Unless you’re hiding under a rock, you know that Toronto is on a bit of a run right now with the likes of Drake and The Weeknd leading the charge, but flying under the radar are a pair of signings that could pay dividends for the Toronto music scene. On a quest to find Canada’s next big hitmakers, American record label, Blimp City Records, has signed Toronto hip-hop artists King Fou and Qsofresh and the pair have hit the ground running with their first singles under the Universal Music distributed imprint. Back in July, Qsofresh dropped his new single “Potion”…
Author: Kevin Bourne
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.
Ottawa artists Black iRI$H and Nickeal have enlisted Toronto’s own TOP5 for their newest single “Make It Back”, a tribute for rappers who have unfortunately passed the last few years, and those who don’t make it back home. The cover of the song pays homage to the last NBA legend Kobe Bryant, as well Juice Wrld, Nipsey Hussle, Lil Peep, Mac Miller, Pop Smoke, Xxxtention, and Fredo Santana. The single comes after their 2019 release “Money Call” featuring Toronto rapper Yung Tory. “In the world we live in today, with all the uncertainty going on with COVID-19, Black Lives Matter, and…
It’s that time again! SHIFTER’s Canadian Music Video Roundup for August includes videos from Drake, TOBi, Maurice Moore, Savannah Ré, Nate Husser, Classified, Roy Woods, JAIoftheRise, Hueso, and more! As usual, we ask you (the fans) to once again vote for our Video of the Month. Check out the videos below in order of release date, then help us crown the top video in the country for August. Special shout out to our sponsor, realtor and Canadian hip-hop legend Greg Campbell. Last month you voted and crowned Calgary’s Drezus and his “Out West Freestyle” as your Video of the Month. Video of the…
Despite the strange barriers and challenging circumstances of this year, Mutari and The Foreign Sound continue to create realistic and actually pertinent songs. The Torontonian band was formed during Mutari’s first year at university where he met JSN ALXR, a talented DJ and actor who known for his role in the Netflix original movie Self Made. Later, Mutari’s former co-worker and drummer, Colin, joined the team followed by saxophone player, Eric, Colin’s housemate. Together, the high energy band is sonically in sync and distinctively complementary, while leaving room for their sound to evolve. Their most recent single, “Forever”, released today,…
SHIFTER’s Artist of the Month for September is Montreal rapper, Nate Husser. Nate Husser is already proving to be one of the fastest rising talents coming out of Canada and a true hip-hop powerhouse. Huss continues to showcase his musical talent and vision as an artist with the release of “JELLY”, a new single from his upcoming project Adult Supervision set to be releases through +1 Records/EMPIRE. “When I’m done I just want people to know about lil burgundy and how it raised me”. Outside the booth, you can only really find Nate on a basketball court. His passion for…
The world is still buzzing about one of the most controversial movies to hit Netflix in years―Cuties. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, this movie has people in an uproar, calling for boycotts of Netflix due to the sexualization of children. After watching it for myself, I’ve decided that I won’t be among the masses boycotting Netflix. Some of you had me believing this thing was glorifying pedophilia and it’s not. Now, are my kids going to be seeing this movie? No. Was it hard to watch? Yes. Are pedophiles going to watch this? Probably. They’re sick. Is sexualization of…
The Cranium Festival recently revealed their 2020 festival artwork and branding, enlisting the services of none other than Art Battle national champion, Allan André. According to co-founder, Patrick McCormack, working with André was a no-brainer. “Allan is not only one of Ottawa and Canada’s leading visual artists, but he’s a valued member of the hip-hop community”, McCormack explains. “He lives, eats, sleeps and breathes this culture just as much as we do. Working with him on our 2020 festival branding was a perfect fit for us.” Cranium will take place from October 14 to 17. In light…
Major changes are underway at one of Ottawa’s leading fashion companies, as designer and entrepreneur, Stacey Bafi-Yeboa (née Stacey Martin) recently took to social media to announce the rebranding of her Byward Market-based company. Effect immediately KANIA Couture Inc., known for its line of made in Canada, luxury sweatshirts, is now known as Stacey Martin Lifestyle Inc. It was just over 10 years ago, after working on film and TV commercial projects for the likes of Nike, Leon’s and Hairspray, that the former Broadway dancer decided to dedicate one hundred percent of her time to KANIA. What started as a…
Toronto-based entrepreneur Kiana “Rookz” Eastmond talks about some lessons she learned about race, cancel culture, and being a “traitor”. Reposted with permission from the author. I finally just went to bed after what was a crazy long day, closed my eyes, and smiled to myself as I often do; grateful to have made it back home. Suddenly my eyes opened wide in the dark, thinking back to a particular part of my day. Here’s what happened. My little cousin is a pretty smart guy―president of the Black student association he founded in his home school. He was in typing club (whatever that…
Fresh off his appearances on Sway’s Universe and CTV’s etalk, multi-award nominated and award winning Hip-Hop/Electronic artist Cody Coyote is prepared to share a message of hope with his new single “Debwe”. The title of this record translates to “Truth” in Ojibwe and focuses on an uplifting message for Indigenous people undergoing hardships due to intergenerational trauma, poverty, colonialism and day to day struggles. Cody Coyote stated that during the COVID-19 pandemic a lot of important discussions are happening and people are listening to Indigenous voices even more now, which he hopes to contribute to through music. “Now is the…
After a few years away from music, hip-hop/indie rock band Zoo Legacy surprised fans in mid-August with a new release “Lost On Purpose”, a song about wanderlust and the response to feeling trapped either in a place or relationship. “Inspired by a failed relationship, it’s our first single in many years and is a reflection on the struggles of maturing. It’s an enthusiastic, joyous cry to fight back”, says lead vocalist Nicholas Pouponneau. “The song combines elements of old school hip hop and indie rock. This is a very big release for us.” Today, the band released visuals for the single. Directed…
Shortly after releasing “SHOTANOTHADOWN” (her first single and music video in three years), NAMBI decided to release another conscious single featuring Paula C. called “HEYBLACKMAN”! This song is an important reminder to our beautiful Black kings that they are strong, powerful, and worthy. We want to celebrate you! We want to wrap our arms around you! We want to protect you! You are so often demoralized, but we admire you, respect you, and understand you! “HEYBLACKMAN”is a playful yet conscious soul song with elements of Funk, Rock, and R&B. This incredible source of foundation for these lyrics can be credited…
