Author: Kevin Bourne

A number of Ottawa music media outlets have come and gone over the years, but there’s one that has been consistent in reporting on the latest in local hip-hop over the past decade – CapCityHipHop. The man behind the platform? Nathan Gravelle, known to many as “Thrilla”. Now in its 11th year, CapCityHipHop was created by Thrilla with the help of local professionals, consumed by the life of music, art and culture. “CapCityHipHop’s mission has always been to compile all of those elements and manifest them into a trending lifestyle, with the intention to promote and, for the most part,…

Calgary rapper Maro Opollo recently released the visuals for “Suicide”. Written and directed by Opollo and Sam White of Eighty4 Visuals, this video about a break up gone bad is something straight our of a horror movie. The scene opens with the main character texting his soon to be psycho ex-girlfriend, “It’s over”, and then cuts to him being chased in the woods by his knife-wielding, love scorned ex. The storyline comes directly from the song. She said that we should make our x’s disappear Without a trace, a cold case is never tried But my rebuttal never what she wanna…

Fresh off his performance at the 2020 Cranium Festival, Ottawa-based artist and producer, Yung Heat is back with his latest single “Blue Flame” featuring fellow Ottawa artists City Fidelia and newcomer eros north. On this industrial hip-hop and trap music inspired single, eros north talks about “independence, knowing your worth and making sure “independence, knowing your worth, and making sure the people around you match that energy”. Meanwhile, City Fidelia is back in his storytelling bag, rapping about his journey from struggling independent artist to where he is today. For the trio, the collaboration came together seamlessly and organically. “I…

Bring Ya Eh Game is hosting The 6th Annual Hip-Hop Food Drive in six cities this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the food drive will happen virtually via Zoom performances from December 15th – 20th, 2020. During the performances you can donate via e-transfer to hiphopfooddrive@gmail.com and the money raised will be donated to food banks in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa and Kingston. The event will be hosted by Dynamic aka Ya Favourite Lightskin of CHUO 89.1 FM. With the success of last year’s donations, Bring Ya Eh Game is proud to bring back the Hip-Hop Food Drive…

Bajan soca artist, Faith Callendar, recently released the visuals for her Summer banger “Don’t Break Yet”. Opening with aerial shots of Barbados, the video, shot and edited by Kristopher Streek and directed by Andre Clarke, features a bathing suit clad Callendar poolside with the girls. The song is a part of the The Paul P Project X Riddim Stream album which has played on the airwaves in Barbados since its May release and has been mixed by some of the Caribbean’s top DJs, from 2016 Red Bull Music 3Style world champion Deejay Puffy to Dr. Jay. The album also features Fiyah B. with…

Toronto R&B singer-songwriter, Savannah Ré, recently released her highly anticipated debut EP Opia. Three years in the making, the project celebrates “the strength found in vulnerability”. “In order for me to get the body of work that I wanted to get, I had to dig deep. I had to do the work,” Ré explains. “I want to let people see me and connect with my music but for that to happen, I have to be my authentic self and that comes from introspection – it takes a lot of time and maturity to do that.” Named Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Artist of the Month…

After a month of work behind the scenes, today SHIFTER is officially relaunching its Business section as SHIFTER Boss with the tagline “Fuel for your hustle”. Going forward, we will be bringing you resources as well as interview style and full-length profiles on entrepreneurs, decision makers, and up and coming bosses under this new banner. Our first profile is of Rebecca Dickson, aka bbexyyy, a young boss making a name for herself in the music industry as an artist manager. We had the opportunity to ask her a few questions about how she got into the industry, challenges that come with…

If you’ve been in the Toronto music scene for the past few decades, especially in gospel music, “Larnell Lewis” is one of those names you would’ve heard whispered before. If you’ve been lucky enough to see him play live, you’ll agree he’s one of the best drummers you’ve ever seen, if not the best. His live performances include audiences looking around in awe as if they’re having an otherworldly experience, and fans have even more reason to be excited. The Toronto-based musician and Grammy-winning drummer for the Brooklyn-based jazz fusion band Snarky Puppy, who has toured with the likes of Gregory…

A year after it premiered at the Regent Theatre in Toronto, the team at Crossfield House Productions has made our Black Friday even better by making their film A Little White Lie available for free until December 1st, and we graciously accepted their offer. Based their play of the same name, A Little White Lie is set in Toronto and tells the story of tech CEO, Michael Myers (Troy Crossfield), who is forced to face the skeletons in his closet when he finds out his mother only has a few months to live as she’s diagnosed with stage four cancer. In order to honour…

Ottawa-based hip-hop artist and songwriter Freddy Printz is back with a brand new music video for his single “Nefarious”, released earlier this year. Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the visuals are set in Ottawa’s Chinatown neighbourhood and feature fellow Ottawa artist and R&B crooner Lonelyboyxxo who sings the hook on the track. Together the song and video, and its slightly hazy aesthetic, tell the story of toxic behaviour as Printz is seen repeating the same old relationship mistakes and getting vulnerable in the process. “Nefarious” is the first single off his upcoming sophomore album Still In Rotation, the follow up…

Amidst all of the COVID-19 madness, one of the releases that slipped under our radar came from Toronto R&B artist Kennedy Rd. Produced by Normanstansfield and L.A based NXGHTS, “Back Again” tells the familiar story of a former love, who left to play the field, returning only to find a more strong and confident woman, dedicated to an uncompromising self-love. With its raw and unfiltered message of self-love and chill groove, this Jhené Aiko-esque release is the perfect soundtrack for our self-isolation and self-reflection during the pandemic. With lyrics like, “Got love for you. But these days, I love me…

After leaving Toronto and the industry behind for Vancouver, K-OS recently ended his five-year hiatus with the release of his “disco-pop” single “SUPERNOVAS”. Since its September release the song has received critical acclaim, climbing to #3 on the CBC Music radio charts, as well as over 315K streams on Spotify which earned him a billboard in Yonge Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. K-OS’ re-emergence and renewed creative expression can be attributed to two things – inspiration from fellow Canadian artist Kaytranada and his reconnection with the city of Toronto. In a recent interview with ET Canada, K-OS noted, “And I…