The 8th edition of the Toronto Black Film Festival is in full effect, taking over venues across Toronto’s downtown core. On tap are some of the best short films and features from over 20 countries. One of the standout shorts was the Nathan Hale Williams-directed Burden, an at-times comedic look at racism and prejudice in America. True to its name, the film explores the many stereotypes surrounding Black men and the burden they often feel―the burden of being feared, rejected and never good enough― and the resulting anger that comes with it. Husband and father, Bennett Lewis (played by Nic Few), is a…
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.
Today is the big day – Valentine’s Day. Couples all over the world are buying gifts, celebrating love, and, if they’re lucky, ending the night with some “extracurricular activities”. Here are ten essential Ottawa R&B songs to soundtrack your Valentine’s Day. This Luv – Jeff Sanon This is one of the older songs on our list, but it’s absolutely essential for Valentine’s Day. If you let a special guy or girl get away and you want them back, start your Valentine’s Day by sliding into their DMs with this song and let Jeff Sanon talk to them for you. https://open.spotify.com/track/1ayQXItt2qzzMXdH9dWEze?si=vLrTlC58R5aejKCFbZxGIA…
This month SHIFTER is adding a brand new feature to our website – Artist of the Month. Every month we’ll be featuring an artist who is on the rise. Our featured artists will represent a variety of creative disciplines – art, music, film, design, fashion, and more. Our Artist of the Month for February is Toronto singer-songwriter OXYBUZ. While demonstrating hints of Alternative R&B, his versatility keeps him away from being locked into one genre. Creating dark tones and atmospheric melodies, he doesn’t expose much other than the music. Tying in melancholy experiences of sex, drugs and sin through eerie,…
With the success of acts like Night Lovell, City Fidelia, Maurice Moore, Kira Isabella and Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine in recent years, it was only a matter of time. This March, the first annual Capital Music Awards will be coming to Ottawa. The awards are being organized by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, also known as OMIC, the city’s music industry association created in 2015 to bring together music industry players, including “artists, music businesses, venues, festivals and local businesses, together to work towards common goals”. “I am inspired by the exceptional talent that is brewing within the national capital…
Ottawa’s hip-hop scene is continuously growing to make moves that matter. Community is in full effect and we see that more and more as we look around at the blooming artists ready to take initiative. This is especially true when local hip-hop artist, Mischa, decided to put together a hip-hop meets visual arts fundraiser for the endangered wildlife in Australia. The wildfires have been blazing since September 2019. This has killed as many as 1.25 billion animals, 26 people, destroyed over 2,000 homes and scorched 4.9 million hectares of land. This is where “Fighting Fire with Fire”, comes into play.…
At 25 years old Kobe made a grave mistake that nearly cost him his future. As a budding superstar in the NBA, the accusation of rape revibrated all over the world. He was faced with two decisions, confront and own his mistake or blame. At the outset, he refused to take ownership of his mistake but after seeking out the counsel of a priest, Kobe made the decision to take extreme ownership and owned up to his mistake by admitting his actions towards his accuser. Since that moment Kobe dedicated his life to becoming a better father, husband, player and…
Months after the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group announced the end of the Ottawa Fury FC, the beautiful game is set to return to the capital in 2020. The Canadian Premier League has announced that Ottawa has been awarded the league’s first expansion team. Storied La Liga franchise Club Atlético de Madrid was the successful team behind the bid. Local businessman and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group partner, Jeff Hunt, is on board as a strategic partner. “We are delighted to be part of such an exciting project in an amazing country. We would like to bring our expertise to…
Ottawa’s film community is about to get a little glitzier. From March 25 to 29, the capital will play host to the brand new International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO), bringing the best of Canadian and international cinema to the city. The festival will feature the Ottawa premiere of 20 films, including Guest of Honour by Atom Egoyan and Twentieth Century by Matthew Rankin. Both filmmakers will be in Ottawa for the festival. This isn’t CFI’s first foray into international festivals. The institute organizes the annual Ottawa International Animation Festival, North America’s largest animation festival, as well as the European Union…
The sports world is buzzing after news of Kobe Bryant’s passing in a helicopter crash on Sunday. TMZ was among the first to report on his passing. “Kobe Bryant died in a helicoper crash in Calabasas Sunday morning … TMZ Sports has confirmed.Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We’re told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board.” It was later confirmed his 13-year old daughter Gianna Maria Onore was also on…
The 8th annual Toronto Black Film Festival (TBFF), presented by TD Bank in collaboration with Global News, announces the official program and events lineup running February 12 – 17, 2020. The Toronto Black Film Festival is honoured to present SPIKE LEE, Cannes Film Festival’s first Black Jury President, with the Toronto Black Film Festival’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award during an intimate evening where festivalgoers can watch a restored version of his film Bamboozled and hear the Academy Award winning director discuss his journey as a filmmaker as well as his views on today’s socio-economic environment. #TBFF20 will present 9 World Premieres, 5 International Premieres, 1 North-American premiere, 20 Canadian Premieres and 34…
As the world keeps a close eye on the growing conflict between the United States and Iran, there’s one important question to ask. Should Donald Trump be considered a war criminal? The President has provided a plethora of reasons and rationales for the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, many of them direct contradictions, and others unsubstantiated by evidence. Trump believes that Iran hadn’t been properly “boxed in” as they continue to project force in countries such as Syria and Iraq. His strategy in Iran was that he wanted to cut down on their nuclear program and force Iran to…
I am always inspired and excited when it come to Taste of the 6ix, however, as the first edition of 2020, this is a special one. Before we take look at what’s in store for this weekend’s showcase, let’s take a look back at some of the best moments of 2019. 2019, the year that was Last March, Taste of the 6ix introduced the first six gems in its story – Gaby Harvey, Colin Petierre, NDAI, Casino Barnes, Billi D’kid (AKA Black sage) and NINETX, initiated this wonderful journey. Then in April, we saw BebeBoy, NYA, Chantelle C.W, HEVVE, Naquita Russell and…
