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.

Today, there’s a lot of tension between the younger generation and the “old heads” who grew up in hip-hop in the 80’s and 90’s. The younger generation are into “vibes” while we were into lyricism. As a result, a lot of older people in hip-hop blame the younger generation for ruining hip-hop. Meanwhile, the younger generation have had enough of our criticism and complaining. Up until a few years ago, I was one of those OG’s lamenting the state of hip-hop. I used terms like “mumble rap” and scoffed at the lack of depth and substance in hip-hop today. But…

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Ottawa hip-hop artist Nathan Miles has been busy teasing a brand new single for the Summer called “Crash”, a collaboration with Dreamland artist Hevve and frequent collaborator, and ffa head, Kyazze. The Treuanto designed artwork has a dark, grimey, Hollywood movie poster aesthetic. Miles says of the direction for the cover art, “For this artwork, I hit up my go-to graphic designer Treuanto from Carolina who I’ve been working with since my first single “Hunnit.” I simply told him I needed a dark, grimey, trap-style cover for this new record ‘Crash’ and to somehow incorporate a scrapyard. He came up with…

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SHIFTER’s Artist of the Month for May is Cole James, an emerging west coast artist based out of Vancouver, British Columbia with melodic and spacey vocals. He is influenced by R&B, hip-hop and dancehall music, creating a energetic but easy listening vibe. Cole has accumulated 500,000 plus streams across all platforms and has performed at various venues and nightclubs in Vancouver. Before doing music, Cole James was a child actor seen in many TV shows and movies, including “Diary of a Whimpy Kid”. He also appears in vlogs from YouTuber FaZe Mito. Artist Name: Cole James City/Country: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Social…

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To close out April, Ottawa hip-hop artist SVDVM and frequent collaborator Jahriia released the visuals for “Pop Dat”, the latest single off their collaborative project Up In Smoke which was released this past March. The 6ixbuzz premiere was actually a re-release. The video originally premiered in 2019, but there’s nothing like a lockdown to bring a video to a new audience. Shot by SubRosa and directed by Samuel x Jayd, the video features the duo in front a wall and projector with some Bonnie and Clyde vibes. We also see some money and smoke, as well as members of RBLx who also make…

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Last night, 40, Oli and a other members of OVO posted the cover art for a new project letting us know the 6 God was about to drop something. Drake later confirmed the project was on its way. What we got at midnight was a new mixtape called Dark Lane Demo Tapes. This project is a breath of fresh air after the 25-song Scorpion that was chalked full of commercial hits, from “God’s Plan” to “In My Feelings” and “Nice For What”, as well as a lot of filler that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Although it…

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Burlington, Ontario raised and Mississauga-based hip-hop artist, producer and guitarist, Will Ryte, is back with a new album Nothing In Common. Ryte said of how the project came together, “This project started in December of 2019 when I realized I wanted to get a few artists together and have them featured on my album. Shout out to Tianda, K-cuzz, Gads6y, and 595Century.  Everyone that I’ve worked with on this album is extremely talented and I’m beyond grateful for their contribution. This album was executive produced by myself and Gads6y.” The multi-talented artist’s talents are on full display on this album. He…

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Lost in all the COVID-19 noise was Scared 2 Love, the debut studio EP from Canadian hip-hop duo Yungcudii & Oeg. Released on March 29th through Baileysmgmt and distributed by United Masters, the EP features five songs— “Fuck a Love Song”, “Die for You”, “Anymore”, “Treesha”, and “Tonight”. Produced by Karim Nasir, aka Kaywaybeats, work on the project began in Summer 2019 after the release of their debut album Purge Season. In comparing the two projects, Yungcudii & Oeg noted, “Scared 2 Love has a different style and tempo and is more concise and more clear compared to Purge Season. The theme revolves around the heartbreak…

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There might be something in the water in Durham Region. In case you haven’t noticed, Durham, the municipality just east of Toronto, has been punching well above its weight in recent years, producing their share of hip-hop producers and NBA basketball players. With everything from Whitby to Oakville and north to York Region often referred to as “Toronto”, especially to outsiders, and the rise of Drake, The Weeknd and Tory Lanez, the moves being made in specific parts of the GTA sometimes go unnoticed. But today it’s getting a lot harder to overlook the run that Durham Region is on.…

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Friday night, college football fans waited with baited breath to see where the two top Canadians would land in the 2020 NFL Draft. With the 49th overall pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Abbottsford, BC native Chase Claypool who SHIFTER’s Reuben Polansky had the opportunity to interview at the 2019 Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The 6 foot 4 in, 229 pound, Notre Dame wide receiver, touted for his size, was drafted earlier than most mock drafts had anticipated. The opposite was true for Ottawa’s Neville Gallimore who was expected to be drafted late in the first round or early…

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Canada, I have a love-hate relationship with you. I love being Canadian. I love the things we produce and I am generally proud of our leadership role in producing content that is more diverse. However, this past weekend I was reminded of what I do not like about Canadian television. North of the border we do not get access to a lot of the black content we want to see, when we want to see it. “What do you mean Koliah? You have all these streaming platforms available to you”.  Case in point, last week I discovered that as a…

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SHIFTER’s Artist of the Month for April is hip-hop artist JKing. The Ottawa-based artist and MLB member displays exemplary lyricism and word manipulation in his art. His delivery and effortless flow allow listeners to be captivated by the messages he puts out in his music. His confidence in his musical abilities are strongly reinforced through his versatility and his ability to use different melodies to formulate his unique sound. Artist Name: JKing City/Country: Ottawa, Canada Social media/links: Instagram – @jkingmlb Facebook – /jkingmlb Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/jking/1309806634 Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/1rF6AFQgMRpUHr0v18Vjcd Art form/creative discipline: Rap/Hip-Hop Artist What has been your biggest creative/professional…

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Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown, Montreal rapper Zach Zoya hasn’t slowed down. Fresh off competing in last night’s Call of Duty: Warzone livestream tournament alongside Toronto Raptor Malcom Miller, Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner, and Methodz from the Toronto Ultra esports team, Zoya is back with visuals for his latest single “Hiatus”. His latest release is the third installment in Zoya’s new DAYZZ OFF video series of original songs with visuals that show a glimpse into his life in Montréal. Directed by Guillaume Landry, the video has a dreary, black and white aesthetic reflecting the winter season, and shows Zach Zoya in…

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