In recent months, we’ve been treated to a few Ottawa hip-hop collabs that we either always wanted to see or never knew we needed. Bobby Brugal and Dip Black came together to drop “Juice The Game”. We also saw some IG videos of Lia Kloud, Jahriia and Baëbe Ruth recording together, and more recently Night Lovell, Lindasson and FTG Reggie had Ottawa buzzing with their single “A Lot”. You only need to look at the rise of Atlanta as today’s hip-hop mecca and the demise of New York to see how important inter-city collaborations are for both developing a growing…
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.
On the heels of the release of his debut EP Lubalin EP, Montreal-based singer-songwriter and Tiktok phenom Lubalin is back with his new single “Long txts”. The song is a sort of commentary about our lack of authentic communication today – sending long texts instead of just talking – and how we’ve overcomplicated things as a result. “Sometimes we try to simplify complicated things, and in the end, it only makes them more complicated. Like trying to be efficient and sending a quick text when really it should be a whole conversation”, Lubalin explains. “Or when someone says ‘I love you’ for…
It’s that time again! SHIFTER’s Canadian Music Video Roundup for November includes videos from Vancouver to Toronto, including Tory Lanez, Dax, Pressa, Eva Shaw, anders, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Drezus, Hueso, Hoodlum, and more! Check out the videos below in order of release date, then help us crown the top video in the country for December. Special shout out to our sponsor, realtor and Canadian hip-hop legend Greg Campbell. Last month you voted and crowned “Worthy” by Justine Tyrell as your Video of the Month. Video of the Month // Justine Tyrell – “Worthy” Who will win for December? Kofi Twenty One Release date: December 3,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
