It was around this time last year that we were first introduced to Mississauga hip-hop artist Fame Holiday when he headlined the Easter weekend edition of Taste of the 6ix at Orchid Nightclub in downtown Toronto. Since then Holiday has been gaining momentum, releasing a lot of visuals and travelling to Atlanta, Montreal, and more recently, Barbados; a reflection of his global ambitions. His hustle isn’t going unnoticed. Holiday was recently named one of Amazon’s Artists to Watch for 2020; a recognition for artists who are “poised to make a mark in 2020”. Despite the global economic slow down due…
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.
Fast-rising producer and multi-instrumentalist SLMN teams up with frequent collaborator and Juno Award-nominated R&B vocalist anders on new single “Love in the Winter” an uptempo hard-hitting love anthem from his much-anticipated debut EP Late Bloomer. The single will also appear on anders’ next upcoming full length release. If you are a fan of anders’ genre-bending pop/R&B output, there is a very good chance that you would have already heard the sweet sounds of SLMN, who is one of two sonic architects behind anders’ definitive sound that has yielded him over 100 million plus streams as an independent artist. Boasting production credits with everyone from multi-Grammy Award…
It’s been a big year so far for Ottawa artist JAIoftherise. Fresh off opening for the late Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke earlier this year in Waterbury, Connecticut, Jaioftherise is back with “Hopscotch”, a new single and visuals featuring Toronto hip-hop artist Lil Berete. JAIoftherise says of the Woody Productions directed visuals, “The video depicts the ambition of worldly treasure while still remaining humble and true to self.” True to the concept, the video features money, expensive cars and a lot of jewellery. A number of familiar Ottawa sites also make an appearance, from the skyline in Gatineau, Quebec to the abandoned…
If you haven’t heard the name Liz Clarke, aka htbsle (pronounced “hitabaseelay”), it’s a name you should remember. In recent years, the Toronto-born, Ottawa-based spoken word poet, rapper, videographer and photographer, has been gaining some steam, using her creative touch to influence positive social change. Her latest creation is AIR FORCE BLACKS―what Clarke refers to as a “social story” created to shine a bright light on the tenacious spirit of young black men. The name is a play on Nike’s Air Force 1’s and the influence the brand has had on black culture. The project was born on July 6 2019, as…
All good things must come to an end. Over the past few months we’ve decided to do away with our music video roundups for individual cities, first Toronto and then Ottawa, and have decided to replace it with one Canadian Music Video Roundup. Our national roundup for February includes videos from Tory Lanez, Haviah Mighty, Mischa, KAYTRANADA, Yung Tory, and Pressa. We ask you, the fans, to 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 February. Special shout out to our…
Dear Ottawa hip-hop and R&B artists, Over the past few years, I’ve done quite a bit in the Ottawa hip-hop community. I worked with King Kimbit and 4theworld in co-founding the Cap City Cyphers. I co-founded The Morning Shift on CHUO 89.1FM alongside my friend Vlad. I’ve managed artists. I’ve started a playlist. I’ve taken phone calls and had coffee meetings with some of you when you reached out. I’ve attended studio sessions. When I do speaking engagements or visit other cities, I talk about the local hip-hop and R&B scene. I send some of your music to my friends…
This past Tuesday, the Code Black Communicator Network, a network of black integrated communications professionals, tag teamed with long-time Cityline host Tracy Moore to present Industry Secrets for PR & Media Professionals, a panel discussion, mentoring and networking event featuring leading practitioners in the field. Hundreds of current and aspiring black PR and media professionals gathered at Airship 37 in the Distillery District as panelists, including PR strategist Dalton Higgins, journalist Kathleen Newman-Bremang and TV broadcaster Marci Ien, shared their experiences and industry insight. Topics included contract negotiation, career transitions and navigating the industry as a black professional. Following the panel discussions,…
In her first opinion piece for SHIFTER, downtown Toronto teacher, Avril Addie, explains why teachers are striking in Ontario and why the status quo just isn’t good enough. I love teaching. I have been teaching in downtown Toronto for 16 years. During that time, the needs of my students have not decreased, if anything I have watched them increase in complexity and in scope. The Special Educational Needs alone that I deal with in my classroom can range from Dyslexia and other learning disabilities to Attention Deficit Disorder. to Oppositional Defiant Disorder, as well as a rise in the number of…
For the 15th time in 18 seasons, the university basketball powerhouse Carleton Ravens have claimed the U SPORTS Final 8 championship as the Ravens defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 74-65 in the gold medal game in front of a home town crowd at the TD Place Arena in Ottawa. Biniam Ghebrekidan led the Ravens with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Carson led the Tigers with 20 points in the loss. With the win, Ravens coach, Taffe Charles, who took over for long-time Carleton coach Dave Smart, made history becoming the first U SPORTS basketball head coach to win both…
As we quickly approach the March edition of Taste of the 6ix, let’s take a quick look back at our 2020 kickoff. Kass opened the showcase accompanied by his band―Kyle on sax, Rooz on the Djembe and Shayan the MC. Kass’ music went from summer-announcing trance to trap and R&B. He clearly drive and passion, and engages with everyone, never saving energy or charisma. Party mode was on! Then there was Sukha, whose wonderful performance was briefly interrupted by a quick subtle feedback noise before she continued her performance smoothly. The crowd softly clapped, congratulating her. Truly confident, Sukha is one…
Being Black in Canada is a four-part Black History Month article series from SHIFTER editor Kevin Bourne We usually look to the United States when we think about Black talent, but there’s a growing group of Black talent leaving their mark on media and culture right here in Canada. Here are 12 of Black talents in Canada putting their stamp on media and culture in the North. Tyrone Edwards ⎸TV broadcaster View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tyrone Rex Edwards (@mr1loveto) on Jul 4, 2019 at 12:54pm PDT Tyrone Edwards, who SHIFTER had the opportunity to…
Being Black in Canada is a four-part Black History Month article series from SHIFTER editor Kevin Bourne Ottawa is having a branding problem. This isn’t a new thing. Ottawa has always been seen as a sleepy government town. “The city that fun forgot.” Yes, some cool things have happened here in recent years. We finally got LRT (although it still has significant issues to iron out), we’re getting both taller and better designed buildings, and Ottawa Tourism has stepped up its game with its marketing campaigns, but we just can’t seem to get out of this no-man’s land of irrelevance.…
