Author: Kevin Bourne

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…

Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman has died after a four-year battle with colon cancer. According to his publicist, he passed away at home surrounded by his wife and family. In their statement, the family noted, “A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much…From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more — all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the honour of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.” The South Carolina born actor had become a hero…

Ever since the Wu-tang Clan made national news with their fundraiser in the nation’s capital in support of the Ottawa Mission, Ottawa Food Bank and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, landing Ottawa mayor Jim Watson on CTV’s etalk, Ottawa hip-hop has been uncharacteristically making headlines on some of North America’s biggest media and entertainment platforms. Here are the Ottawa artists who have been making major headlines in recent months. CODY COYOTE – Sway’s Universe, etalk, Global News Long before it was known as “Ottawa” or “Bytown”, the unceded and unsurrended land now known as the nation’s capital has been…

It’s that time again! SHIFTER’s Canadian Music Video Roundup for July includes videos from Haviah Mighty, Pressa, Swagger Rite, Lia Kloud, Dip Black, TwoTiime, 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 July. Special shout out to our sponsor, realtor and Canadian hip-hop legend Greg Campbell. For the first time last month we had a tie in our Video of the Month voting. Our joint winners were Kalix Breezy’s “No Justice…

One of Toronto’s premiere DJ/producers, DJ Agile, is back with his latest album We’re Never Done, a celebration of the sounds of the city he calls home. The award-winning artist, who has worked with some of the industry’s top talents, including Melanie Fiona, Dwele, Kardinal Offishall, Method Man, Jully Black, Ivana Santilli and Glenn Lewis, has assembled an impressive roster of features on this release. Making appearances on the project are Ammoye, Desiire, and Canadian R&B legends Glenn Lewis and JRDN. With its feel-good island vibes, uptempo soul tracks, and classic R&B sounds, We’re Never Done is a timely and well-needed release as…

Today, rapper and producer BLikeBrett released the visuals for “Ten Toes”. Shot and Edited by Palmer Media Co., the video features BLikeBrett in the studio rocking the microphone with his signature long hair and bucket hat. “The concept for the music video was to keep it simple. The song starts with the line ‘Give me a minute, imma tell you how I live’ and how I live is exactly as shown in the video; locked in the studio doing what I love to do most”, he explains. “In the same verse I emphasize the fact that I came from Ottawa and…

SHIFTER’s Artist of the Month for August is Vancouver hip-hop artist Boslen. Born and raised on the outskirts of Vancouver, Canada, 21-year old artist Boslen is rapidly making a name for himself with a growing global fanbase. Boslen excelled as a rugby player for team Canada prior to facing the adversity of two career shaking ACL injuries. This change of reality was the beginning of “Boslen”, transitioning to a music career with the release of his debut EP Motionless in 2018. Boslen continued to fine tune his skills, proving to be a versatile West Coast act with the release of…