a robust cross-border music industry based on collaboration and making the most of ‘Music in the 4IR’”. Inspired by Canadian Music Week, SAMW 2021 will see South Africa and Canada come together to explore ways in which to maximize how music, technology and business are converging, and to forge a new path for success for all musicians. SAMW is free to attend and…

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On December 23, Brandon Gonez sent shockwaves through the city of Toronto when he announced he was leaving his post as a reporter at CP24. Even Champagnepapi himself, Drake, took to Instagram to give him a well-deserved send off. Some assumed Gonez was moving on to a bigger opportunity at another major broadcaster, but in the end he decided to bet on himself. On January 17, Gonez will be taking his talents to YouTube with the launch of The Brandon Gonez Show, a weekly show with a mix of news, entertainment, local business coverage, and good news stories. The move…

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Following the August release of his summer single “Highway”, which has over 82K streams on Spotify to date, Ottawa rapper, singer and songwriter, Hueso, is ending 2020 with the release of a brand new single “Prime”. For the genre-bending artist, who fuses hip-hop storytelling and flows with R&B melodies and vocals, his latest release continues the vulnerability and introspection we’ve seen from him on previous releases. Through his easy and effortless vocals, he tells the story of transition and maturation as he leaves a toxic relationship for a newer and, hopefully, happier one, reflecting on both the pain he has…

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Ottawa native Dax recently took to social media to once again tease his long-awaited surprise collaboration. In the end, the rumours were true. Dax ended 2020 with his biggest collab to date – none other than Ohio hip-hop artist Trippie Redd. Together, the pair have dropped their new single “i don’t want another sorry”, a story of pain, heartbreak and love gone wrong. Known as one of the most gifted lyricists in the game today, Dax goes back to his roots as a poet as he wears his heart on his sleeve on the Trademark produced track. Two wrongs don’t make…

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On the heels of their summer smash “Between The Groove”, which landed them on CityTV Toronto’s Breakfast Televsion and CTV’s The Marilyn Denis show and etalk (the latter calling it “the song of the summer”), Vancouver duo IAMTHELIVING x Teon Gibbs are back with visuals for their follow-up collaborative single, “Puppa”. Released in late September, the track has over 53K streams and counting on Spotify. With crisp lighting, pops of colour, and an all out dance party, the Sterling Larose directed video is a throwback to simpler times when we were just focused on having fun. “We really tried to…

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Yesterday, Toronto native and hip-hop producer, Eva Shaw, ended 2020 with the release of her latest single “Addicted” alongside DB Bantino and ILLYMINIACHI. The song also features Montreal’s Nate Husser, SHIFTER’s artist of the month for September and one of the hottest rappers in Canada right now. The single is a follow up to Shaw and Husser’s previous collaborations “I Been Doing Great (You Can Stop MFing Asking)” and “Foot On They Neck”. Husser recently appeared on Le WarmUp FM in Montreal where he talked about how he met Shaw and their time together in the studio. “We had linked up…

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In time for the holidays, Ottawa rapper Lindasson blessed fans with his debut self-titled album LINDASSON. Although the cover art (created by Lindasson and Jdinero), as well as his name and the title of the album, are all a nod to his late mother, for Lindasson this debut release is about introducing fans to his name and brand. Recorded, mixed and mastered by the artist at home in his kitchen, with no features, this offering is the epitome of a solo project. Featuring a roster of all Ottawa producers, including ProdCr, Moreno, Dejesvs, Sweezy and Lindasson himself who produced two songs…

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Directed by George C. Wolfe, produced by Denzel Washington, Todd Black, and Dany Wolf, and based on the Tony-nominated play of the same name, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom takes place during an evening in Chicago in 1927 and tells the story of how legendary Blues singer, Ma Rainey, and her band recorded the song “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”. The film, which stars Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder, Fences) as “The Mother of the Blues”, Ma Rainey, also stars the late Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther, 42) as trumpet player Levee Green in his final role prior to losing his battle with colon cancer…

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On December 11th, the Frank E. Abney III directed and by Paige Johnstone produced animated short film Canvas came to Netflix. The film tells the story of an African-American grandfather and painter who has lost his creative inspiration after the loss of his wife. We find him waking up alone next to the empty spot where he wife once laid as he is forced to embrace his new reality. Years later, it would be another woman in his life – his young and curious granddaughter – who would help him find his creative touch again. Through revisit old paintings he’s able to reconnect with…

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